Sporting Gijón hosted Girona FC in what was a rather uneventful match with a lot of possession for the home team. Sporting Gijón set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Girona FC also played in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Sporting Gijón dominated possession and formed a three at the back formation in possession. Either Nacho Méndez or Javi Fuego dropped deep between the two central defenders. Girona dropped deeper but liked to play direct when they recovered possession. Both teams got some chances, but they did not manage to find the back of the net.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Nacho Méndez
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 30/03/1998
- Club: Sporting Gijón
- Career: Sporting Gijón (Y)
- Position: central midfielder
- Secondary position: attacking midfielder
- Preferred foot: left
Nacho Méndez played as a central midfielder in the match against Girona, while also dropping deep between the two central defenders when Sporting Gijón were in possession. He often swapped roles with Javi Fuego. Nacho Méndez showed dominance on the ball, he had good passing ability and progressed the ball higher up the pitch very well. The Spaniard is technically gifted and was an elegant player to watch. Occasionally, he forgot to scan his back before he received the ball and in these moments he could get himself into trouble. Nacho Méndez showed decent dribbling ability as his good ball control, agility and acceleration helped him in getting past the opponent.
In defence, Nacho Méndez proved to have good pace when he needed to track the run of Pablo Maffeo early in the second half. He managed to keep up with him, but Maffeo cut inside which outplayed Nacho Méndez. However, in the remainder of the game, Nacho Méndez showed good defensive ability in the one vs. ones. The Spaniard liked to cut the passing lanes and had good positioning in transition. He covered a lot of ground and was always moving to the side where Girona were in possession.
Overall, it was a very promising performance by the 22-year-old, who looks like he could be on his way to LaLiga.
Rating – A1
Manu García
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 02-01-1998
- Club: Sporting Gijón
- Career: Sporting Gijón (Y), Manchester City (Y), Deportivo Alaves (L), NAC Breda (L), Toulouse FC (L), Sporting Gijón
- Position: attacking midfielder
- Secondary position: central midfielder and left winger
- Preferred foot: right
Manu García played as an attacking midfielder in this match and he managed to impress, despite the fact that he could have been more decisive in the final third in this match. The 22-year-old had a good progressive touch and always turned the right way. He controlled the ball very well whenever he received a powerful pass. Manu García had smart movement between the lines, which allowed him to receive in space and have a progressive first touch.
Today, the 22-year-old Spaniard looked really dominant on the ball. He had a good eye for space and dropped deeper to support the build-up at the right times. Manu García did not make runs in behind often, but when he did, he timed it very well and he dove into the gap that was left open by the full-backs very well. He liked to drift wide and switch the play. The Spaniard showed excellent technical ability and he showed very good vision, but he occasionally did not get his final pass right.
Overall, it was a very good performance by Manu García and he should be able to move to a better competition this summer.
Rating – A1