Bottom of the table in the Belgian Pro League, Royal Excel Mouscron, started really strong in their match against KRC Genk. With their new manager Jorge Simão Mouscron took the lead after 34 minutes through Nuno da Costa who tapped the ball in after a great cross from Marko Bakic. Royal Excel Mouscron played a 4-1-2-1-2, but out of possession they often played a 4-2-4 with attacking midfielder Bakic dropping back and the left- and right midfielder pressing up very high. At the end of the second half however Junya Ito tied up the game after a nice dribble in the box. In the second half the hosts completely took control and Mouscron looked very weak. Genk scored three more goals as the game ended 4-1.
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
Alessandro Ciranni
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 24
- Date of birth: 28/06/1996
- Current club: Royal Excel Mouscron
- Career: KRC Genk (Y), MVV Maastricht, Fortuna Sittard, Royal Excel Mouscron
- Position: Right Back
- Secondary position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Alessandro Ciranni’s biggest weakness in the past used to be his defensive qualities, but in his game against KRC Genk he a lot better defensively. The captain was very aggressive in his duels and used his body very well. His tackling could of course still improve. He was to late and made a couple of fouls, which finally resulted in him getting booked. Ciranni also intercepted quite a lot of passes this game and did well pressing forward at times. Despite being only 5’8” with a normal build he did very well physically. Ciranni possesses a good amount of pace and was constantly making runs forwards throughout the game.
In the first half Ciranni often got the ball going forward. He put in a couple of crosses which were good, but didn’t reach one of the strikers. On the ball Ciranni mostly tried to look for a forward pass and he took quite some risks with his passing, which didn’t always work out for him. Overall his passing was quite good and he didn’t seem to make a lot of errors.
Rating – A1
It looked like Alessandro Ciranni was on the move this summer, but he ended up staying at Mouscron. Clubs like Standard, KRC Genk, Zulte-Waregem and Rapid Wien were interested according to the media. I think that the right back is ready to play for a better team in the Belgian league.
Jean Onana
Player profile:
- Nationality: Cameroonian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 08/01/2000
- Current club: Royal Excel Mouscron, on loan from LOSC Lille
- Career: Nkufo Academy (Y), Leixões SC (L), LOSC Lille, Royal Excel Mouscron (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Jean Onana played as the sole defensive midfielder in Jorge Simão’s side, but often played on the left side of Marko Bakic who would drop back. The 20-year old midfielder is quite tall standing at 6’2” with a stocky build. He used his strength very well in most defensive duels, but looked a little vulnerable other times as he didn’t seem very agile. Opponents who were a little quicker easily turned away from him at times and Onana struggled to follow them. Defensively it was a decent performance from Onana overall. He positioned himself well helping his right back at the right moments, but gave a too much space to his opponents in the midfield at times. He did very well pressing high multiple times, which gave him the ball in a dangerous area.
In build-up Onana didn’t see too much of the ball, but when he had the ball at his feet he did pretty good. His short passing was very good and he also played a couple of great driven passes in the final third. He also showed that he has great passing range with some nice longer passes. He mostly tried to play forward and barely played any passes back to his central defenders.
Rating – A2
Onana didn’t see too much of the ball, but looked very confident when he did get it. If he gets a little more involved he can become one of Mouscron’s best players and surely play for a better team in the league.
Bruno Xadas
Player profile:
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 02/12/1997
- Current club: Royal Excel Mouscron, on loan from SC Braga
- Career: SC Braga, CS Marítimo (L), Royal Excel Mouscron (L)
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Bruno Xadas started played his second game for Royal Excel Mouscron and looked very confident. The Portuguese midfielder playing as right midfielder, but was positioned as the attacking midfielder very often. Xadas showed that he has great technique, but his actions on the ball often didn’t lead to anything. He liked to cut inside with the ball from the right wing, but didn’t really create anything from doing so. In the 6th minute Xadas got a huge chance to score from close range, but he managed to hit the crossbar.
Xadas is clearly a very technically gifted footballer, but often needed a little bit on the ball. He often looked for short combinations with his teammates, which worked pretty well, but often kept the ball a little too long. When he had the ball he looked very calm and comfortable and he did pretty well under pressure. He didn’t look very strong however and got pushed off the ball pretty easily in some duels. He tried a couple of shots, but these weren’t dangerous at all. Xadas didn’t attempt a single long pass this game and made a little too many mistakes with his short passes.
Rating – B2
Bruno Xadas could be a great player for Mouscron, but he wasn’t involved enough. He has the abilities to collect the ball between the lines and play on from there, but he didn’t do that enough this game.
Saad Agouzoul
Player profile:
- Nationality: Moroccan
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 10/08/1997
- Current club: Royal Excel Mouscron, on loan from LOSC Lille
- Career: Kawkab Marrakech, LOSC Lille, Royal Excel Mouscron (L)
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Saad Agouzoul played as the left sided centre back next to Matias Silvestre and was an absolute force in the air. Agouzoul stands at 6’3” with quite a lean build and cleared a lot of long passes with his head. He read the game quite well and anticipated very well. Agouzoul often tried to defend very proactively trying to get in front of his opponent and intercept the pass. This worked out well most times, but also got dangerous a couple of times when his opponent still managed to get the ball and turn away from him.
With two of the goals Agouzoul could’ve done a lot better. In the 55th minute he didn’t have enough pace to keep up with Bongonda and didn’t have the guts to try and make a sliding tackle. Bongonda got past him easily and then scored the 2-1. Just a couple of minutes later he gave Ito a lot of space to shoot and it was Onuachu to head in the rebound.
On the ball Agouzoul did alright. He didn’t see very confident with the ball at his feet and looked a little clumsy at times. His short passes were solid throughout this game, but his long passes needed some improvement.
Rating – C
Especially before Genk’s second goal of the game Agouzoul should’ve done a lot better. He played okay for the rest of the game, but it was nothing special.