Standard Liege dropped two points at home against KV Mechelen in a very disappointing match. The hosts, who would’ve entered the top four with a win, took the lead twice but didn’t manage to close out the match. Standard played in a 5-4-1 formation, which looked more like a 5-2-3 most times, and were really poor going forward. They ended the match with an xG of 1.74 while KV Mechelen had an xG of 3.03.
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
Nicolas Raskin
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 23/02/2001
- Current club: Standard Liège
- Career: Standard Liège (Y), RSC Anderlecht (Y), KAA Gent, Standard Liège
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Attacking Midfield, Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
The 19-year old Nicolas Raskin played a good match as a central midfielder and was arguably the best player on the pitch. The 5’10” tall midfielder may not look like the most physical midfielder, but he used his body very well in duels and worked very hard throughout the game. Standard played with two central midfielders, Raskin and Cimirot, but Raskin had far more offensive freedom than his partner. Raskin made good runs between the lines to pick up the ball and then often played it out wide to Standard’s wingbacks or wide midfielders.
Raskin worked very hard this match, covering a lot of ground by pressing up very high up the pitch. This was really successful as he managed to recover seven balls on the half of KV Mechelen. In the 81st minute, he read the game well and managed to get the ball just over the half-way line. In the 2v1 situation, he played the ball to striker Avenatti, at the exact right time, but the Uruguayan striker did poorly in front of the goalkeeper. Raskin showed that he is quite an intelligent player, reading the game defensively, but also making smart runs at the right times. He was always trying to be able to receive the ball, but also made some good runs in the box which created some danger.
Technically Raskin looked fine against Mechelen. The 19-year old showed that he has a good first touch and looked like a good dribbler. The midfielder was very neat on the ball and barely made any unnecessary errors. There was a singular instance where he looked really nonchalant losing the ball with a backheel pass on his own half, but he instantly recovered and won the ball back.
Rating – A1
Nicolas Raskin played a very solid match. He looked really mature and calm on the ball. If he can keep this up, he can surely make a nice move to a bigger club.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 10/05/2001
- Current club: Standard Liège
- Career: Standard Liège
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
It was a difficult game for Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who still managed to score in the end. After getting one of his header cleared from the line by a defender, Balikwisha scored his second chance with his head in the 78th minute. After a deep cross from Carcela the 19-year old had all the space he needed near the far post and headed the ball in. Besides these two headers however, there weren’t a lot of moments from the winger to get excited about. With left wing back Gavory playing very attacking, there wasn’t a lot of room from Balikwisha. The winger often positioned himself quite narrow, to make space for Gavory to make runs forward, but there seemed to be little variety in attack. The left back put in a lot of crosses, but with very little success.
When Balikwisha got the ball he did some decent things with it. He didn’t hold on to the ball too long, but his dribbling looked very good. He often liked to drag the ball under his feet and beat his opponents this way. His passing looked alright, but he didn’t really take too many risks. Balikwisha put in a couple of crosses, which were a little inconsistent, but he showed that he isn’t afraid to use his weak foot. The 19-year old winger has a lot of steps to make. He seems to lack some strength and was pushed off the ball quite easily a couple of times.
Rating – B2
Balikwisha worked very hard this game, but didn’t show enough on the ball. He was a bit too static off the ball and played really safe when he finally got the ball.
Abdoul Tapsoba
Player profile:
- Nationality: Burkinabé
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 23/08/2001
- Current club: Standard Liège
- Career: ASEC Mimosas, Standard Liège
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Abdoul Tapsoba only received five passes this game, which probably says enough about his performance. In the first half Tapsoba was really static off the ball and barely made any runs to be able to receive the ball. In the second half he would sometimes move to the right side to support his teammates, but he was still invisible big parts of the half. When KV Mechelen had the ball Tapsoba would mark their defensive midfielder, van Damme, and make sure he didn’t get the ball. He did this quite well, but he often dropped back very far.
The few times Tapsoba had the ball, he didn’t look to bad. He played some good first touch passes and his technique looked decent. He made a couple of good runs to the near post when his side had the ball on the wings, but didn’t get a lot of good crosses.
Rating – D
Tapsoba was sadly below average this game. The striker was invisible for most parts of the game and was taken off after 72 minutes.
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