After a streak of eleven matches without a win Lommel SK was suddenly only two points away from last place, which means relegation to the third level of Belgian football. Their match against last places Royal Excelsior Virton was a crucial one. Under Lommel’s new manager Patrick Greveraars they started in a 4-3-3 formation with Théo Pierrot as defensive midfielder behind Bryan Smeets and Robin Henkens. The home side completely dominated the game from start to finish and opened the score after just twenty minutes through Cauê. Around ten minutes later the young Brazilian scored his second goal of the game to double the lead. A few minutes in the second half Lommel SK scored their third goal when Henkens headed the ball in.
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, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Arthur de Oliveira Sales
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 03/07/2002
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Vasco da Gama, Lommel SK
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Whilst Cauê may have been in the spotlights this match, it was Arthur Sales who impressed me most from Lommel’s front three. Sales joined Lommel SK at the start of the season for 3 million euros from Vasco da Gama, where he played five matches as a substitute on the second level of Brazil last season. The 19-year-old made started great in Belgium with six goals in his first five league starts, but Lommel still struggled to get results.
Against RE Virton Lommel played in a 4-3-3 formation again instead of the 5-3-2/3-5-2. Arthur Sales played as the right winger, where he normally occupies a central role, and did a solid job. The youngster caused trouble for Virton multiple times with his runs behind the defence, but he also knew when to drop back to receive the ball. The 6’0” tall striker has quite a slim build and showed that he has great pace. He has great acceleration and also very impressive top speed with the ball. Sales showed great stamina, working hard throughout the game and tracking back well. You could hear this is something his coach put extra emphasis on before the match, since you often heard him scream Arthur’s name when he had to go back. Below is a great example of these aspects coming together; with Sales reading the game well and making a good run before Bryan Smeets takes his first touch. With the ball at his feet he then simply runs past his direct opponent and puts in a good cross with his right foot that the defender in the middle is just able to deflect.
Arthur Sales looked very comfortable on the ball. His first touches were very good, also when he received high long passes, and his ball control overall just looked very good. He was happy to take on his direct opponent trying to cut into his left but he went around the outside plenty of times as well, making him harder to defend. There were some moments where he could’ve done better on the ball and I mainly felt like this was because he was not scanning enough. He was often just looking at the ball before receiving it or would look around him once. Because of list there were a few moments where he lost the ball or didn’t make the right decision. When he started dribbling he did better with scanning and looked around him a lot more.
Rating – A1
Arthus Sales is a very solid player with a lot of potential. He is very fast and looked effective in the final third. However, this game I felt like he wasn’t scanning enough before receiving the ball which cost him a couple of times.
Cauê Vinicius dos Santos
Player profile:
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 16/11/2002
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Novorizontino, Corinthians U20 (Loan), Lommel SK
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Cauê came over from Corinthians this winter and started for the first time for Lommel after coming on as a substitute last week. The 19-year-old was the man of the evening with two important goals which basically sealed the game. In the 20th minute he was alert, and left completely unmarked, at the second post when Kevin Kis put in a cross from the right after a corner was clear and Cauê could easily slid the ball in with his knees. Around ten minutes later right back Glenn Neven made a good run on the right and put in a chipped cross which reached Cauê. The Brazilian saw Virton’s goalkeeper save his first shot from close range, but then he could easily tap the ball in since the goalkeeper couldn’t clear the ball to the side.
The 19-year-old striker mainly functioned as a target man throughout the match and did pretty well in this role. According to Wyscout Cauê is 5’11” tall but I don’t think this is correct. He looked to be around 6’0”/6’1” tall. Cauê has quite a lean build and would definitely benefit from building some muscle mass. It didn’t set him back too much this game but there were some moments where he was pushed aside too easily. Especially with the ball at his feet it seemed like the Brazilian seemed to miss some explosiveness. Especially one moment stands out where he tries to knock the ball past his opponent, but then looks really slow on the first few meters and easily loses possession.
With the ball at his feet Cauê did pretty well. He often received low passes and then did well to find his teammates with one touch passes. The striker scanned well and had good awareness of where his teammates and opponents were. When RE Virton’s defenders wouldn’t press him he would turn with the ball and try to play the ball to either Anello on the left or Arthur Sales on the right. His technique looked really well in smaller spaces and he looked fairly press resistant if he had a bit of distance to his direct opponent and was able to turn with the ball.
Rating – A2
Cauê has a lot of positives about him. He has great technique, awareness, positioning and his finishing was fine this game, but physically he still has big steps to make. He is only 19 though and has plenty of time to improve and I can easily see him make a nice move in the future.
Agustin Anello
Player profile:
- Nationality: Argentine/Italian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 22/04/2002
- Current club: Lommel SK
- Career: Lommel SK
- Position: Striker/False 9
- Secondary position: Left Wing, Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Agustin Anello’s story is really quite special. The Argentine with Italian and Spanish roots was born in Miami and moved to Barcelona when he was ten. He grew up in a poor family and moved to Belgium around three years ago, when Barcelona got too expensive for his family. After a trial he got in Lommel’s U18. He quickly moved to their U21 team and then started training with the first team as well. This season Anello is a regular starter for Lommel SK, although the last few weeks he came from the bench more often.
Against RE Virton Anello played as left winger and he mainly impressed me with unbelievable drive and work rate. He was everywhere on the left flank, constantly tracking back and working hard in defensive duels, but also making runs in the final third. The 19-year-old looked around 6’1” tall with a pretty lean build. He did better in his duels than Cauê for example, mainly because of his aggression. Anello had decent pace and was easily able to change directions while sprinting. In the final third Anello looked quite dangerous. Technically he looked really strong and his opponents struggled to get him off the ball. He cut in a few times to his right foot, when he tried to go to his left his crossing didn’t look very strong. In the 47th minute Anello got the ball at the edge of the box and then cut to his right foot. His shot was saved by the goalkeeper, but Henkens was alert and tapped in the rebound for the 3-0. For the rest, his output in the final third was a bit inconsistent and has to improve.
Rating – A2
Agustin Anello is a really hard-working winger with solid technique. His output in the final third has to improve however and there were also a few moments where his concentration seemed to drop a bit, which lead to some unnecessary mistakes.