The last match of Brasileirão’s Matchday 16 saw Internacional beat America MG by a one goal difference. Internacional dominated both halves in a game where they lacked accuracy near the opposing goal. Moreover, America MG were playing with a very defensive set-up and mainly relied on counterattacks to create danger. This allowed Internacional to dominate possession and to be in constant control of the game. In the last minute of added time, after a sloppy corner, Moises Roberto Barbosa found himself alone inside the box and slotted the ball into the back of the net, settling the score at 1-0 for Internacional.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Heitor
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Age: 21
- Date of Birth: 05/11/2000
- Current Club: Internacional
- Career: Internacional
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred Foot: Right
Heitor played as the right back in Internacional’s 4-3-1-2 formation, in a team averaging 30 years of age in the starting lineup. The-21-year-old was their youngest player starting and was one of the best players throughout the game. He lost his place in the starting eleven with Fabricio Bustos’ arrival at the beginning of the season, but stepped up for this game due to Bustos’ injury in the previous match.
The Brazilian right back looked attacking minded and showed an overall good involvement in the final third. Standing at 1,74m, Heitor is quick and agile, and for the most part relied on his pace to be dangerous in the attack. He didn’t try going for 1v1’s, nonetheless his fast combinations with his teammates were quite good and allowed his team to create opportunities. Heitor also attempted quite a few crosses showing good technique especially when he had space; however, his low crosses were not accurate. He also showed the ability to be explosive when needed, using his pace to make a couple progressive runs when given the space.
Heitor exhibited a good sense of positioning and spatial awareness, traits which enabled him to make multiple interceptions. When needed, he pressed his opponents aggressively showing a good pressing ability, but most of the times he preferred to contain and wait for the right opportunity to tackle. Altogether, he was very strong defensively by winning almost all duels he was involved in and by also demonstrating a good tackling capability. He always remained calm in defensive 1v1’s and wasn’t caught out of position many times.
On the whole, Heitor had a very solid performance. I felt that after the one hour mark he was already very tired and he ended up being subbed off at the 75th minute. This was only Heitor’s third match in the Brasileirão this season and I think his physical condition held him back a bit since he mostly preferred to “play it safe” throughout the match. There were occasions where he could have tried to go for offensive 1v1’s and where he hesitated to go further up the pitch. Besides, as the match progressed his ability to track back after an offensive action started worsening.
Rating: A2
Heitor was one of Internacional’s best players and based on his performance I think he has potential to play at a higher level. His defensive abilities were very solid and with better physical condition his attacking output might have been better. I would like to see more from him, since during this match he didn’t showcase his dribbling and ball controlling skills and generally was a bit contained in the attacking phase.