Malmö FF and Víkingur Reykjavik played a thrilling match in Iceland that saw 3 goals in both ends. The home side got off to a great start scoring 15 minutes into the game; however, from there on Malmö started dominating the game and ended up getting ahead right before half time, scoring two goals in ten minutes. They kept their momentum and put the ball in the back of the net right after the start of the second half. Víkingur kept fighting with Hansen and Gunnarsson putting the teams back in level terms. Unfortunately for them, the draw wasn’t enough to put them through to the next Champions League qualifying round where now Malmö will face Zalgiris.
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
Hugo Larsson
- Nationality: Swedish
- Age: 18
- Date of Birth: 27/06/2004
- Current Club: Malmö FF
- Career: Malmö FF
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred Foot: Right
Hugo Larsson played as the left centre midfielder in Malmö’s 5-3-2 formation for most of the game. Standing at 1.87m with a lean build, Larsson actually has decent pace for his height and showed good balance and agility. The Swedish midfielder made decent use of his height in aerial duels, although he lacked aggressiveness in all kinds of duels. He has good receiving skills and ball control, but never tried to dribble past his opponents. Larsson had good passing overall, even though he generally preferred to “play it safe”. On the whole, he showed some good details, but wasn’t impactful near the final third.
His technique is good, and he doesn’t panic even when under pressure. In addition, his decision-making was also good, although at times I felt he could’ve tried to take some risks to create more dangerous opportunities. On rare occasions, Larsson showed the ability to make progressive runs with the ball and to quickly link-up with his teammates. The 18-year-old is a smart player, he was always trying to make himself available to receive the ball and showed great spatial awareness and vision. Amongst other things, this allowed him to make some great interceptions.
Hugo Larsson was energetic throughout the entire game demonstrating a good work-rate. He was always able to commit both offensive and defensively, with an overall good sense of positioning. The central midfielder showed a good pressing ability and almost never got caught out of position. As mentioned above, I felt Larsson should’ve been more aggressive in duels and this is a field where he needs to improve. In Víkingur’s first goal he failed to put a strong foot to stop Atlason, who ended up earning an assist. Moreover, in the home side’s equaliser, he was quite easily beaten by the man he was marking, allowing him to shoot without opposition.
Rating – A2
Larsson had a very shy performance for Malmö in this match. However, I would like to watch more from him since he showed some good details, and I don’t believe this display reflects who he is as a player. He has a lot of potential and it must be considered that this is still his first season playing senior football.