FC Arouca and SC Braga played a thrilling match in Portugal’s first division matchday 4, that saw Braga beat the home side by 6 goals to nil. The visiting side got off to a great start scoring just 1 minute into the game and even amplified its advantage 3 minutes later. The home side tried to get back into the game; however even before the half time mark Ricardo Horta ended their aspirations by scoring from the penalty spot and with Vitinha putting another one past Arruabarrena. During the second half Braga continued pushing and saw the back of the opponents’ net shake twice again.
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
Vitinha
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 15/03/2000
- Club: SC Braga
- Career: SC Braga
- Position: Centre Forward
- Secondary Position: Second Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Vitinha played as the centre forward in Braga’s 4-4-2 formation. Standing at 1.83m with a strong physical build, Vitinha has decent pace for his height and showed good balance and agility. In addition, he uses his body very positively to shield the ball from opposing defenders and is quite aggressive/combative as well. The Portuguese attacker made great use of his height throughout the game, with the highlight being a headshot that hit Arouca’s crossbar perpetuated with an amazing diving jump around the 33rd minute.
Vitinha has good ball receiving skills and control, demonstrating the ability to dribble past opponents. These traits, combined with the runs in behind he constantly makes allow him to be a constant threat in the attack. Besides, when presented with the opportunity he took his shots and did so while demonstrating a good finishing technique. He scored a very good goal after making a great run by dribbling past Arouca’s goalkeeper, showing a great killer instinct. Nevertheless, Vitinha still needs to improve his positioning since he was caught offside quite a few times.
His decision-making was good and he was able to use his build to successfully link-up with his teammates. The 22-year-old player always tried to make himself available and dropped down to the midfield to help when needed. Vitinha was not only successful when doing this on ‘lower’ areas of the pitch, but also when near the opposing box. Overall, the Portuguese player showed a good and consistent passing ability. He was very energetic throughout the entire game demonstrating great stamina. Furthermore, he played through the entire match and always showed his combative personality, giving his all at all times. The centre forward also exhibited a good pressing ability.
Rating – A2
Vitinha had a good performance for SC Braga in this match, despite being very absent during the first 15 minutes. He scored a great goal and was a constant threat for Arouca’s goal. Vitinha scored 14 goals for Braga last season and I believe that if he is able to have a successful season this year as well, he soon will be aspiring for higher flights in order to fulfil his potential.