Raya2, the reserve side of CF Monterrey, was able to triumph 2-1 over Cimarrones de Sonora in Liga Expansion action. This was despite ceding most of the possession and going down to ten men for the last 15 minutes. The game was extremely chippy with a large number of stoppages for fouls, players going down with cramps, and so forth.
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
Ali Avila
- Nationality: Mexican
- Age: 19
- Date of Birth: 23/09/2003
- Current Club: Raya2
- Career: Monterrey (Y)
- Position: Striker
- Secondary position: Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Ali Avila played as a striker in this match. With his very first possession, he latched on to a through ball, rounded the keeper, and slotted home to give Raya2 an early lead. At that moment I thought I had discovered a star. But then he didn’t get another shot for the entire rest of the game and now I don’t know quite what to make of him.
Avila obviously timed one particular run to perfection. Every subsequent time Raya2 had a transition moment it looked like he might do it again but nobody was able to pick out his run. Raya2 played extremely defensively and this was not conducive to creating regular chances for Avila. That said, he did have a few shortcomings that prevented him from generating more shots. There were a few times when he could not get the ball out of his feet quickly enough, in turn allowing him to be closed down. He was quite good at shielding the ball with his body but other than that his dribbling was lacking. He wasn’t really able to beat players and he often turned down blind alleyways. I also thought of his off-the-ball movement when the ball was a bit lacking. He was often looking for the ball to be cut back to him at the edge of the box. In general, I would much prefer strikers to be looking to make runs to the six-yard box.
Avila is quite small, standing only 5’7 so he’s not really an aerial threat. He also did not press at all. This was partly a team thing, as Raya2 played a very low block but he was remarkably sedentary. Later in the game, he was moved to the wing when David Sayago was subbed on as a central striker. This did not really suit Avila for the reasons outlined above.
Rating – A2
Even though most of this performance was not that impressive, the one moment of magic makes me believe. Looking at Wyscout it seems like most of Avila’s performances are like this, huge xG totals but not a particularly high number of shots. If he can increase his shot volume, perhaps through some better off-the-ball movement and a team system that suits an opportunist like him he could really shine.
Jesus Moreno
- Nationality: Mexican
- Age: 19
- Date of Birth: 21/10/2003
- Current Club: Raya2
- Career: Cimarrones II
- Posiiton: Centre-back
- Preferred foot: Right
Jesus Moreno played as a centre-back in this match and frankly, I was not a fan. My main complaint is that Moreno is really bad at tracking runners. There were so many times when he could be seen running to catch up with his wide-open man in the penalty area. He was very lucky that he was not burned for this more than once. He was also quite lucky to not give away a penalty when he barged into the back of a player who had gotten the wrong side of him.
His passing was ok. He had a couple of nice line-breaking passes out of the back but he also crumbled a little bit when pressured. In those situations, he had a tendency to just whack the ball away aimlessly. Moreno was quite a proactive and aggressive defender. He was not shy of stepping out of the back line to make a defensive play. This worked out ok for him but he was always at risk of giving up a foul. Moreno made a ton of headed clearances but this did not really make up for his poor marking. One positive was that his first touch was quite good and he looked quite comfortable carrying the ball out of defence.
Rating: C
He’s not terrible but I would not be that excited about his long-term potential. He could not track a runner to save his life. He does have some redeeming qualities but they don’t really make up for what a liability he can be.