Manuel Locatelli

Player Analysis| A THREAD

Manuel Locatelli is one of the biggest examples of @SassuoloUS 's ability to get the best out of their available players. Manuel Locatelli is one of Italy’s rising superstars; the former AC Milan midfielder has been a star-turned under De Zerbi.

The 22 years old possesses the versatility to play a vital role in different situations. Sassuolo averages 53% possession that is the third highest in the league. Locatelli plays an important role in this, as he possesses ball retention ability in the tight spaces in midfield

Sassuolo applies a man to man pressing rather than pressing the man with the ball – it is common in high pressing teams such as Liverpool, Salzburg. Locatelli is mostly involved in marking the opposition midfielder’s run.

He makes an attempt to win back the possession or makes it challenging for his opponent to progress with the ball. His defensive astuteness is compared to that of Leandro Paredes and Gaetano Castrovilli.

Locatelli has the highest number of tackles per 90 minutes in the Italian league. His interception skills are also top-notch, despite being a versatile midfielder with flexible roles his stats in interceptions are equal to most of the defensive midfielders in the league

Here we can see as soon as the Brescia midfielder took a heavy touch, Locatelli pounced onto the opportunity and proceeded to make a tackle, clearing the imminent danger and also stopping the opponent’s transition.

In this match, the opposition was proceeding to attack. Sassuolo were in their natural man to man pressing model. As the opponent’s player with the ball took a few more seconds to get it under control after a heavy touch, this gave Locatelli the ideal chance to make a tackle.

Locatelli can play both as a No 6 and 8 making him a unique player in his position. Despite playing in the deeper regions, his passing acts as the link between the defence and midfield. He excels in playing passes in between the lines that catch the opposition players off guard.

He averages 9.11 progressive passes per 90 minutes and it is only bettered by Castrovelli, Piotr Zielinski, Rodrigo De Paul, and Luis Alberto. This is proof of his attacking intent.
Locatelli’s passing accuracy of 87% also speaks a lot about his ability to control the game.

He can also retain and pass the ball in the tightest of spaces, in some cases even when he is under a numerical disadvantage. This makes him very effective in the centre of the pitch against the teams who like to press heavily in the midfield regions.

Locatelli is also very good at switching the play. In some cases, the opponents who play narrowly gives very little space from the centre to play a ball. Locatelli, in such situations, tries to switch the play with diagonal balls to the full-backs who make overlapping runs.

Here we can see Locatelli making a run after receiving the ball in the midfield region. He scanned the pitch and had multiple passing options.
By a single pass, he broke opposition’s low block and in turn presented his teammate with a clear chance to score the important goal.

Here we see two Brescia midfielders putting pressure on Locatelli, as he tried to make a run in the forward direction. The goal was to dispossess him and start the counter.

He played the ball to his teammate as soon as the opposition players closed in. This had two major impacts, firstly the danger of losing the ball and a counter from the opposition was spoilt and secondly, he drew two Brescia players towards himself and created space for his team

Locatelli is a big threat even in the final third due to his diverse passing range. He not only breaks the line but can also play direct balls into the boxes targeting his teammates, his direct approach in the final third sometimes comes as a total shock.

Here we can see Locatelli making a dash forward and had two options upfront. He could pass it to the player in front of him but he was double marked by the opposition players, so he quickly found another option as one of his teammate was making a run into space highlighted (1/2)

Locatelli made the most of his passing skill and played the ball into the space presenting a 1vs1 situation for his teammate who then went on to score for his team (2/2)

His xA stats are gradually developing with time as he is becoming more decisive with his passing. For the last two seasons, he has exceeded his xA stat thus making him a very valued addition to the team.

In short, it is not wrong to say that Locatelli can surely play a key role in Italian football. The top clubs have already been keeping a tab on his progress. De Zerbi thinks very highly of him. Sassuolo is on the rise and Locatelli is surely a big reason behind it.

End of the thread