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A thread on my new favourite, Raphinha. Whilst I agree with my @AllStatsArentWe contributors that Bielsa picked him on the left against Brighton for defensive reason, I'm not sure how much I think it's worth doing this, given that the best we've seen from him is on the right.
We did get to see him take a man's soul against Brighton in this one v one situation, but I feel this position is better suited to Harrison as Raphinha has a lot more to his game to create from deeper and central areas. https://twitter.com/i/status/1351925682260107264
As you can see from this map - whilst he's happy to go to the byline, the majority of the chances he's created in open play this season have been from the right half-space, just outside the box. He only has one open-play assist but this is not his fault.
As you can see here, it's his cross to Rodrigo that makes Bamford's equaliser against Newcastle. Here he is in a position where he can come inside and whip dangerous inswinging balls into the area. The fullback knows what he wants to do but can't stop it. https://twitter.com/i/status/1351925815999664129
This one was a proper 'how has he not scored that?!' moment. In this case Raphinha was able to carry the ball from deep and take the ball towards the centre on his strong foot, picking the perfect pass that should have been buried. https://twitter.com/i/status/1351925949126864897
Had he been on the left, I don't think this would have panned out in the same way at all as he wouldn't have had the angle to play that pass.
Another one that I couldn't believe didn't end in a goal. I love how he shows his ability as a presser here, stealing the ball away from Taylor and then leaving Ben Mee in the dust. In this case the fact that he's dribbling with his strong left foot is key https://twitter.com/i/status/1351926024334954500
He's able to protect the ball from being taken by Mee by quickly shuffling it away from him and then again picks the perfect pass which he can't believe isn't buried.
The other thing he can do from the right is create from deep. Raphinha is far more than a classic winger. As several people have now highlighted, he has a touch of the Di Maria's about him. As Leeds tend to build from the right his passing can be a real weapon.
As our left winger tends to have a much higher starting position, as well as his left foot being far the stronger, put Raphinha on the right and you lose this https://twitter.com/i/status/1351926122380976136
Both of those chances may well have ended in goals, particularly the one which Hernandez skied over the bar. Yes, Harrison is left-footed but he doesn't have the vision or technique to pass like this. So far all I've seen from Harrison on the right is cutting inside to shoot.
And if we're going to have somebody cut inside to shoot from the right, it really might as well be Raphinha, given that he's far better at dipping the shoulder and creating the clear space to unleash one... https://twitter.com/i/status/1351926260646219778
As I said at the start of this thread, I understand that Solly March was a perceived threat for Brighton, but I really feel that Raphinha is far too good on the right to be moved away from there.
I wrote a whole series about replacing Hernandez last summer and I was looking for CMs in doing so, but I feel that with Raphinha Leeds have got the replacement for him, just the version of him which played on the right, drifting inside to create.
With Raphinha on the right I feel Leeds could have the option of going with 3 more solid midfielders and not lose anything creatively. He'd create from the right half-space, with Ayling providing width.
Basically, I love him, but I *really* love him on the right.
