4th place in scoring opportunities in Portugal Primeira Liga
Individual ability, forward movement, ball touch, and space penetration ability
Benfica pins left-back to show potential
Will Manchester United, suffering from an injury to the left defender, re-sign?
Benfica (Portugal) paid 6 million euros (9 billion won) to Manchester United (England) through the 2024 summer transfer market to bring in Alvaro Carreras (21, Spain) and signed a contract until June 2029.
The UEFA league rankings are 1st in England and 7th in Portugal, and the European club rankings are 12th place Benfica and 18th place Manchester United. Álvaro Carreras left behind his relationship with Manchester United, which started at the age of 17, and completely transferred to Benfica, where he played as a loan player in the second half of the 2023-24 season.
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.7f36e417f00a414db68b9929abd2136f_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="660" /> Enlarge photo Alvaro Carreras is playing against Famalicau as a Benfica loan player in the 2023-24 Portuguese professional soccer Primeira Liga away game. Photo = AFP = Provided by Yonhap News
In the 2024-25 Portuguese Primeira Liga (1st division), 1 assist in 8 games and an average of 79.9 minutes and 0.14 attack points per 90 minutes. It is amazing that he has already become the starting left-back for Benfica, ranked 12th in Europe in his early 20s, but if you look at the detailed data, you can see amazing performances that cannot be seen through attack points alone.
According to Opta Sports, a global statistics company covering 70 countries and 30 sports, Álvaro Carreras is at the top of the Portuguese first division this season, including ▲4th in goal chance making, ▲10th in crosses entering the penalty box, and ▲10th in total forward passes. It’s a sudden attack.
The advantages of side defenders, who are less subject to opposition checks, are being maximized through overlapping. Even if you expand the scope to all positions, including △9th most single advancements and 10th most number of ball touches, it is a top-class individual ability in the 2024-25 Primeira Liga.
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.074d13109f904206be852e4868015fa6_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="468" /> Enlarge photo Alvaro Carreras (No. 3) is facing Hwang In-beom of Payenoord (Netherlands) in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League Benfica home game. The Netherlands is 6th in the European league rankings, and Payenoord is 24th in the European club rankings. Photo = REUTERS = Provided by Yonhap News
Above all, it is worth noting that Alvaro Carreras, who is only 21 years old, is recording the sixth most forward passes received in the Portuguese first division this season.
▲In addition to being able to launch a threatening attack alone, △spatial perception and situational awareness of points where the defense is loose △timing judgment on when it is most effective to dig in △blocking the opponent’s forward passes, which are more difficult to receive than those going to the side or backwards. This means that the technique of shaking off the ball and using it with your own ball is at the highest level in Primeira Liga.
Manchester United seems to have known that the role that suits Alvaro Carreras best is left-back. In the 2021-22 season, he played 83.3% of the playing time as a left defender with 1 goal, 2 assists, and 0.50 attack points per 90 minutes in 6 full-time games in the UEFA Youth League in European club competitions under the age of 19.
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.800d3a221cb848739bd534aeaf6d8c25_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="440" /> Enlarge photo Alvaro Carreras (right) passes while being checked by Payenoord in Benfica’s home game in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League. Photo = EPA = Provided by Yonhap News
However, this was not the case for the teams that Manchester United sent out on loan afterwards. At Preston North End in the 2022-23 English Championship (Second Division), he played as a left wingback and recorded 4 assists in 39 games and an average of 68.0 minutes and 0.14 attack points per 90 minutes.
In the first half of 2023-24, Spanish La Liga (1st division) Granada only gave opportunities for an average of 36.4 minutes in 13 games, and did not fix positions, such as ▲left midfielder 61.3% ▲left back 21.3% ▲left wing 17.4%.
‘Uzogu’, one of Portugal’s three major sports newspapers, reported, “When Manchester United handed over Alvaro Carreras to Benfica, they included a buy-back clause that would allow them to secure priority negotiating rights if they offered more than a certain amount.”
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.11d7dab052564416aa9ff1032ac03686_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="660" /> Enlarge photo Alvaro Carreras (No. 3) kick scene from the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League match against Benfica Payenoord. Photo = REUTERS = Provided by Yonhap News
In the first half of 2024-25, Manchester United’s two specialist left defenders have not played a single minute. 2021-22 UEFA Conference League All-Star Tyrrell Malasia (25, Netherlands) has been suffering from a knee injury since July 2023.
The Conference League is a UEFA third-tier club competition next to the Champions League and Europa League. 2014/2021 English Premier League (EPL) Best 11 Luke Shaw (29, England) was unable to train due to his poor knee until the middle of last month.
Uzogo is not ruling out the possibility of a return to Manchester United, citing Alvaro Carreras as one of the candidates for left-back recruitment in the January 2025 transfer window. If it becomes a reality, it is highly likely that he will make his debut in the English Premier League, having previously only been on the waiting list for replacement five times.
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.ac63468f87014a14adbff0527940d05d_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="660" /> Enlarge photo Alvaro Carreras is delighted with his Benfica teammate’s goal against Payenoord in the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League. Photo = EPA = Provided by Yonhap News
Álvaro Carreras Top 10 Primeira Liga
* Hereinafter 2024-25 season
4th place in scoring opportunity creation
6th place in forward pass receiving
8th in goal chances created per 90 minutes
9th place in personal ability advancement
10th place in penalty box cross
10th most forward passes
10th place in number of ball touches
news/cms/202411/02/news-p.v1.20241101.0e6cc4dba0e44d4388c5a32c70eff142_R.png" data-width="660" data-height="451" /> Enlarge photo Álvaro Carreras (No. 3) links up with his Benfica teammate to beat Gilles Vicente’s defense during a home game in the 2024-25 Portuguese Primeira Liga. Photo = REUTERS = Provided by Yonhap News
[강대호 MK스포츠 기자]
