He Villarreal is one of the best teams in La Liga after the break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Yellow Submarine, beyond the game, has won four of the five games it has played (tied with Sevilla at home) and has gotten into a fight for the UEFA Champions League qualifying spots. A major surprise because the level shown before the break has exponentially improved (it came from losing three games consecutively). And one of the reasons for the performance of Javi Calleja’s team is the great shape that Gerard Moreno is showing. One of the best strikers in La Liga.
Gerard Moreno has had a sensational impact in these five games that Villarreal has played after the break. Beyond his two goals and one assist, his participation in Villarreal’s offensive performance is vital to generate advantages, break lines and unbalance. As a second reference, the Spanish is free to move through all the lanes of the field, with the intention of providing receptions in different areas and giving him that bit of quality necessary to make a difference against rival defensive blocks.
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His match against Valencia, mainly the first half, are the ideal example of the aforementioned, Gerard Moreno was a key player moving on more delayed steps, receiving face to face on many occasions (far from the area) but adding records that give continuity Villarreal attack and aggressiveness in the center lane, which they need to generate escape routes on the sides. A determining role both in the construction of the play and in the last area of it. Taking into account that the Yellow Submarine has a striker who participates little in other heights of the play (Paco Alcacer). His statistics against Valencia show the aforementioned:
Gerard Moreno (vs Valencia) stats by SofaScore:
-80 minutes played
-56 touches of ball
-1 goal
-1 assistance
-31 precise passes (86% effective)
-2 key passes
-9 duels won
-7 fouls received
Despite the fact that we still have to wait to see where Villarreal will be (5th with 51 points, four less than Sevilla), Gerard Moreno has become one of the proper names of La Liga, being one of the maximum competition scorers and one of the Spanish with the most goals, tying with Iago Aspas with 12. The Spanish is asking for the leap in quality from an elite team.
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