25 | Manuel Akanji - 2022/23 Performances

[bluemystery]

Said it before and will say it again - bargain of the season

 

[Withnail]

His performance levels since Bayern at home have been nothing short of outstanding. Take a bow Txiki and only cost £15m.

 

[Irishblue93]

I think he starts ahead of ake in the final

 

[Dax777]

I think he starts ahead of ake in the final

Yeah, at this point you dance with the one who brought you here

 

[Gray]

Yeah, at this point you dance with the one who brought you here

What a lovely saying, do you mind if I borrow it?

 

[Gabriel]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching him this season. At the end of last season, especially after the collapse in Madrid, I thought we were missing 3 key ingredients: a goal scorer, defensive legs in the middle of the park, and genuine aggression in the back line. For me, he's the most aggressive of the central defenders, albeit not as demonstrative as Dias, and his solidity has allowed Rodri and Stones to think more about driving us forward. We'll need the 'Matterhorn' against Internazionale.

 

[decmancity]

For me, he's the most aggressive of the central defenders

Interesting. I see it the complete opposite way. For a big lad he doesn't seem to use his strength a lot, in particular in the air he is really quite poor sometimes.

 

[Gabriel]

Interesting. I see it the complete opposite way. For a big lad he doesn't seem to use his strength a lot, in particular in the air he is really quite poor sometimes.

I don’t think any of our defenders are particularly strong in the air, as was evidenced by the carnage in our box when we visited Goodison recently. Ake is arguably the best defensive header.However, I think Akanji has incredible upper body strength and isn’t frightened to mix it when needed. In our recent game against Fulham, for example, he came inside a bit more and picked up Vinicius who had been causing Dias problems.

It will be interesting to see which players are used in Istanbul, as Dzeko and Lukaku are still a physical handful.

 

[FromPollockToSilva]

Interesting. I see it the complete opposite way. For a big lad he doesn't seem to use his strength a lot, in particular in the air he is really quite poor sometimes.

I think “aggressive” as in defending on the front foot. He’s happier getting really tight on opponents and trying to step in front and nick the ball, and he’s quicker to dive into a challenge than the other central defenders, for better or worse

 

[Mon Autre]

I think “aggressive” as in defending on the front foot. He’s happier getting really tight on opponents and trying to step in front and nick the ball, and he’s quicker to dive into a challenge than the other central defenders, for better or worse

Love the guy but wish he'd done that against Rashford at OT though.