7 | Joao Cancelo - 2022/23 Performances

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sir baconface said:
Great post, mate. I’ve rated him from day one and argued in his first season for him to get more playing time. I won’t ever crow about it, though, because I don’t always get these things right.

Some say he’s a poor defender but he actually isn‘t. It’s one of those stock phrases that get bleated out without always thinking. He’s unorthodox, for which the downside is occasionally getting caught out, but fcuk me, look at his overall contribution. And his lapses are fewer than some people say.

He reminds me a little of watching Brazil’s flying fullbacks back in the day when Dog and Duck cloggers were the norm over here. Like them, he’s such an exciting player to watch.
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I think in some ways both arguments are correct and have a bit of validity, but a bit like with TAA its whether the positives outweigh the negatives.

Salah tore him apart at Anfield for both goals and he has a tendency to try and ‘tackle’ with the wrong foot. Similarly he was 2 yards behind the rest of the defence to play Benzema onside for Real Madrids equaliser at the Bernabeu. So the questions will always be there against the top clubs/players is he good enough to undertake the more routine defending, if we fail to control the possession of the ball, which is a method of defending he excels at.

I can see both arguments. Personally I love watching him, so its a yes from me but can also say I worry more about his one on one defending than say Kyle Walker.
 
Cancelo is great going forward. And is mostly a huge asset to our side.

Too, Cancelo is good at tackles and often wins the ball back.

He's not without fault though.

His defense is lacking at times. Either he's positionally wrong - or he doesn't cut off a cross when he should.

Too, he's unnecessarily petulant. Often he'll commit a foul, obviously so, but then he'll argue and argue the point with the ref and earn a yellow for dissension.
 
Now that Cancelo has turned into one of the first names on the team sheet, surely it's time for a song.
Liam Gallagher tweeted the Eiffel 65 song Blue, after the derby win, how about this to the words

He's blue and he plays on the right, joao cancelo
He's blue and he plays on the right

He's blue and he plays on the left joao cancelo
He's blue and he plays on the left
(and repeat)

simple and catchy
 
One of the best attacking players I've seen in my near on 50 yrs of watching City.
Full back he is not
 
He's an absolutely phenomenal player and would be considered one of the best players in the league if he didn't play with Erling and KDB.

In reality he is probably the best full back of the Premier League era.
 
Tackles:

Cancelo 18
Rodri 9
Walker 2

Interceptions:

Cancelo 14 (20 % of all City interceptions in the PL)
Walker 4

Aerial battles won:

Rodri 24
Dias 23
Cancelo 20
Walker 7

One will be hard pressed to find a FB with better defensive (!) stats in the league than Cancelo, provided one takes into account that City defend only 30% of the games, and not 50 or 60%. Cancelo wins more duels than any FB. He makes mistakes and is far from perfect, but the same holds for virtually all defenders. It's not like Walker hasn't cost us goals in big games.

Walker at his best is probably the only defender in the world who can deal with Mbappe, Neymar and Vinicius Jr. He's the best defensive FB. But we don't need two defensive FBs. Our build-up play would be worse for it. Walker and Cancelo complement each other perfectly. Hopefully, both will be fit in the final months of the season.
 
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