Luís Freitas Lobo says Benfica gem dribbles like Maradona | OneFootball

Luís Freitas Lobo analyzed the first few weeks of competition for Benfica and praised Gianluca Prestianni, whom he believes has taken on a highly prominent role in the team. The commentator describes the Argentine — who changed agents — as the new "uncontrollable electron," highlighting the way he constantly looks to create imbalance and take the initiative in attack.

"Prestianni has become the new 'uncontrollable electron.' He bursts forward, dribbles in a 'Maradona-like' way, and looks for a pass or a shot. He lifts his head on his 'low center of gravity' body and stares insolently, chin raised, at the defenders as if to say: 'I’m going to dribble past you next.' Moves that can both win games and get him into trouble with them," he wrote in the newspaper 'O Jogo'.

The commentator nevertheless believes that Prestianni’s temperament is still very much present, although it is now better directed toward the team’s overall performance: "You can feel that his untamable temperament is still very much there inside him, but now that game-changing catalyst is properly directed to the right place. And that makes the difference."

The analysis also extends to Georgiy Sudakov, who has not yet managed to live up to expectations: "The coach has given him the opportunity (to the right extent of what that means for a player, which translates into making him a starter, with confidence, for four/five consecutive games). There are moments when (for example, with a perfect first touch, cushioning at his feet a long and difficult ball) everything seems to be on the right track in that 'individual performance redemption,' but the progress then does not kick on to the high levels required."

Luís Freitas Lobo places Sudakov within the model Benfica have been using and explains the space the player can occupy with Barreiro operating as a "free 8." "With Barreiro tactically perfect coming from deep (as a 'free 8'), Sudakov’s chances of playing are in those spaces in the trio behind Pavlidis (the reference '9')." As the season moves forward and the choices become clearer, he also offers a prediction about the attacking trio that could gain greater prominence: "Games go by, players show what they are for the season, and it increasingly seems clear that that trio will be Schjelderup-Rafa-Prestianni."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.