Giay leads Palmeiras in tackles as he fights for starting spot | OneFootball

Agustín Giay stands out at Palmeiras as one of the defensive references and leads an important team statistic in this season of the Brazilian Championship. According to Sofascore, the right-back has the highest average of tackles per game in the squad, with 2.5.

The Argentine, therefore, is ahead of Gustavo Gómez (2.1) and Felipe Anderson (2.1), showing his consistency and intensity in protecting the alviverde defense.

Despite leading defensive statistics, the 21-year-old has faced direct competition from Khellven for the position. Since the arrival of the 24-year-old right-back in this transfer window, Abel Ferreira has rotated between the two. In the last four games, each started as a starter twice, and in some matches, there was a substitution of one right-back for the other during the second half.

Giay was a starter in the matches against Ceará and Universitario-PER, playing 90 minutes in the first game and the full time in the second. In the match against Botafogo, Khellven started among the 11, but Giay returned in the second half. In the 3-0 victory over Sport, Khellven started and was replaced by Giay at 39 minutes, reinforcing the rotation that Abel Ferreira has been applying to the team.

In the last classic against Corinthians, Khellven was chosen to start the match, while Giay was on the bench.

Since taking the starting position this year, Giay has played 34 out of the 52 possible matches. With the departure of Mayke and Marcos Rocha — negotiated with Santos and Grêmio —, the right-back has consolidated his place in the squad and has been standing out not only in defense but also in offensive construction, contributing with support on the flanks.

Next Palmeiras Match

Palmeiras returns to the field this Saturday at 6:30 PM at Allianz Parque against Internacional, for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The expectation is that the competition between Giay and Khellven will remain fierce, with Abel Ferreira evaluating the best choice to start the classic.

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