Since his arrival at Benfica, the Brazilian midfielder has been the target of a bag of mixed emotions. With Rui Vitória we saw a lethargic player, and with Bruno Lage, we saw a super Gabriel.
I’d say that the midfield duo that allowed Gabriel to really show his full talent was with Samaris during the Bruno Lage years.
While Gabriel was dropping between lines to help in the first phase of our offense, he had Samaris alongside him who was more focused on the defensive side of the ball. And when he occupied space further up the pitch, the Greek midfielder was capable of at least delaying the counterattack, or, was intelligent enough to foul.
This season, Jorge Jesus is trying to turn Gabriel into something he isn’t – a holding midfielder who is responsible for that first pass out of the back, while also being that last barrier protecting our central defenders.
For Rangers’ first goal on Thursday, we saw Gabriel’s defensive frailties.
The play begins before the midfield line, and given Gabriel’s positioning, he had every possibility to anticipate the pass. At the very least, he could have stayed with the player to delay his pass, or, you stop the play with a foul, just stay on your feet to hopefully avoid a yellow card. Instead, he lost the battle, and from there, we witnessed a chain reaction of amateur errors.
Below is an image of Gabriel’s positioning on that pass that begins the play to the opening goal. With a bit more focus and anticipation, he should have been breathing down the players neck before he even got that pass. There was no other blue shirt around him.
What was even worse is how Gabriel finishes this play.
Helton came up with a brilliant reaction save, Vertonghen somehow had cement in his boots and lost the aerial duel, and in between all of this chaos, Gabriel had his bag of popcorn in hand as he watched this all unfold right before his eyes. Him and Chiquinho managed to pretty much stay in the same damn spot from the moment the ball was crossed into the box, until it was knocked into the back of the net.
After all that, ten minutes or so later, he got caught flat footed again.
Benfica loses the ball on our right side further up the pitch, he anticipates the pass and cuts off some of the space, but stopped moving his feet. The Rangers player just changed his pace, and walked right by him. Gabriel tried to pull his shirt, and then eventually went to ground and earned himself a yellow card.
Given his anticipation of the pass, he got himself into a good position, but when you’re flat footed and don’t really have that gritty defensive mindset, it makes things very difficult.
Worst part about that yellow card is that when he tackles the Rangers player, Chiquinho had already recovered and dropped into the space.
I do want to point out one thing – I’m a big fan of Gabriel. Technically I think he’s very good, and his passing vision and ranger are far above average. But, when you try to reinvent the wheel as Jorge Jesus is doing, this is what happens.
The issue isn’t necessarily his, it’s who puts him there.
For me, Gabriel has to be in the starting XI if he’s fit given our current squad, but he needs the right pieces around him. Playing as a deep midfielder with no other defensive help in the center of the park is a death wish, and, Jorge Jesus is leaving him out to dry.
Looking at the options, Samaris or Weigl have to play in the middle with Gabriel to give him a bit more freedom to do what he’s good at. What he’s not good at is defending, occupying space, anticipating the next play, etc.. Problem with those two defensive options is that Samaris wasn’t registered at least for the Europa League group stage, and rumor has it that Weigl could be on his way out.
Until Jorge Jesus corrects this issue in the center of the park, fans will continue to point the finger at the central defenders, when in reality, the problem begins further up the pitch.
