it wasn’t true.
After going through the five stages of a wild MLS transfer — rejections, roster compliance confusion, Twitter updates, negotiations, and finally acceptance — another player from the La Liga giants has really moved to Los Angeles, right? do you want?
Of course the answer was yes. And this is the peak of his career.
LAFC’s 2022 Summer Splash Gareth Bale, ten years younger than him, Riqui Puig signed for the LA Galaxy from FC Barcelona in August. Puig never seemed to fit into the plan at Barcelona. During his time with the club, he did not play more than 600 league minutes in one season. Still, without his genuine talent, the 19-year-old wouldn’t be able to make his debut for FC his Barcelona.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Puig immediately began to show his talent. He was better than anyone else on the field, pulling the ball out of the air with one touch and commanding midfield with ease.
In the 12 games played since the Galaxy’s arrival, Puig took over the team’s offense and almost helped upset LAFC in the Conference Finals. With a full season ahead, the now 23-year-old has a chance to build on his impressive show for 2022.
Find out what makes the midfielder unique and how he can help the Galaxy win trophies.
“Riki has it”
Former FC Barcelona star and current coach Xavi, Getting poetic about Puig in 2018 After playing with teenagers, he compared his style to “the football we lived in years ago.”
“Riki has it,” Xavi said. “He’s got talent, he sees play right away, he always knows what he has to do. He’s intelligent.”
Those who watched Puig with the Galaxy last season got a glimpse of the talent.
With his superior visual and spatial awareness, Puig changed the game in MLS. He performed better than all other central midfielders in the league when it came to advancing his play to the final third and seizing chances. According to FBref, Puig is among the central midfielders in 2022. finished with.
How is this with progressive path?
Chicharito has a two-point lead #LAGalaxy! pic.twitter.com/O54MBFvt1l
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 29, 2022
Despite leading the MLS in touches per game last year and having the ability to pull off ridiculous passes like the one above, Puig isn’t in 10th place. to FBref. At Barcelona, Puig played as dual his No. 8 in his 4-3-3 formation. He reprized a similar role last year.
During possession, he was able to move around freely and find LA’s game, but mostly drifted towards the left side of center midfield. This balanced out the Galaxy with Mark Delgado playing as the right-sided No. 8 and Gaston Brugmann staying behind them as a defensive midfielder. The chart below shows a heatmap of last year’s Puig touches, courtesy of Sofascore.
For reference, here’s a heatmap of last season’s Carls Gill of the New England Revolution, one of the top 10 players in the league. Touches are spread across the width of the field.
You can remove a player from Barcelona, but you can’t remove Barcelona from a player.
Growing up watching Xavi and Andres Iniesta dominate in one of the best midfields the world has ever seen, even as LA Galaxy manager Greg Bunny gave him the keys to the castle Puig would rather create a triangle of positional play.
These triangles worked for Galaxy last season.
Puig added more value in passes per 96 minutes, according to the American Soccer Analysis goals added metric. Other MLS Players In 2022, at least 750 minutes. Puig, who roams from one side of the field to the other before drifting under the striker, may not be a traditional playmaker, but he’s as much a role as Gill or any of the league’s older-school jersey numbers. fulfill.
Puig looks a bit like Xavi, but Delgado isn’t Iniesta and Brugmann isn’t longtime Barça defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets.
In 2022, Puig has taken it upon himself to play for the Galaxy. You can’t lead the league in touches per game without occasionally stealing the ball from your teammates. Good things happen when Puig and Ball meet.
Watch clips from August’s LA vs. Toronto FC game. Puig, on the left side of midfield, teamed up with Brugmann to get back on the ball and score from outside the box to rescue the Galaxy’s point in the 89th minute. Cute combination play. And what about shot technique? Almost perfect.
Riki. PUIG. gorazo. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/Ive9JHkT20
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) September 1, 2022
In 24 games before Puig’s arrival in Los Angeles, the Galaxy averaged 1.5 goals, 13.8 shots and 1.5 xG per game, according to American Soccer Analysis. His ten-game regular since Puig joined his season topped all these stats (averaging 2.1 goals, 14.3 shooting, and 1.73 xG per game) to close out the regular season.
Puig blended technique and vision to transform the Galaxy’s offense. No other player in the MLS has had as much impact on the game as he does.
There’s more to do in LA
Puig improved the Galaxy’s offense, but the defensive situation deteriorated in the final 10 games of the regular season.
LA’s goals, shots and xG increased after Puig’s arrival, but so did their goals, shots and xG. In his first 24 games of the year, LA gave up his 1.42 goals, 11 shots and 1.27 xG per game. In his final 10 games of the year, he allowed 1.7 goals, 12.9 shots and 1.57 xG per game according to the ASA.
There are several factors involved in things like goals scored and conceded, and the trend is almost always greater than for a single player. Still, Puig is more likely to be carried around by players when it comes to defense than by carrying players around him, who ranked in his 53rd percentile for press efficiency per Second Spectrum.
Puig doesn’t attack like a true No. 10, but for most of his time on the field last year, he was positioned next to Javier “Chicharito” Hernández in the Galaxy’s 4-4-2 defensive shape.
Bunny’s team won’t be the league’s best defensive group led by Chicharito and Puig. At the very least, without a serious commitment to keeping the ball and controlling the game with possession and rest defense, the preseason should have given them time to refine their defensive approach into the new year.
Finding ways to improve defense without hindering the team’s attacking growth is a challenge for Bunny. Identifying and signing the right pieces to place around Puig is also important. cannot be
However, if the Galaxy can find the right pieces and find the right balance between offense and defense, they could be trophy-winning this season. There are some truly exceptional and unique superstars out there.
(Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
