Alex Grimaldo has been one of the most in-demand left-backs since his days at Benfica. After graduating from Barcelona’s youth academy, the Spaniard decided to leave the club in search of game time. In 2016, he joined Benfica and made a name for himself in Portugal. He spent eight seasons at the club and won four league titles. The 28-year-old decided to take up a new challenge and joined Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
The Spaniard is an attacking full-back and offers a lot of quality. He joined Xabi Alonso at Leverkusen, and the team sits at the top of the league table. They are on a different side from what they used to be in the past and are getting the results. Let’s take a look at what Alex Grimaldo has added to the attack on Leverkusen.
Quality on the ball
Alex Grimaldo is a specialist when it comes to set-pieces and is not shy about taking shots at the opposition goal. He is a regular player in Alonso’s squad and already has five goals in all competitions. Of these five goals, three came in nine league appearances and two in three Champions League outings.
Averaging 1.83 shots per 90 minutes, Grimaldo has taken 20 shots, and eight have been on target. He has scored three goals from outside the box, including a free-kick against Bayern Munich.
An offensive full-back is always around the corner to deliver a key pass into the opposition penalty box. Grimaldo averages 51.6 passes per 90 minutes and has an accuracy rate of 86%. These include 3.12 passes to the opposition penalty box. The 28-year-old has created 12 shot assist chances, and three have been converted by a teammate.
This is how Grimaldo likes to progress with the ball. Most of his progressive runs start in the defensive half and end on the edge of the final third. Grimaldo likes to take wide positions and wait for the ball around the corner post. He then attempts dribbling to get past the opposition and deliver a pass or two into the penalty box.
Defending goal
Defensively, Leverkusen have been very tight and have not leaked a lot of goals. Grimaldo is not a very good defender but does his work whenever he is needed. The player has won 52.7% of his defensive duels. He makes 3.57 interceptions per 90 minutes and covers a lot of areas on the field.
Best left-back in the top five leagues?
The above pizza chart shows the percentile rank of Grimaldo in comparison to other left-wing backs in the top five leagues. Grimaldo is ranked highly for attempting passes and delivering them. His dangerous pass rank is also on the higher side. Other than this, the player has a lot of contributions for goals, and that makes him one of the best-attacking full-backs. Grimaldo will look to improve his defensive performance.
Alex Grimaldo will look to dethrone Bayern Munich from the top of the table. They are dominating the league, and Leverkusen are the top contenders to win the Bundesliga.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine