Benjamin Pavard is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for the Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Julian Nagelsmann would be keen to keep Benjamin Pavard in Munich, as he is an excellent coach who is known for his ability to get the best out of his players. With Benjamin Pavard, he will have a proven defender who is comfortable playing in multiple positions, which will provide the German tactician with the flexibility to adjust his tactics to suit the opposition. The French international is one of the most promising young defenders in the world. His versatility and ability to play both as a full–back and centre-back make him an invaluable asset. He joined the club after his heroics in the World Cup and is now known as one of the best in his position. He has made 21 appearances this season and has made a total of four goal contributions. Below are some of his stats for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga this season.
The above viz shows the percentile rank of the players in comparison to other right-backs in the league. He has more contributions on the possession and passing sides and holds a high percentile rank. He has good passing vision and is also ranked highly for accurate passes. Although he ranks low in the offensive departments, he compensates heavily by contributing to defence and possession for his side. Benjamin Pavard has made 21 appearances for his side this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
Benjamin Pavard in attack
This season, he has scored three goals from open play on a total of 17 shots. The player averages 0.87 shots per 90 minutes in the 2022–23 Bundesliga season and has an accuracy rate of 47%. The xG map above shows that the Frenchman has taken most of the shots from outside the penalty box. He scored his goals on a short-range effort and likes to shoot from central areas. He has taken 17 shots, of which eight have been on target.
Creative ability
Benjamin Pavard makes 76.4 passes per 90 with 91% accuracy. Additionally, he makes 7.94 passes into the final third on average. He makes 27.88 forward passes with 85% accuracy per 90 minutes. He provides a trustworthy option on the right flank and brings composure and stability to the team. He makes progressive passes as well and makes contributions by making central and through passes to the midfielders. Most of his forward pass action can be seen on the right flank, where he makes passes into the box from the centre, averaging 2.67 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes.
He has made a total of 54 penetrating carries, as seen in the second visual, and is extremely efficient in making runs into the box and creating an attacking threat. He averages 1.18 touches in the penalty area per 90.
Solid in defence
As a right back, the Frenchman’s defensive gameplay is top-notch. From the viz above, we can see that his average position along the defensive line is well within his own half. He has made most of the interceptions within the defensive third and inside his own box, which has been crucial for his team on numerous occasions. The player makes 11.43 recoveries and 5.79 interceptions per match. Furthermore, he contests 5.95 defensive duels with a win rate of 72.4%. As for aerial duels, the full-back contests 3.8 per match with a 61% win rate. He has given up one foul inside the box and averages 0.8 fouls per 90 minutes on the pitch.
Benjamin Pavard vs Joao Cancelo
The above viz is a representation of the passes made by the French right-back in the last two Bundesliga seasons, and the second viz represents the ones made by Joao Cancelo in his 2022–23 season. It can be seen that most of Benjamin Pavard’s work rate is again on the right flank and in the middle third of the pitch. Whereas, Joao Cancel was deployed down the left by Pep Guardiola in Manchester City. They possess fine passing ability in terms of passes attempted and pass accuracy. Their vision and positioning are key factors for their side, and they create plenty of attacking threats with their ability to provide accurate passes into the box.
Overall, the Frenchman recently scored two goals in a 5-3 win over Augsburg, in which both he and Cancelo featured. In terms of numbers, Benjamin Pavard has appeared in 21 matches with Nagelsmann and has scored three goals and provided one assist. Whereas, Joao Cancelo, who recently made the move from Manchester City, have made five appearances under the manager and has managed to score one goal and provide two assists.
The coach may have found a solution to deploying all his attacking options in the win as Benjamin Pavard proved to be crucial for the team. He has plenty of experience playing at the highest level. This would be invaluable to Nagelsmann, who is looking to find a squad capable of winning the Champions League.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
