Julian Brandt has enjoyed a successful season in the Bundesliga this year, having scored five goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances. The 26–year–old attacker has been an integral part of the Borussia Dortmund squad, providing much-needed creativity and flair going forward. Brandt’s success can be attributed to a number of factors. He has been playing in a system that has allowed him to flourish. Dortmund have been playing in a 4-3-3 formation this season, which has allowed Brandt to get forward and use his speed and dribbling ability to take on defenders and create goalscoring opportunities. Brandt’s technical ability has also been a major factor in his success this season. He is comfortable on the ball and often looks to play one-twos with his teammates to create space for himself. He is also very creative with his passing, often looking to play through balls or slide passes into the final third. Below, we look at some of his stats from the current season.
Overall performance
The viz above shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other attacking midfielders in the German top flight for the 2022–23 season. He has played 19 matches for his club. Brandt ranks in the top 80 percentile for his possession stats. Other areas where the player does well include goal contribution and passes per 90. He also ranks well in winning defensive and aerial duels and making regains in the opponent’s half.
Brandt in 2021/22
He has made a significant improvement in terms of winning defensive duels this season compared to last. He has found a major improvement in terms of average shots, dribbles, and touches in the penalty area and ranks much higher this season. He scored a total of nine goals and provided eight assists in the Bundesliga 2021/22 season for Dortmund. Julian Brandt has shown much more growth and improvement in the current season as compared to the previous season. It remains to be seen if he can match his overall goal contributions in terms of goals and assists from last season.
In front of the goal
Brandt is a crucial part of his side’s attack. In the 2022–23 German top flight, Brandt has played 19 matches. He has ten shots on target from a total of 19 and has scored five goals (1.42 xG). Most of his goals have come from inside and around the six-yard box, along with a few outstanding shots on goal from outside the box. He averages 1.15 shots per 90 minutes with 73.1% accuracy. Brandt has the fine technical ability to take powerful shots and has displayed the same on the pitch quite often this season.
Creative ability
The above viz is a representation of shot assists for Julian Brandt. With four assists, he has an xA of 4.99 for the matches played. He averages 0.24 assists in the current season and makes 2.06 shot assists per 90. Most of the actions have been taken inside the box, with some in the final third. He makes 2.9 passes into the final third per 90 with an accuracy rate of 70.8%. Also, he averages 3.26 passes into the penalty area with a pass accuracy of 48.9%.
Attacking threat
The visual above shows Brandt’s actions as a winger for Dortmund in 2022/23. He has shown promise whenever he has been on the pitch for his team. The 26-year-old can take on players and has played some crosses into the box as well. He has taken part in an average of 7.49 offensive duels per game, winning 38.7% of them. He has also played 2.48 crosses into the box on average. He attempts 3.45 dribbles per 90 minutes and is successful in 54.4% of his attempts. Additionally, he makes 1.99 progressive runs on average.
Pressure up the pitch
In terms of pressure on the pitch, he moves up and down the field and has a good work rate. He has made interceptions in his own half as well as near the final third. He has 14.99 duels per 90, with a success rate of 51%. He makes 2.3 interceptions per 90 minutes, compared to 5.14 recoveries in the opposition half. As depicted above, Brandt has made more than 25 recoveries and high regains this season, next to seven dangerous recoveries. Out of his 35 counter-pressing recoveries, two have taken place in the box next to one dangerous recovery in that area.
In conclusion, Julian Brandt has enjoyed a successful season in the Bundesliga this year thanks to his technical ability, his work rate and determination, and the system he has been playing in. He has been a crucial part of Dortmund‘s attack this season and will be hoping to continue his form into the rest of the season.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
