With a highly anticipated transfer to Bayer Leverkusen this past window, Alejandro Grimaldo has thus far displayed key qualities which have led to many regarding him as the ‘bargain of the summer’. Having just achieved his fourth Portuguese league title with Benfica, Grimaldo has brought a wealth of experience to Xabi Alonso‘s side. He has subsequently earned his maiden international cap with Spain with his world-class performances this season.
This scout report and tactical analysis will provide an analysis of how Grimaldo has slotted into this new-look Leverkusen side’s tactics, with his performances at both ends of the pitch propelling the team to the top of the Bundesliga.
Attacking phase
Since signing for the German outfit, it would appear that Grimaldo has fit into Alonso’s 3-4-3 system like a glove, operating as the left-sided wing-back. This has complemented the elite wing-back play that right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong initially spearheaded in previous seasons. The evolution of Leverkusen’s style and tactics in the second year of Alonso’s project has played right into the hands of Grimaldo- establishing dominance of the ball for longer periods and being more progressive in attack, with creative metrics and the quality of chances made growing since the start of this season.
In the attacking phase of play, Grimaldo occupies areas high and wide on the left side of the pitch, almost resembling a winger at times. His advanced positioning causes a dilemma for the opposition, with defenders in two minds as to whether to follow him wider towards the touchline or leave him isolated and focus on the advanced central attacking players.
Interchanging roles
When drawing defenders out wide, Grimaldo creates the opportunity for Leverkusen’s number 8s like Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios to have more comfortability in the middle of the field, with more space to operate and dictate play whilst looking for a killer ball in behind. In addition, should the opposition midfielders look to create a defensive overload by gravitating towards Grimaldo in an attempt to win possession, this then allows the attacking-minded Florian Wirtz to have increased area to exploit and look to break the lines using his pace and technical capabilities.
While most of his play comes from the left flank, Grimaldo also possesses the attacking intelligence of a winger when he knows how he can affect play with his attacking movement inverting into central areas or even key positioning inside the opposition’s penalty area. As Florian Wirtz and Jonas Hofmann are number 10s who look to operate centrally and can come deeper to get the ball, Grimaldo is afforded the freedom of the left flank to build up play effectively and execute his creative abilities. However, when his teammates drift wider to collect the ball or create goalscoring opportunities, he can utilise the half spaces in the attacking third and create an additional attacking outlet, often on the edge of or within the opponent’s box.
Grimaldo’s offensive role within this Leverkusen system is supported by the defensive solidity behind him and the recognition that he can progress forward without the left side of defence being totally overloaded in transition. This comes from a well-oiled partnership between Alex Grimaldo and the left centre-back, usually the youthful Piero Hincapie or the more experienced Edmond Tapsoba. Both possess the defensive capabilities to cover the left flank, progress between the lines, and find passing outlets, such as Grimaldo, to be direct in their playmaking. Additionally, having played as a defensive full-back under previous management, Piero Hincapie offers additional support with the use of overlapping runs to create further problems for defenders and allowing Grimaldo to invert and assist his central midfielders.
Defensive phase
Despite his attacking prowess, Xabi Alonso has also recognised Grimaldo’s elite defensive capabilities and adjusted his style accordingly. In an attempt to not be too isolated should they turnover possession, Grimaldo has more of a defensive focus compared to Frimpong on the opposite flank. His experience playing as a left-back for Benfica has been valued once Leverkusen lose possession. In the event of losing the ball, Alonso has transformed his side into a gegenpressing monster- operating as a proactive pressing unit in order to win the ball back high up the pitch.
This includes a variety of styles but, most importantly, maintaining a man-orientated aggressive pressing system with the ability to adapt should the opposition bypass their initial efforts. Grimaldo is tasked with pressing high and wide up the pitch, closing down the opposition’s full-backs to deny the time and space they would need to progress the ball, aiming to influence accurate decision-making and force mistakes.
Grimaldo’s 0.59 tackles in the attacking third per 90 would be a testament to this, highlighting his desire to turn over possession in dangerous areas for the opposing side. Much like its influence on the offensive side of the game, his wide positioning, pinning the players to the touchline, allows his holding midfielders and playmakers to suffocate the opposition by overloading the centre of the pitch, negating passing options. This then means that Grimaldo can deny the opposition from switching play effectively, resulting in difficult long passes with a greater chance of his teammates regaining possession.
How they are set up
Leverkusen’s defensive shape can be moulded in a multitude of ways, depending on team selection and game scenarios. In and out of possession, despite functioning within a dynamic 3-4-3 for most of the time, Grimaldo can adopt a more familiar full-back role in order to form a 4-man defensive line as shown below: with the likes of Odilon Kossounou sliding across to cover the space vacated by Frimpong. This allows Frimpong to utilise his offensive skills in a 4-2-4 but also means he has defensive support should they lose the ball.
Despite this, with defensive solidity in mind, both Grimaldo and Frimpong can drop deeper to formulate a 5-4-1 or 5-2-3, creating an almost impenetrable back 5, which has been one of the many factors contributing to their unbeaten season thus far.
Grimaldo’s strengths
One of Grimaldo’s key strengths would have to be his elite ball-striking, supported by his impressive seven-goal tally in the Bundesliga so far. He has displayed a variety of goalscoring methods, whether utilising his intelligent attacking movement to become a scoring outlet from open play or even exploiting his incredible technique from dead-ball scenarios. Having opened his account for the season with an inch-perfect free-kick against previous champions Bayern Munich, Grimaldo has taken advantage of space created by Wirtz and Hofmann with shooting opportunities in and around the 18-yard box.
Another impressive aspect of Grimaldo’s game would be his creative tendencies and ability to form meaningful opportunities- which has only been further enhanced since joining this dynamic Leverkusen side. With 0.92 goal-creating actions per 90, Grimaldo has utilised his passing range to support the attacking styles of his teammates, whether it be threading through balls from central areas in behind the defensive line or displaying his impressive crossing from the left flank.
This has been evident when linking up with physical striker Victor Boniface, with whipped crosses to take advantage of the Nigerian’s aerial prowess and drive low balls into the feet of on-rushing attackers. As previously mentioned, his dead-ball speciality also becomes an essential aspect of shot-creation from the right-hand side- with his in-swinging corner delivery proving to be dangerous for opposition defences due to its accuracy in picking out the likes of central defender Jonathan Tah.
Areas of weakness
Despite his well-rounded nature and overall solidity, one facet of Grimaldo’s game that would appear to be weaker than most would have to be his aerial duels. Standing at 5’7″, he finds himself being taken advantage of in the air, especially when going up against larger attacking players in the Bundesliga this season. While he can be afforded more aerial support from his covering central defenders, he has been left isolated aerially when Leverkusen defended with Grimaldo acting as the out-and-out left-back. Although this has been left unpunished so far, 26.7% of aerial duels won this season, representing the lowest for full-backs in the Bundesliga- highlighting a major avenue for opposing attackers to exploit this hardened defensive unit.
Grimaldo and his aforementioned ability to execute the pressing style required by an Alonso player has, for the most part, been very successful. At the same time, the aggressive nature of his defensive style also includes some obvious drawbacks- with him being bypassed by either a pass or dribble being observed on some occasions. It can be understood that this intense style of press is very high-risk and high-reward. Still, Grimaldo is often supported by the holding midfielders and covering central defenders to negate a potential counterattack.
Conclusion
Although we are only a few months into the season, this analysis has displayed why Leverkusen has shot into Bundesliga title contention and appears to be the closest challenger to ending Bayern’s reign in Germany. Alex Grimaldo’s world-class performances have reiterated that he belongs at the highest stage and was just the man that Xabi Alonso needed to bolster his exciting and dynamic Leverkusen team. With further time to understand connections and develop partnerships with his teammates, it can be expected that Grimaldo’s elite wing-back play can establish himself as one of the greatest in European football.
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