The 2023/2024 edition of the Women’s Champions League has been one filled with surprises and topics for further discussion, from the early qualifying exits of continental heavyweights like Wolfsburg Frauen and Juventus Femminile to the elongated stay in the competition of sides like Ajax Vrouwen and Benfica Feminino.
In the case of the latter, their progression to the knockout rounds is another sign of their growth as a club, with them constantly playing with clarity on the field and quickly establishing a reputation as one of Europe’s most formidable sides to come up against in the women’s game. Whilst that is down in no small part to the unity demonstrated by the whole squad, there are a few individual players who have stood out, and one that has caught the eye this season is Marie-Yasmine Alidou. Since signing for the Lisbon club from league rivals Famalicão Feminino last summer, she has quickly made a name for herself as one of Benfica’s most dangerous players and is someone who always poses a threat when the ball is at her feet.
The consistency with which she has played has led to admiring glances from fans from across Europe and beyond and led to calls from fans of the Canadian national team for her to be included in their squad for the ongoing Concacaf W Gold Cup. Whilst head coach Bev Priestman initially resisted those demands, with her indicating that she already had a vast array of options in the forward positions, she did indicate that Alidou was first reserve, and she was eventually brought into the camp following an injury to Manchester United Women defender Jayde Riviere.
This tactical analysis will take a closer look at just why Alidou is rated so highly by so many, breaking down the 28-year-old’s performances for Benfica and highlighting why she has been the perfect fit for their tactics. The scout report will also show where she could fit into Canada’s system if Priestman were to turn to her now or in the future, with the quality of her play meaning that her first appearance for the national team since her debut against Spain in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup cannot be too far away if it hasn’t happened already.
Creating options
The first thing to note about Marie-Yasmine Alidou is that, whilst she is now primarily used in the forward line for Benfica, she has mainly featured as a midfielder during her career, tasked with progressing the ball around the field and helping to control the central third. Therefore, she has needed to undergo a period of adaptation since making the move to the Campeonato Nacional Feminino’s defending champions.
However, her performances have indicated that this is not something that has phased her; instead, it has been a challenge that she has risen to with aplomb, with her averaging 4.22 touches inside the penalty area per game as the campaign has gone on.
She has also formed a formidable on-field relationship with Portugal star Jéssica Silva inside the final third, along with their combination play and understanding is one of the reasons that Benfica ended up finishing as runners-up to Barcelona Femení in their Champions League group and are in pole position to secure a fourth consecutive league title at the time of writing.
Their on-field telepathy is indicated mainly by the movements that both players make, with them recognising early what has to happen and trusting that each will be where the other needs them to be. In this case, it is Silva who has possession and who has dribbled inside the pitch as she looks to fashion a goalscoring opportunity, but the positioning of Barcelona right-back Marta Torrejón means that she doesn’t have a clear sight of goal. As a result, her only option is to thread the ball through the gap ahead of her for a teammate to get on the end of, and that is where Alidou comes in as she has already angled her body to get behind Norway midfielder Ingrid Engen and to offer that passing option.
It is a move that is enacted like clockwork, with the pass being precise and Engen caught out through not seeing Alidou run behind her, and the result is that Benfica were able to score here under little pressure from their opponents.
It is not only in these tighter areas that Alidou has demonstrated this to be one of her key strengths, though, because it has been just as prominent in situations when the ball has been further back, too. In this case, she has noticed that Brazil forward Nycole Raysla is under pressure from Sporting Lisbon Feminino’s Joana Martins on the nearside of the pitch and that she is in need of a passing option to be created ahead of her in order to keep the attack alive, and she once again makes a run to allow Raysla to pass forwards and into the territory behind the Sporting back line.
As a result, a situation that could have ended in disappointment didn’t, and Benfica were able to turn the tables and apply pressure on their opponents. Even though it didn’t come to anything more than this, with Alidou being closed down well by Fatima Dutra and being forced to take the ball beyond the goal line, it still provides a clear illustration of how important her movement, awareness and speed around the field have been in helping her team to create options and to stay on the front foot.
However, it is not only about getting into positions where the ball can come to her; there have also been moments when Alidou has made a run in order to create space for her teammates to move into themselves. Having this quality has led to her becoming less predictable to play against and someone that opponents have often been caught out by, with Barcelona the latest to be forced into guessing her intentions and either following her or holding their position.
In this case, England and former Manchester City Women midfielder Keira Walsh opted to stay with Alidou, and there was a slight gap created for Silva to make an inverted run into as a result. Although the Portugal forward decided instead to stay closer to the wing, the opportunity was still there for her, and that was once again down to Alidou’s contribution.
Versatility
It is hard to argue with Priestman when she states that she sees Marie-Yasmine Alidou as a forward and not as a midfielder now, given the points made in the first section of the analysis. However, what also needs to be pointed out about her is that she is versatile and is capable of slotting into many different roles around the field. It is that that has really benefitted Benfica and that has allowed her to become such a key cog in their machine.
Whilst her goalscoring exploits have been discussed by many, with her finishing the Champions League group stages as Benfica’s highest scorer (having netted four times in their six matches), what has not been picked out as much is the way that Alidou works with those around her to bring others into the team’s attacks. Yet, with Benfica’s tactics mainly revolving around the use of wing-backs and situations like this being common in their attacking play, this has been just as big a part of her game and shows again how well-rounded a player she is, with her receiving the ball inside the Marítimo Femenino goal area here from right-back Lúcia Alves and instantly laying it off for her teammate to have a shot at goal.
It is a simple move to execute, with Marítimo not offering much in the way of resistance, but there is still a need to get the detail right here in order to ensure that the chance is not wasted. In this case, Alidou’s contribution to setting up the chance were executed to perfection, with her weighting her pass well and Alves not having to break from her stride to take the shot, and that shows again how comfortable and composed the Canadian is when creating chances as well as when she is finishing them off.
Having that in her locker is likely down to her background as a midfielder, and her history in that regard helps in other ways, too. Here, she was initially looking to offer a central passing option for Silva, who is running into the Braga Feminino goal area but has recognised that Raysla is also moving forward with the same intention.
Therefore, she slows down and holds back to act as a secondary attacker, waiting on the edge of the goal area and allowing Raysla an option to cut the ball back to her when it arrives at her feet. On this occasion, that proves to be a very useful addition to Benfica’s attack, with Braga goalkeeper Patrícia Morais looking to close the ball down early and to stop Raysla from getting a shot away, and so she needs to have a player in open space in order to keep the chance alive. That detail proves essential here when considering that, whilst Alidou’s effort fails to travel over the line, the follow-up from Kika Nazareth does.
However, the goal itself is not the most important thing to note here, with that instead being the way that Alidou held back and showed another side to her game. The fact that what she did here is not too dissimilar to what now-Arsenal Women striker Cloé Lacasse did a lot for them last season shows once again how Benfica have a clear tactical structure and that Alidou fits it perfectly.
Alidou has shown midfield qualities in other ways, too, with her ability to drop deep and to find teammates with passes into the final third, another thing that Benfica have come to rely on her for. As this graphic shows, it is something that she has done a lot this season, and the fact that 75.22% of her passes have found their intended target is further proof that she can offer different things around the field.
The variety of positions that she has made these passes from is also important to note, with it again showing how Alidou matches what Benfica look for in new signings when it comes to positional rotations and being comfortable in moving around the pitch to get on the ball in multiple areas, and this yet again provides an insight into what drove head coach Filipa Patão to bring her to the club last summer.
Another key demand of Benfica’s game plan is that the whole team needs to drop back and work hard whenever the ball is lost; they aim to put as much distance between it and their goal as possible.
The midfielders’ role in this is to sit in front of the back five and to be alert to any gaps that might appear behind them, with Benfica wanting their central third players to fill in if any do become apparent as they try to get their back line moving out to close the ball down.
They also need to be aware of opportunities to intercept the ball and to get the team moving back up the field again. Alidou has especially thrived when her team has been out of possession, with her making 29 interceptions in total as the campaign has gone on and continually helping to disrupt opponents’ build-up play. In this case, she times her movement perfectly. She prevents the pass from Bruna Vilamala from finding a Barcelona teammate further inside the pitch, so she can offer a lot in defensive scenarios and when her team has the ball.
Potential Canada roles
There is clearly a lot to like about Marie-Yasmine Alidou and what she offers on the field, and it is of no surprise when considering the points made throughout this scout report that she has been included in the squad for the Gold Cup, albeit as an injury replacement.
However, where she will play in the side is not an easy question to answer, with Priestman stating, as mentioned, that she sees the Benfica player as a forward rather than a midfielder nowadays, but there being an argument to state that Canada might get more out of her if they opted to play her in a more creative midfield role, given the recent international retirement of Christine Sinclair.
When watching both players on the field, it becomes apparent that there isn’t actually a lot that is different about what they bring to the table. In this situation against Jamaica, Sinclair has received a pass from Olivia Smith and has moved it onwards to Simi Awujo but has then hung around in the vicinity in case a return pass is required. Capable of playing as an advanced midfielder or as a forward, Sinclair was mainly tasked with joining the dots for the national team (and for club side Portland Thorns, for that matter), and so anyone who comes in to take over that role will need to possess the same tendencies.
Looking back at what Alidou’s key strengths are, with her ability to pass through lines and to get forward to offer a goal threat as well, there is a case to be made for the 28-year-old being the ideal replacement for Sinclair in that playmaker role, and perhaps it is something that Priestman should consider as she considers how best to fit the Benfica player into her side.
Indeed, playing Alidou in that role would then free up Seattle Reign forward Jordyn Huitema, who, alongside Sporting midfielder Smith, has mainly been the one that Priestman has turned to as she tries to fill the hole left by Sinclair’s departure.
As this situation during last year’s match against Brazil shows, it was something that Huitema took to well, with her threading a ball through here for Roma Femminile forward Evelyne Viens to run onto. Still, there is no escaping from the fact that Huitema is a goal scorer and has shown particular prowess in the air for club and country lately. Therefore, Canada would be best served by keeping her further up the pitch, allowing her to be a target player, and then bringing in Alidou to make the passes into dangerous areas and provide the focal point behind the forward line.
If Priestman felt though that Alidou is still best used as a forward, then that would not hinder her chances of establishing herself in the team, with the fact that she makes inverted runs and forms partnerships with teammates in advanced spaces, the aspect of her game that would really come in useful.
There are also direct comparisons to be made between the tactics that Canada and Benfica use, with both favouring the use of wing-backs and both liking their wide attackers to get inside the pitch whenever possible. In this case, that is demonstrated by Lacasse taking the ball inside the pitch against Jamaica rather than attempting to take on Tiernny Wiltshire in a 1-v-1 duel once left wing-back Sydney Collins had moved beyond Tiffany Cameron.
In order to make this as effective as possible, Canada need players in these roles who have a sound judgement of where the spaces are and then when to make their move, and that is something that Alidou has shown for her club side on so many occasions this season. Therefore, were she to be deployed in a more advanced position, she would not be out of her depth, and it again gives Priestman options with regards to how to fit her into the team.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has looked in detail at Benfica Feminino’s Marie-Yasmine Alidou, finding the reasons that she has been catching the eye in Portugal this season and the ways in which she has become an intrinsic part of their tactics. The analysis has also looked at what she could bring to Canada’s gameplay now that her return to the international fold has been confirmed.
There is no doubt that Alidou is a player with a great deal of quality on the field who deserves her reputation as one of Europe’s most dangerous players both with and without the ball, with it clear how she can create options for her team in a range of ways and that she can operate in different spaces and is a very versatile player. Benfica have benefitted from that, and it has been apparent in this scout report why she has become so irreplaceable for them.
Her role with Canada may not be entirely certain just yet, but it will be worth watching to see where Priestman deploys her both now and in the future, and it could well be that she is the one that they have been looking for to fill the gaping hole left by Sinclair’s retirement last year, with the two players having similar profiles to each other. Regardless of where she plays, though, there is every reason to expect that Alidou will add to her solitary cap for her country as 2024 goes on, with it evident that the 28-year-old is one to watch whenever she steps out onto the field of play.
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