Bayer Leverkusen have been a team that have been trying to stack up young talent and develop them for the last couple of seasons so that they could either consistently qualify for the Champions League or to make a profit on their young players. The likes of Julian Brandt, Leon Bailey and Kai Havertz, who is close to completing an incredible transfer to Chelsea, have usually had the shine but Leverkusen still have another attacking gem in Moussa Diaby on their hands.
The 21-year-old winger was signed from Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of the 2019/20 season for £13m and has shown bright sparks under Peter Bosz. This tactical analysis will showcase the raw talent that the French U21 international has but will also look at his weaknesses too.
Dribbling
As a winger, it should come as no surprise that Diaby’s best attribute is dribbling. Like most players who play in this position, he is a diminutive player who possesses a huge amount of pace that helps him beat players. In an era where teams are heavily reliant on ball progressing via passing, Diaby’s skill set is becoming more of a rarity but one that still holds a lot of value. Dribbling is an important asset for a winger to have since they are usually required to beat an opposition defender to either progress the play, create or score. Wingers with great dribbling will also be able to get out of opposition traps and double teams, which will help the team in since it can give the team an added dimension in their attack.
Diaby has a trademark dribble that works surprisingly often despite its simplicity. The move utilises his small frame and lightning-quick acceleration. The move is best used in a 1vs1 scenario is extremely lethal in transition as there is so much space to run into.
This example above is a perfect example of his trademark dribble used in transition. He receives the ball and controls it with his left foot while slowing down. While most players tend to wait a couple of more seconds to drive past the defender, Diaby takes a huge touch with his right foot into the open space just a split second after decelerating and taking a touch with his left foot. The reason why this is so effective is two-fold. Firstly, as he decelerates and controls the ball, it lulls the defender into doing the same but since the Diaby has the ball, he ultimately has the control of the next action and would therefore be a step ahead. The second reason is that even if the defender knows it’s coming, he is unlikely to be able to stop it given the acceleration of Diaby. This move helps Diaby be in the top 10 in terms of dribbles per game at 7.55 with a very good success rate of 55.41%, which is close to the elite level.
Creativity
While dribbling can be used as a way of creating chances, Diaby has a great array of skills that make him a dangerous outlet and someone much more than a speedster. He ranks top 20 in the expected assists and assists for Bundesliga players, which is a huge part down to his fantastic run making. He ranks 3rd in the league for progressive runs per game with a value of 3.85 per game, which is a fantastic tally that is only bettered by now AC Milan striker Ante Rebic and Diaby’s teammate Paulinho, both of whom have played limited Bundesliga minutes. His speed and positional awareness are also what make him a threat on transition where Bayer Leverkusen excel under Bosz.
