Since returning to La Liga in January, few players have caught the eye quite like Raúl de Tomás at Espanyol. The former Real Madrid striker departed Real Madrid last summer, leaving on a permanent deal after impressive loan spells at Rayo Vallecano and departing for Benfica.
Things did not work out for the Spaniard in Primeira Liga, failing to score a single goal in the league and only being fielded in Primeira Liga once since September, instead being held back for cup competitions after failing to impress. That earned him a return to La Liga, with relegation battling Espanyol keen to take the gamble and paid Benfica the 20 million euros they forked out in the summer plus an additional two million euros in add-ons, a club-record fee.
This tactical analysis will give a scout report of the Espanyol forwards form since he arrived at the RCDE Stadium. Within just four games, he had already surpassed his goal return from 16 fixtures in Portugal, sparking hopes of a revival for the Pericos under Abelardo Fernández. Here, the analysis will look at how he fits into Abelardos tactics to get the best out of him for Espanyol.
From Benfica to Espanyol
When looking at De Tomás, the first question to come to mind is what has changed in his play to adapt so much better to football in Spain than in Portugal. Far from being a matter of home comforts, there are tactical elements which point to why De Tomás could not achieve at Benfica what he has at both Rayo Vallecano and Espanyol. One of the key elements is that he is afforded far more freedom at Espanyol. Just by looking at his heat maps, it is visible that De Tomás prefers to drop off and drift wide, looking to find and exploit space rather than stick to central areas.
This can also be seen in the below image, which is the typical scenario caused by Benficas style of play. Benfica look to dominate possession and overload the box with crosses. Espanyol register an average of 51.23% possession, compared to 54.36% at Benfica, whilst crosses are also up from 16.17 per match to 20.16. This kind of bossing of a game does not fit with De Tomás greatest strength, which will be considered later on, in his movement. Instead, he found himself with limited space in the box against teams defending with a low block. The slow pace of build-up play meant that Benfica rarely got forward with the pace and incision that suits De Tomás.
What is also worth noting here is that it also points to why Real Madrid opted to sell him last summer. Some questioned the decision to spend 60 million euros on Luka Jović whilst selling De Tomás for a third of that price, with Mariano Díaz the only other competition for Karim Benzema. However, much like Benficas approach, they look to dominate and overload the box in central areas, a role that De Tomás clearly struggles with when seeking to get the best out of himself.
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