After a successful 2017/18 campaign, Real Betis brought in Sergio Canales to add even more midfield creativity to their squad. The former Real Madrid prodigy quickly became the centre in Quique Setien’s system, making them one of the most attractive teams in La Liga. However, Rubi has become Los Verdiblancos’ new manager. The former Espanyol man will come with a similar brand of football, but with notable differences. In this scout report, we will use tactical analysis to demonstrate Canales’ key attributes, and what role he will play in Rubi’s system.
Style of play
Canales mainly plays as an attacking midfielder, but he can play as a central mid or a wide midfielder as well. In his attacking midfielder position, he is given license to orchestrate Betis’ attack with his wide range of passing skills, dribbling and long shots while hiding his physical and defensive weaknesses. Looking at the heatmap, we can see that he mostly operates around the right half-space of the middle third. His stamina doesn’t allow him to run from box to box. This kind of heatmap can also be one of a right midfielder his expected position in new coach Rubi’s system.
According to Whoscored, Canales is good with ball retention, dribbling, long shots and taking set-pieces. He excels in various types of passes, most notably crossing and key passes. However, he is not a good tackler and is bad at aerials.
How will Canales be used in Rubi’s four-man system?
Canales was mostly used as an attacking midfielder in the 3-5-2 or the 3-4-2-1 formation under Setien. However, Rubi has consistently used a four-man defence. In Betis’ first two La Liga matches this season, they play in a 4-2-3-1 against Real Valladolid and a 4-4-1-1 against Barcelona, with Nabil Fekir playing behind sole striker Loren Moron on both occasions. It seems that Fekir will occupy the attacking midfielder/second striker position. He’s more direct, less involved in his team’s play, but provides more goal/assist output than Canales.
