Xhaka was a bit of a concern in today’s game. He was tidy on the ball. He managed to get up into advanced areas to help out in attack. But you could see his limitations on the ball. He’s just unable to provide drive. He’s still not providing the penetration and passes down the center. His immobility is limiting. There was one glaring episode late in second half where he wriggled through 2 defenders on the sideline but didn’t have the burst of pace that a Ceballos or other CMs would have to get past and go towards the penalty area.
As the rest of the team improves, eg., Gabriel, William etc, Xhaka’s weaknesses will become more glaring. Are we able to cover them up another season in the starting line up?
