Meatwad nobody judged Xhaka that way, nobody judges Rice that way, nobody even judges Vieira that way. He's not playing as a forward or as our 10. He's playing a 2-way position where he's supposed to play with his back to goal, win headers, and recover to stop transitions. He's not a pressing trigger, he is playing a support role for Odegaard and multiple other positions. He comes very deep very often, and it's clear it's by instruction, to support the DM and inverted LB. He's also supposed to make late runs to the far post for Saka and Odegaard, support the striker by following their press and winning high balls, while also pulling defenders away from the left winger by running the inside channel all game. He's also supposed to be a target for long balls from the back. It's a weird, complicated, unconventional role.
