Brief Background Performance
The graph below assesses goalkeeper performance in this season’s Champions League across 3 metrics, goals conceded minus expected goals conceded as a measure of shot stopping as well stopped crosses p90 and sweeping actions p90 as a measure on shot prevention We can see that Marchesin appears in the top right of the chart meaning he is above average on both metrics, particularly excelling in shot stopping where he ranks 4th of all 35 keepers with 3 full 90s in the Champions League. His sweeping behind his defence, rather than ability to deal with crosses, is the key reason why he appears above average on the ‘X’ axis as well.
Height & Physical Attributes
Standing just under 6’2 Marchesin is slightly below the average height for elite level goalkeepers. However, he compensates for his slightly shorter build which excellent athleticism, an excellent leap and very good footwork/speed across his goal.
Marchesin vs Juventus – Shot Stopping
Machesin faced 12 shots on target in the game against Juventus, conceding 3 goals from a PSxG of 2.8 according to Statsbomb and 3.52 according to Wyscout. In the game Marchesin showed good decision making, athleticism, positioning, handling and speed to make a number of key saves for his side.
Set Position
Pre-shot Marchesin typically sets low, with his hands by his sides in a wide stance.
Just before contact he usually has a fairly significant arm swing, throwing his hands behind his body before using that momentum to drive his hands at the ball.
A lot has been made spoken about arm swing in the media, and on social media, in recent weeks in relation to its impact on shot stopping. Regarding Marchesin, it does not appear to hinder his shot stopping ability in most instances and his outstanding shot stopping data in both the Champions League and Liga Nos support this fact. Marchesin is incredibly athletic and the arm swing, although increasing distance/time taken to get to the ball slightly, seems to support his powerful and explosive movements. There are however some instances when the arm swing did hinder his shot-stopping in this game, and we will address these in the section below.
Marchesin is also ‘bouncy’ in his movements and set position. Constantly hopping as he sets and moves his feet. Again, while these movements are all part of his style and not always negative, the hops can be fatal if timed too late, significantly reducing his reaction time in such instances. We see an example of this later with the third goal.
Handling
Marchesin’s handling from shots was generally very good in the game. He showed soft hands to catch the ball in his diving technique and his scoop technique is superb. In the clip below he also demonstrates strong hands and good deflection technique/decision making, getting good distance on his save and sending it wide of goal on a tight angle
One v One
Marchesin made two good saves one v one, showing good decision making to close the space and drop into a pre-meditated block saves. In this first clip Marchesin’s save selection is perfect, although if being picky he could probably close the space slightly quicker, cutting the distance further between him and the ball as the shot comes in.
Marchesin’s second one v one save, late in normal time, was even better. As Chiesa jinks through on goal Marchesin is lightning quick in both his decision making to recognize the danger, and speed across the ground, closing the space brilliantly to get close to the all, dropping into an excellent pre-meditated block shape which covers the majority of the goal and making a big save for his team late in the game.
Positioning
Marchesin’s positioning was in the main very good for both long range shots and shots from inside the box. Marchesin favoured setting deep in his goal, maximizing his reaction time which allowed him to make potentially tricky saves look comfortable thanks to his excellent agility, athleticism and footwork. The clip below is a prime example of this.
Dealing with crosses
One area where Marchesin has ranked poorly this season is from crosses. According to StatsBomb data he has stopped just 3.4% of the crosses into his box in the Champions League this season. There are some discrepancies here in regards to what StatsBomb defines as a cross. Having reviewed footage of the game it appears that potentially StatsBomb only class balls from outside the width of the penalty area, or cutbacks from inside the area, as crosses. For example, in this match StatsBomb have Marchesin as stopping just one of 28 crosses into his box (3.6%), whereas having re-watched footage I noted Marchesin claiming three of 49 crosses (6.1%). To confuse matters even further Wyscout have Marchesin down as making two exits from 49 crosses, but one of their exits is different to mine. Alas, inconsistencies amongst data suppliers is a topic for another day.
The most relevant statistic here is the number of claimable crosses, subjectively noted by myself from video, which Marchesin attempted to deal with. I noted Marchesin down as catching 3 of 8 ‘claimable’ crosses, a very respectable return of 37.5%.
When setting for crosses and balls into his area Marchesin was always in a positive stance and aggressive start position. A large proportion of Juventus’ crosses were whipped in from deep, with Marchesin setting high on or near the six-yard box with a good open body position and his weight on the front foot ready to defend the space behind his defence. Here, his position is near perfect, set just back of centre with time to judge the ball, covering the key danger at the back post and high enough to cover the space behind his defence while still protecting his goal.
On more than one occasion however Marchesin found himself set high but too close to his near post. For example, in the clip below the optimum starting position would be just back of centre, accounting for both the depth of the cross and the main danger of Ronaldo arriving at the back post. Marchesin however appears unaware of this danger and likely destination for the cross positioning high and front of centre. This position gives him little chance of dealing with a cross into the danger area, although his footwork to get in line with the shot and subsequent positioning for the header are excellent.
Juventus’ second goal on the night is a perfect illustration of Marchesin edging towards his near post for a cross and it coming back to bite him. Before the cross comes in there are three potential dangers to Marchesin’s goal; 1) a long range shot as the ball is inside the width of the 18-yard line 2) a through ball to Ronaldo near side 3) a cross towards the back post. Marchesin’s position, high and off centre towards his near post, is poor for both 1 and 3, and while he is covering the through ball this is likely by chance given the timing of Ronaldo’s run. The optimal position from this scenario is slightly deeper and slightly more central in his goal. From here he can cover and adjust to all three scenarios. With a slightly deeper, central position there is every chance Marchesin can claim or punch the initial ball. However, from his high, near post position he is forced to retreat towards his goal.
The goal also flags another idiosyncrasy in Marchesin’s game. He sets himself for shots and crosses low with his hands behind his body before swinging them out in front of him, you can clearly see this in the image below.
Although the goal is not a clear mistake per se it is savable, albeit requiring a top class save. However, by setting low, typically you want your hands slightly higher for headers, and behind him, he increases the distance to make the save while also sending his weight backwards (we see him fall back into the goal when attempting the save). These combinations of factors make the save from point blank range near impossible.
Juventus’s third goal also comes from a cross. On this occasion Marchesin’s low hand and significant hop as the shot comes in mean that he is not able to react to the shot. Indeed, the ball is only around 4 yards from goal by the time Marchesin lands and is able to initiate his movements towards the ball. This large, and poorly timed hop, is therefore fatal to his chances of making the save. Again, this is not a big mistake, although an elite keeper would expect to at least get close to making the save.
Moreover, at times Marchesin became over aggressive in his desire to protect the space behind his defence. In the clip below he makes a good claim at the back post. Indeed, Marchesin’s handling was good throughout the game, demonstrating excellent scoop and ‘W’ catching technique from crosses.
However, the ball is sent in from well inside the width of the 18-yard-box with Marchesin not protecting his goal, the near post is left open, and moving early once he sees Sandro glance at the back post. While his desire to defend the space behind the defence is commendable, his over aggression and failure to protect the goal is a concern moving forwards. When the ball is inside the width of the 18-yard line keepers should adjust their position to take into account the increased possibility of a long shot or through ball into the area. An opposition analyst working for the team Porto draw in the next round may note this example and look to exploit it, perhaps even with a fake glance to the back post before whipping a shot at goal toward the space at the near post.
At times Marchesin also demonstrated poor judgement or indecision when coming for crosses. Likely as a result of his positive mindset, Marchesin’s first step was often forwards even when the ball was out of reach. In the video below we see two clips. In the first his initial positioning is excellent, high and slightly off centre towards his back post; however, he starts to come before being bailed out by his centre back Pepe, who’s positioning and decision making from crosses was near flawless all game. In the second he starts to come for a cross before showing good footwork and recovery line to get set for the header. Indeed, Marchesin’s excellent footwork and movement across his goal often got him out of trouble when his judgement let him down.
The save below is further evidence of his brilliant footwork from crosses. As the cross comes in, he makes an early decision to retreat, although from his high start position he is favourite if he comes for the ball. After deciding to retreat his footwork is excellent and he takes up a perfect deep position to make the save.
Moreover, although he again swings his arm back as part of his pre-shot routines, he times the swing much better on this occasion than for the second goal. Getting his hands in line with his body pre-contact and in front of his body on/fractions after contact. Although his set position is not perfect his excellent positioning in terms of depth and alignment as well as well-timed arm swing allow him to make a very good save.
Sweeping
Marchesin was not regularly required to sweep behind his defence due to the deep block Porto employed for most of the game however when required he did demonstrate good aggression and anticipation when leaving his line, sweeping twice outside his area for an average distance of 16.4m. The clip below is a good example of this, coming out of his area to head clear from a bouncing through ball. Although we cannot see his start position, it is safe to assume that he took a good, positive position given how early he is to the ball.
Marchesin was also quick off his line to challenge Ronaldo when through one v one, attempting a well-executed slide tackle. This challenge was however very risky as well as unorthodox, with Marchesin probably better advised to lead with his hands rather than feet. Why Marchesin leads with his feet is unclear. It could be that he is incredibly confident in his tackling technique, although it could also be interpreted as a decision resulting from a lack of bravery to go with his hands.
Distribution
In the Champions League this year Marchesin’s short (<15 yards) and mid-range (15-30 yards) has been accurate, completing 100% and 96.4% of his attempted passes in each category. Marchesin has also sent the highest percentage of passes long in the competition at 68.8%, although his long pass success rate of 32.3% ranks him in the bottom 10% of keepers in the Champions League for long pass accuracy this season.
Long Passing
In this game Marchesin’s long passing from ground was mixed. When he had time on the ball he showed an ability to strike the ball with a good low trajectory, however his kicks were often inaccurate. When rushed, on more than one occasion he hit overly lofted clearances which lacked distance, an example of which is shown below.
Indeed, when pressed, his ball striking technique is not the best and can break down under pressure. Below is an example of that happening.
Support Play
Marchesin generally supported play from a deep position on the safe side. When receiving under press he took few risks usually opting to play quickly long. When safe to do so he did attempt to play out from the back, an example of this is shown below. Throughout the game his short passing was good, typically playing well weighted to the correct foot of the receiver.
Distribution From Hands
There was lots of evidence of Marchesin looking to distribute quickly from hands. Below we see him gather a long ball before quickly and accurately distributing to his fullback, hitting the back foot which allows the receiver to immediately touch and play forwards. His accuracy and weight of pass from all his roll outs were good.
When gathering balls in his area he frequently rushed to the edge of the box and looked to start a counter attack, including one time where he showed good creativity to distribute with a two handed ‘throw-in’ technique. Marchesin also demonstrated good, accurate over arm throwing technique.
Marchesin demonstrated good technique and accuracy when kicking from hands. Below is an accurate and well weighted side winder. Marchesin’s distribution from hands makes him particularly effective for setting counter attacks.
Ball Control
Marchesin generally showed a good first touch, taking a good, well weighted touch with his instep into his path allowing him to play with his second touch. The clip below best evidences Marchesin’s first touch ability.
Conclusion
Marchesin put in a very good display against Juventus to help his side progress in the competition. He was constantly positive from crosses as Juventus bombarded his box, was quick off his line to sweep behind his defence on three important occasions, made two fine saves one v one and a vital interception to deny a goal at the back post in the final minute of extra time. However, he did show some limitations in his technique when facing shots from crosses and at times put his side under additional pressure through his poor long-range kicking. He will also be disappointed with the third goal, where his set position technique denied him a chance of making what would have been a fine, but achievable, save.
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