"He must have felt that even Hansi Flick was having his doubts as to whether there was a place for the creative defender. One thing we all knew is that Cancelo has talent. He is dangerous on the ball, and can deliver a killer final pass. The question was whether his offensive strengths outweigh his defensive weaknesses. It helps him that there are no obvious answers at left full-back."
"Alejandro Balde has continued to struggle to convince, in spite of the expectation that this season he would take a big step forward and lock down his position at the Barcelona for the foreseeable future. The Spanish international has great dribbling and penetration abilities, but tends to get lost in the final third. That's exactly where Cancelo excels. Now, let's start by taking a step back. This was Levante at home."
João Cancelo offers potent attacking threat from left-back through dribbling, penetration and incisive final passes. Alejandro Balde shows strong dribbling but struggles to influence the final third and has not cemented the left-back role. Levante's defensive frailties created an ideal opportunity to deploy Cancelo and exploit space. Hansi Flick selected Cancelo to maximize attacking output and to create room for Lamine Yamal on the opposite flank. Cancelo's presence raises competition for the left-back spot and pressures Balde to improve. Cancelo may be used more regularly in La Liga while being managed for high-stakes fixtures.
Read at Barca Blaugranes
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