AC Milan’s midfielder Franck Kessie has impressed with his recent performances in Serie A and UEFA Champions League and attracted a lot of attention from other European clubs. AC Milan was eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, but there were some impressive performances from the players.
The Ivory Coast midfielder featured in five games in the UEFA Champions League. He started four matches and received a red card against Atletico Madrid in the second match. He provided an assist to Junior Messias in round five of the competition.
The above viz shows the pass map of Kessie in five appearances. He has attempted 173 passes with a pass accuracy rate of 87.28%. He attempted 59 passes against Atletico Madrid with a 93.2% accuracy rate. Kessie’s nine passes landed inside the opposition’s penalty box, and two of these passes landed inside the opposition’s six-yard box.
When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar, the better the performance – you can see the league average in the middle, and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. Kessie averages a 0.15 expected assist rate per 90. He also averages more than 6.28 passes into the final third per 90. The midfielder has attempted six crosses, one smart pass, and three through passes.
The above viz shows the duels contested by the player. Most of the duels have been contested towards the left side of play. Kessie has contested a lot of defensive duels. He has contested seven aerial duels and five of them in the final third. The midfielder has also contested nine loose ball duels. Kessie has also broken a lot of plays of the opposition. He has made 17 interceptions, of which 13 have been made inside his half. He made ten interceptions when others were on the ball, six while the opposition was passing, and once while contesting a duel.
Kessie has taken seven touches inside the opposition’s penalty box and three touches were against Liverpool in the last match. The midfielder has also made 22 recoveries, and ten recoveries have been made inside the opposition’s half. He made ten recoveries against Atletico Madrid, and half of them were made inside the opposition’s half.
The stats show that Kessie has made contributions while going forward and defending. His box-to-box ability has attracted the attention of European clubs. Kessie has scored five league goals this season, and two games came from the penalty spot for the midfielder. There are chances that the player might play for some other club next season.
