Height factor
Considering that Peru will visit Bolivia in La Paz, it is known that the resources that can be used the most are the stopped ball and medium and long distance shots. It will also be necessary to have an attacking reference that physically arrives in optimal conditions and that, when going in search of the ball, the suffocation factor at height does not take its toll. Given this, Although Paolo Guerrero is a player who has been adding many minutes with LDU in Quito, a high-altitude city, with the Peruvian team in the first two double dates he has shown himself as a ‘9’ that he accused of little mobility. In fact, the numbers speak for themselves: zero shots on the opponent’s goal in four games.
In this context, Lapadula, despite the fact that he has only just begun to gain minutes with Cagliari after his recovery from ankle surgery, is emerging as the ‘9’ who can go into space, with a better physique to make the journey of recovering and then enter the rival area. It should be remembered that the ‘Bambino’ had a good performance in the duel against Ecuador in Quito and had no problems with height despite not being used to it.
In this sense, Reynoso’s Peru in these Qualifiers has made it clear that possession of the ball is not its best characteristic and that finding Paolo Guerrero in the area was a more than complicated task, which is why the ‘Predator’ almost He never looked well qualified nor did he have accurate shots at the rival goal. The offensive production in the last stretch was zero and, for this, Lapadula is shaping up to be that forward who can be on the entire attacking front.
Defense and attack
Referring to Peru’s matches so far in the Qualifiers, they have tended to be a more defensive than offensive team and their proposal is to let the rival have the ball, recover it and from there be able to generate attacking options. Therefore, also considering that against Bolivia in La Paz it is difficult to be proactive, it is necessary that the attackers themselves (wingers and forward) are defensive and can have the explosion and speed to play on the counter. The same is emerging against Venezuela, a team that presses high and usually has possession of the ball in its last duels.
Therefore, if the ‘Blanquirroja’ were to stand as a team that has the ball and plays to feed their ‘9’, there would be the option of considering Paolo Guerrero over Gianluca Lapadula due to his lethality within the area and hierarchy. However, the national team needs a striker who can also work on the entire attacking front, a characteristic of the ‘Bambino’. Therefore, Given the urgency of finding the goal and being able, above all, to generate chances and improve offensive production, Lapadula – even if he has few minutes of competition for those dates – is the best option to be a starter. and Paolo Guerrero would be a very useful replacement or accompaniment piece towards the second half.
At what pace does Lapadula arrive?
Prior to the matches in Peru for the third double date, Cagliari, Gianluca Lapadula’s team, will play two matches in which the Italian-Peruvian soccer player could add more minutes and arrive with a better rhythm of competition in the bicolor.
Cagliari will play again this weekend when they host Genoa for the eleventh matchday of Serie A 2023-24. This match is scheduled for Sunday, November 5 from 9:00 am. Subsequently, Claudio Ranieri’s team must focus on their match against Juventus, also within the framework of Serie A. This duel is scheduled for Sunday, November 12. November from 12:00 pm This will also be a great opportunity for Gianluca Lapadula to continue adding minutes.
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