Darder before Gavi, the value of the invisible

If Sergi Darder smiles, Espanyol works. The midfielder, raised in blue and white youth football although with a doctorate first in Malaga and then in Lyon, has become the parakeet team’s thermometer in the last four seasons. Much younger, with just 31 games in elite football at 17 years old, Gavi is the same in a Barça in reconstruction since the arrival of Xavi Hernández, both in football ideas and in squad, but dependent on the talent of this gifted for the game.

The comparison between both players, according to data from Comparasinator, is similar in offensive actions. In the games analyzed, Darder averages a better ratio of assists that generate shots on goal (0.77), successful dribbles (2.31) and shots (1.37), but on the contrary, and where Gavi’s invisible value is obvious, it is in defensive actions. Despite his age and his, a priori, lack of corpulence, the one from the Palacios has an innate intuition to anticipate what is going to happen, which guarantees him to be key in duels and recoveries.

While Darder is only able to compete in 0.86 aerial duels per match, Gavi averages 3.08. Even on the last day against Atlético he was able to win one against Vrsaljko that ended up becoming one of the four goals against Atlético (4-2). With 6.81 defensive and 9.41 offensive duels, the player doubles those of Darder, although both reach a similar success rate. The greater volume in Gavi’s numbers also denotes the difference between both teams in the style of play, since Barcelona is used to pressing in the opposite field while Espanyol takes refuge in their own. The first round match, resolved 1-0 at the Camp Nou in Xavi Hernández’s debut, was a clear contrast of styles until the penalty that led to the Barça goal.

Gavi recovers 3.32 balls per game and intercepts 3.16, numbers that are almost double those of Darder. “Gavi’s defensive work has been spectacular”,Xavi commented after the match against Osasuna, one of the first to lead the Barça team. “The most noticeable difference is the intensity and the ability to work and pressure that Gavi has and that Darder does not have. Both are profiles that can be adapted to the midfielder, although Darder can be more than eight. Darder is more comfortable in offensive transitions, Gavi dominates more positional play. It is curious because in his formative stages, Darder, if he was guessed, would arrive and hit, which is very good, and not Gavi, who was more of a game driver although now he is improving that aspect”, explains a scouter who has followed the evolution of both, who on Sunday will face each other again on the pitch.