The summit of Oscar Gil

After a summer as hectic as it was exciting, between the European Under-21 and the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Óscar Gil He continued with his good rhythm until October, when the excess of games played a trick on him. From the 23rd of that month to December 31, the right-back missed up to eight LaLiga games and two of Copa del Rey due to injurya section in which Aleix Vidal he showed his shortcomings as a defender on the right.

The player from Elche23 years old, started a new set-up in January, with the counter reset to zero, and against Sevilla, one of his best matches took place especially in attack. Little aggressive in the center of Papu Gómez in the 0-1 but accurate and tireless on the right, he obtained the assistance award at 1-1 by Sergi Darder. His comparison with Aleix Vidal on the side is obvious, as the statistics show.

Oscar Gil has participated in 15 games as a side, while the already veteran player has acted in 12 (headline or resource, such as the last minutes against the Andalusian team). Even though Aleix Vidal is more decisive in the accumulated numbers starting as extreme, only surpasses Gil What lateral in passes, perhaps one of the biggest shortcomings of the man from Elche, that game in the middle of the field when it comes to combining with his teammates. Also in the precision in the centers starting from the side Vidal is better than Gil, with a percentage of success of 33.5% by 22.2%.

But in everything else, Gil offers better guarantees that Vidal although Espanyol’s right wing continues to be a space where rivals take advantage. The Catalan only beats Gil in interceptions (3.61 vs. 3.21 per game) and aerial duels won (0.86), but loses in defensive duels, offensive duels, ball recoveries and defensive actions. Herein lies a great difference. If Óscar Gil averages 19 per game, Vidal only stays at 14, less participatory in disputes.

Endowed with high physical abilities, the winger does not lose efficiency in attack and is improving decision-making. Accumulate two assists, seven shots on goal and ten passes that lead to launch. His return and his improvement are great news for a defense in need of recovering the level of the initial stage of LaLiga so that Espanyol begins to show its head after a harsh winter.