Joao Felix was signed by Atletico Madrid in 2019, but the Portuguese international is yet to produce a stellar season for them. But the time has come for him to stand up, as Atletico is in all sorts of trouble. They have lost their previous five matches and have slipped to the fifth position in La Liga. Joao Felix is a pure talent brimming with dribbling and ball control skills, and he has looked like he is finding his touch again. He will have a crucial role to play if Atletico Madrid is to qualify for the Champions League next season.
We take a look at some stats to understand why he is crucial to Atletico’s fate.
Joao Felix has played 12 matches this season and has started only five of them, coming off the bench in the rest of the matches. He has scored three goals so far in La Liga and has three assists to his name as well.
The above viz shows the touch map of Joao Felix in La Liga this season. Simeone plays him as both a centre-forward and a left-winger. We can observe from the touch map how he likes to stretch the play. He uses his dribbling skills to skip past challenges and take the ball forward. Felix enjoys an average of 2.59 touches in the penalty box this season. He has scored three goals in his last three games in La Liga and has somehow found his form back.
Joao Felix has scored three goals this season in La Liga and one goal in the Copa Del Ray as well. The good news for Atletico is that all these goals came in the last three matches, so he is slowly getting into form after a poor start to the season. He’s taken 31 shots, 14 of which have come from inside the penalty box. Felix takes an average of 2.75 shots, with 50% of them on target. He has an average xG of 0.42 per game as well.
The above viz shows the percentile rank of Joao Felix compared to other centre-forwards in La Liga. He is ranked in the top 86.75 percentile for goal contributions per 90 minutes and the top 84.9 percentile for dribbles per 90 minutes. He has amazing passing stats as well. He is ranked in the top 93.03 percentile for dangerous passes per 90 minutes and the top 90.5 percentile for accurate passes as well. Another area where he has shone is winning defensive duels, as he is ranked in the top 81.1 percentile for the same.
Joao Felix has made 37 penetrating carries this season. He is ranked in the top 84.9 percentile for dribbles per 90 minutes and makes around 4.27 dribbles per game with 39.3% efficiency. This figure however is a decline from last year’s 4.5 dribbles per game with 51.3% accuracy. He is quick and has a box of tricks that he uses to go past players. He cuts inside when he plays as a left winger and unleashes shots at goal.
Felix is also capable of and does play as a winger for Diego Simeone. The above viz shows the winger actions of Joao Felix as a winger this season. He has played as a winger and cuts inside to the central area while attacking. We can observe from the viz how he uses his dribbling skills on the flanks to go past players. He hasn’t whipped in many crosses this season but he has a success rate of 80% efficiency whenever he does. It has gone up from 35% success last season.
Joao Felix did not have a very good start to the season, but he is looking like he is returning to form after scoring all of Atletico’s goals in their last two La Liga matches. Even though they lost both matches, Felix returning to form is a glimmer of hope for Diego Simeone and company in a very dark time. Simeone will be hoping Joao Felix returns from the World Cup in form, as he desperately needs some wins under his belt.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
