Statistics Centre: Rafa Is Right To Play Lucas

Lucas on paper seems to have all the makings of another great Brazilian player. After all he is the grandson of a great Brazilian World Cup player, Captain of the Under 21s and the youngest winner of the Brazilian Player of the Year and  yet he is disliked by the majority of Kop and was even booed at the 0-0 draw at Fulham.

However, Benetiz has continued to play the young Brazilian much to the dismay of the Kop, even ahead of Mascherano. Though, the statistics seem to suggest that Benetiz may be justified in his praise of the player.

If one was to analyse Lucas’s performances over last season, they reveal a player that was able to compete with Alonso and Mascherano for his place in the Liverpool Team. In fact, he had a passing accuracy of 91.4% which was slightly higher than Mascherano and Alonso whom had passing accuracies of 90.2% and 88.7% respectively.  

Furthermore, unlike Mascherano and Alonso, he managed to retain a passing accuracy higher than 85% in all of the games he started in.

Also, his interception rate and tackle rate was far better than Alonso’s.  Last season, whilst Alonso could only manage a poor 43 interceptions and 175 tackles in 2561 minutes; Lucas intercepted 34 times and made 152 tackles in less than half the time on the pitch 

 His effectiveness could be most clearly seen in the 1-4 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford, where he was the dominant central midfielder. Whereas, Mascherano could only muster 26 passes throughout the game, Lucas managed 39. Furthermore, he had 9 tackles (7 of which were successful) compared to Mascherano who made 5 (3 of which were successful).

Instead of fulfilling the expectation that Brazilian players are meant to engage in dazzling runs and incisive passes, Lucas is a solid and unassuming player. Perhaps this is why Liverpool supporters seem to find the six million pound transfer a disappointment.

However, Rafa Benetiz seems to be justified in keeping the youngster in his team and in fact, he could prove to be a perfect replacement for Alonso. Perhaps, he could prove to be better than Alonso in years to come.