Vítor Manuel Carvalho Oliveira, also known as Vitinha, is a Portuguese professional footballer who recently joined Ligue 1 club Marseille as a forward. The Portuguese striker has signed up to play for Marseille in a record transfer. Marseille signed Portuguese Under-21 international striker Vitinha from Braga in the final minutes of the French transfer window. Marseille reportedly trumped competition from Premier League sides Aston Villa, Brighton, and Southampton by offering Braga the highest bid. This is because Vitinha is a young, talented attacking midfielder who can add a lot to Marseille‘s attack. He is an excellent dribbler and has a great vision in the attacking third. He is able to create chances for his teammates, providing them with the perfect pass to set up a goal. He also has good defensive awareness. Below, we look at some of the stats for the player to help assess what he can add to Marseille’s attack.
Overall performance this season
The above viz shows the percentile rank compared to the other centre forwards in Liga Portugal in 2022/23. Vitinha has played 17 matches in the 2022–23 Liga Portugal season. He is ranked highly for taking shots and attempting dribbles per 90. The player’s ability to attack has been excellent, with a high number of expected goal contributions. He ranks decently in passing ability. Vitinha’s overall numbers are great in the league, and he ranks well in most of the stats. He has a great sense of positioning himself and getting into dangerous areas.
Vitinha for Braga last season
It can be seen that in the 2021/22 season, Vitinha saw more playing time for Braga and ranked well compared to other forwards. He appeared in 24 matches for his side in the 2021/22 Liga Portugal season. He has improved in areas such as goal contributions and expected goal contributions. Additionally, he has reduced his dribbles per 90 and improved in terms of winning defensive duels.
In front of the goal
The Portuguese national has scored seven goals from 44 shots this season, with 22 on target. Overall, his goals scored per 90 minutes are 0.52. Moreover, he has an overall xG of 5.63 and has attempted shots on target from outside the box on a couple of occasions. He takes 3.28 shots per 90 with 50% accuracy in Liga Portugal 22/23. He is an excellent shooter and can score some spectacular goals from outside the box.
Progressive play from the wings
Vitinha likes to play aggressive football through the flanks and prefers to play on the left. He attempts 4.91 dribbles per match, with 56.1% of them being successful. Most of his action is in the middle and final third of the pitch. His confidence and ability to keep attacking aggressively are what make him worth more and are one of the reasons behind his success. He averages 1.71 progressive runs per match and makes penetrating carries into the penalty area, averaging 5.3 touches in the opponent’s penalty area. Also, he averages 1.64 crosses per 90.
High pressing abilities
The above viz represents the various high regains made by Vitinha for Braga in 2022/23 Liga Portugal. He averages 2.98 interceptions per 90 minutes and makes a lot of movement in the opposition’s half in order to put high pressure on the opposition’s midfield and final third. He makes 4.54 successful recoveries in the opposition’s half per 90. He has made most of his action in the left flank of the final third. Overall, he has an average of 29.85 duels per 90 and a 41.6% win rate.
In conclusion, Vitinha is a very talented attacking midfielder who can add a lot to Marseille‘s attack. He is an excellent dribbler, passer, and shooter who can create chances for his teammates and score spectacular goals from outside the box. He also has good defensive awareness, making him an all-around player. He can be a real asset to Marseille‘s attack, and his addition will surely improve their chances of success.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
