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Player reportLa Liga 2026

Santi Comesaña

Villarreal
Ball-winning 6 (destroyer) DM
15.2 defensive actions/90
Capability Analysis
Breaking Pressure
no action recorded in any high-press match yet
Progression64%vs 35 central mids
"Can he move the team forward with a pass, not just recycle it sideways?"
Progressive passes /904.5767%
Line-breaking passes /901.8464%
Threat added by passing /901.02xT56%
Pass accuracy83.87%67%
Ball-Winning72%vs 35 central mids
"How actively does he win the ball back?"
Interceptions /901.1681%
Ball recoveries /904.5469%
Tackles /901.6358%
Duels won /901.0478%
defensive middeep-lying playmakerpress resistancescreening
499
minutes
9 apps
351
passes
89% completed
89%
pass completion
351 passes
32
progressive passes
5.8/90
84
defensive actions
15.2/90
19
tackles + interceptions
67% tackle win
20
recoveries
3.6/90
19
line-breaking passes
3.4/90
Overview

The player

Who he is and how he compares with his peers.

01

What Patterns Define Him?

His repeatable signature. A step only appears if its reliability score (sample size × match coverage) reaches at least Medium confidence — pattern mining, not anecdotes.

RECEIVE
drop between the centre-backs — mostly in the middle third (60% of his 351 passes)
89% completion · 351× in 9/9 matches
↓
ESCAPE PRESSURE
turn out of a tight central area
50% won · 4× in 4/9 matches
↓
PROGRESS CENTRAL
break a line through the middle
5.8 prog/90 · 19× in 9/9 matches
↓
SCREEN / WIN BALL
protect the back four
7.0 ball-wins/90 · 39× in 9/9 matches
↓
RECYCLE / PROGRESS
keep it ticking, feed the final third
6.3 f3-entries/90 · 35× in 9/9 matches
Signature: drop to receive → escape the press on the turn → progress centrally or recycle → screen the counter. Block the central lane and press his first touch to force him backwards.
17

Where is he influential — vs where is he merely present?

Red fill = raw touch territory. Gold rings = zones where his influence (xT added, progression, line-breaks, key passes) outweighs how often he's actually there — one combined map instead of two separate maps to compare by eye. Red with no ring: present but not dangerous. A ring on faint red: rare touches, outsized impact.

own goal left, attacking →
39
passes / match
15.2
def actions / 90
9–72
pass range (matches)
7
clearances
Pass range = his fewest and most passes in any single match this season (9 at the low end, 72 at the high) — a measure of match-to-match involvement, not pass distance.
In possession

In possession

What he does with the ball: build-up, progression, creation, carrying and finishing.

10

How dangerous are his carries?

Real ball-carries

75 tracked carries (13.5/90, 17 progressive, 679m total) — the ball moving with his touches, a different signal from dribbles below (beating an opponent 1v1). even a player who rarely dribbles past a man can still carry the ball forward constantly in build-up; this is that.

1%4%8%12%5%1%4%12%19%1%9%9%8%4%1%
progressivelateral/short% of his 75 carries originating in each zone · own goal left, attacking →
Every carry, exact path — median 7m, longest 34m
By zone — where the carry started → where it ended
8Outside → Inside
53Inside → Inside
12Outside → Outside
2Inside → Outside
First (26)Second (17)Third (17)Fourth (15)grouped by carry pattern (start + end position), largest group first
startendown goal left, attacking →

Beaten in the tackle

How often an attacker gets past him in a 1v1 defensive duel — the closest signal the data has to "dribbled past" (no attacker-beat-defender field exists directly, so this counts tackles he attempted and lost).

9
tackle duels
6
won
3
beaten · 33%
brighter band = more tackle duels · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 67%
OUTSIDE 33%
Tackle-duel location — 6 inside · 3 outside
Right Wing
1 · 11%
Right Half-Space
1 · 11%
Central
3 · 33%
Left Half-Space
2 · 22%
Left Wing
2 · 22%
Vision AI beaten in 3 of 9 tackle duels (33% loss rate) — a solid 1v1 defensive record.
Every tackle duel, exact location
wonlost — dribbled pastown goal left, attacking →

He attempted only 4 dribbles of his own all season — dribbling is not part of this role; his ball-carrying is covered above, his defending against the dribble below.

03

How does he build & move the ball?

How does he escape the first line?

15%
vertical passes
22×
3%
switches
5×
26%
carries
37×
56%
short circulation
81×
Answer: he escapes the press primarily through carrying — stepping out with the ball.

How he moves the ball — his 4 busiest progression routes, not where every pass starts and ends separately. Arrow width = how often, colour = xT gained, dashed = switch of play. The full breakdown is in the lane matrix below.

own goal left, attacking →
Lane transition matrix — when he receives in a lane, where does it go?
TO →RWRHSCLHSLWRW6144%2736%2218%112%1RHS8938%3428%2529%264%4C796%527%2142%3322%174%3LHS6012%743%2615%930%18LW244%162%1533%8FROM
Rows normalised: each row sums to 100% of that lane's completed passes. Grey number = passes from that lane.

Primary route: the right wing in the middle third → the right half-space in the middle third — 4 progressive passes (11% of his progression) at 0.006 xT each. He moves it inside.

His progression is inward: 63% of progressive passes move the ball toward the middle versus 5% going wider — he cuts in rather than holding width.

Only 6% of his passes switch play, so his threat is same-side — contain the flank he occupies and the route closes.

Quality behind the volume: 14 line-breaking passes and 35 final-third entries, 3.9 total xT added.

Origin and destination are measured on the same event row — no receiver inference. Receiver identity is not recoverable from this data source.
All passes — origin zone share
Filter: from to
1%5%11%12%12%2%1%5%11%12%4%1%0%4%7%9%4%1%
completedincomplete351 passes · any zone → any zone · own goal left, attacking →
351
passes
89%
completed
38
lost
Vision AIIn line with his 89% season completion rate.
04

How does he progress play?

How much he drives the ball forward. Progressive = completed pass advancing ≥15 toward goal.

32
progressive · 5.8/90
35
final-third entries · 6.3/90
4
box entries · 0.72/90
25
progression index /90
Progression index: one composite number — progressive passes + progressive carries + 2% of total distance progressed + 8× positive xT added, all per 90. Weights VOLUME and THREAT together rather than counting progressive actions alone.
11

How does he create chances?

5 key passes (0.90/90), 0 of them assists — where his chance creation specifically comes from, 18 zones (6×3), showing his share of key passes originating there.

Chance creation — key pass origin zone share
Filter:
20%80%
chance creation (5)assist (0)% of the selected group's key passes originating in each zone
06

Where does he become vulnerable?

40 times he gave the ball away. For a defender the danger is where — a loss in his own third can turn into a chance against; higher up it costs little.

13
attacking third (cheap)
22
middle third
5
own third (dangerous)
Vision AI 32% of losses are in the attacking third — a notable share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Mistake danger (proxy): 2.11 danger-index/90 · 0.292 avg/turnover. Weights each loss by threat conceded at that location. True xT-conceded needs the opponent possession model; positional proxy.
05

What is his passing profile?

351
passes attempted
41%
mostly forward
55%
mostly short
Direction
Forward
143 · 41%
Sideways
130 · 37%
Backward
78 · 22%
Length (completed)
Short (<15m)
173 · 55%
Medium
122 · 39%
Long (>30m)
18 · 6%
07

Preferred Progression Routes — xT-weighted

His progressive passes as zone→zone routes, weighted by expected threat (xT) added — arrow width and the number are the total xT generated on each route, not just how often he plays it. This is where he actually moves the needle.

0.360.350.230.220.190.18
own goal left, attacking →
Highest-value routes (xT)
0.36
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Wing Att third
5 passes · 1 to a shot
0.35
Right Wing Att third → Right Half-Space Att third
1 passes
0.23
Left Half-Space Mid third → Left Half-Space Mid third
3 passes
0.22
Central Att third → Left Half-Space Att third
1 passes
0.19
Right Wing Mid third → Left Wing Att third
1 passes
0.18
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Mid third
2 passes
08

Where Does He Receive?

The zones where Santi Comesaña gets on the ball — his top three ball-collection areas highlighted (gold = primary). Reception is proxied by where his on-ball actions begin (no explicit receiver is recorded).

123
1 = primary, 2 = secondary, 3 = third · own goal left, attacking →
His collection zones
18%
Primary
Right Half-Space, Middle third
16%
Secondary
Central, Middle third
13%
Third
Left Half-Space, Middle third
These are the zones where he collected the ball most.
09

Where Does He Operate? — Every Zone

Every on-ball touch (pass, dribble, shot) binned into a 6×3 grid — raw counts of where Santi Comesaña actually gets on the ball. Hover any zone for its breakdown by action type, its share of all touches, and the exact coordinate range it covers.

Filter:
113253113231939451354183741426
own goal left, attacking → · brighter + higher number = more touches

Passes only — completed vs incomplete, by zone

Same zone grid, restricted to passes so completed/incomplete and match filters actually mean something — a shot or a dribble has no "completed" in the pass sense.

1%5%11%12%12%2%1%5%11%12%4%1%0%4%7%9%4%1%
own goal left, attacking →
12

Every Pass This Season — completed vs incomplete

Every pass this season, plotted individually — green = completed, grey (dashed) = incomplete, gold = key pass. Filter by outcome or isolate one match below.

5Key pass
2Cross
3Cutback
32Progressive
19Long ball
11Switch
By zone — where the pass started → where it landed
49Outside → Inside
168Inside → Inside
36Outside → Outside
60Inside → Outside
By direction
143Forward
78Backward
130Sideways
own goal left, attacking →
02

Tactical patterns — how his football actually looks

Three clustered sequence diagrams from his own event data — his three busiest routes: the way he progresses, the pattern behind his chances, and where a turnover turns dangerous.

own goal left, attacking →
How does he progress the ball forward?
His most common route for progressing play: he switches it out from the right hs to the right wing, advancing it forward in the middle third — 5 passes worth 0.36 xT.
Where do his chances come from?
Of 5 key passes, his busiest route is a delivery where he plays straight through the right wing in the final third — 2 times. The receiver isn't identifiable in this data, only where the pass started and ended.
Where does he lose the ball most?
This is a RATE, not a raw count — the share of his touches in each zone that end in a turnover, so a zone he simply plays in more often doesn't automatically look riskier. His weakest zone is the right half-space in the final third: 25% of his 24 touches there are lost (6 times).
0%0/8 lost12%2/17 lost0%0/16 lost15%2/13 lost—4 touches · too few10%3/31 lost11%7/63 lost6%3/54 lost9%4/46 lost17%3/18 lost11%3/28 lost25%6/24 lost14%2/14 lost12%1/8 lost—7 touches · too fewRWRHSCLHSLWDEFMIDATT
Out of possession

Out of possession

Where and how he defends and presses.

13

How & where does he defend?

84 defensive actions across the season (15.2/90). Where he wins the ball, and how — the core question for a defender. Aerial duels are not recorded for this competition, so aerial dominance is not measured here.

click a card to isolate that action type · own goal left, attacking →
9
tackles · 67% won
10
interceptions · 1.8/90
20
recoveries · 3.6/90
7
clearances · 1.3/90
6
blocks
45
avg action height
19
won high (att 3rd)
33
middle third
32
own third
Vision AI A front-foot / high defender. He wins the ball mainly by stepping in — tackles, interceptions & recoveries outweigh clearances. 39 proactive ball-wins (7.0/90), tackle success 67%. He defends high, stepping out to intercept — suits a high line.
14

Can he play under pressure?

Split by how hard the opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower = more intense press). Can Santi Comesaña still play out when the opponent presses high? His build-up quality split by press intensity — the key question for a ball-playing defender. Tiers of ~3-3 matches — directional evidence, not proof.

press tier
completion
prog /90
line-breaks /90
xT /90
High press (PPDA 5.5, 3m)
85%
4.2
2.8
0.85
Mid press (PPDA 6.8, 3m)
85%
4.0
2.4
1.39
Low press (PPDA 8.2, 3m)
95%
8.4
4.6
1.98
Team

Team context

How much of the team runs through him, and what changes without him.

15

Impact on the Team

Villarreal's output per match with Santi Comesaña (9 matches) versus without him (1 matches). Insufficient evidence — the without-sample is only 1 matches; treat every Δ below as noise until more games exist. What his own defending should move — goals conceded and results — leads; attacking output (largely out of a defender's hands) is shown after, for context. A proper on-off model needs many more minutes.

WITH (9)
WITHOUT (1)
Δ
goals against /match
1.44
1.00
+0.44
points /match
1.00
3.00
-2.00
goals for /match
1.33
3.00
-1.67
xG for /match
1.71
0.00
+1.71
16

His Share of the Team

Of everything Villarreal produced this season, the categories where the biggest share ran through Santi Comesaña specifically — his share of the team total, not a per-90 rate.

category
share
him / team
zone-14 entries
11%
39 / 362
interceptions
10%
39 / 380
final-third entries
9%
175 / 1945
Recruitment

Style and verdict

Style profile, closest comparables, and the summary.

18

Playing-Style Profile

Not raw event counts — football style scores: weighted models scored 0–100 against the 258 defensive mids in the pool (min 450 min). This is what separates players who post similar numbers but play differently. Proxy dimensions are inferred from on-ball data; true off-ball running / under-pressure context is not measured.

Deep-lying playmaker50%Tempo controller42%Ball-winning 641%
Why Deep-lying playmaker 50%: a weighted blend of progression 80 (weight 30%) + build-up 44 (weight 30%) + press resistance 39 (weight 20%) + retention 37 (weight 20%). The score reflects how distinctively his profile SHAPE matches this archetype vs his peers.
Elite
line-breaking, through-balls, box threat
Strong
crossing, progression, receiving zones, creativity, final-third threat, territory (wide vs central)
Average
carrying, transition, passing directness, build-up, dribbling, defensive aggression
Weak
ball-winning, press resistance, retention
Unknown
aerial ability, marking, off-ball running — not in event data
Line-breaking
93
Through-balls ~proxy
86
Box threat
85
Crossing
84
Progression
80
Receiving zones
80
Creativity
75
Final-third threat
74
Territory (wide vs central)
70
Carrying
51
Transition ~proxy
50
Passing directness
44
Build-up
44
Dribbling
42
Defensive aggression
41
Ball-winning
40
Press resistance ~proxy
39
Retention
37
19

Similar Players — in style space

Closest comparables measured on the style scores above, within the same position family — so it separates how players are alike, not just how much they touch the ball. Each line explains the shared strength and the divergent mechanism. A light physical-profile term (height / weight; this player: 188 cm / 75 kg) is included at a quarter of one style axis's weight — enough to break ties between stylistic twins, not to override style. Scope: pooled across the La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A, percentiled within each player's own league before comparing — a match from another league is marked with its league name.

Style, not quality: a high match here means two players tend to produce the ball in similar ways — it is not a ranking, a scouting recommendation, or a claim that they are equally good.

Matthieu Udol Lens · Ligue 1 · 178 cm / 79 kg
89%
Driven by: box threat (17%), crossing (15%), line-breaking (11%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via receiving zones; Udol more via territory (wide vs central).
Przemyslaw Frankowski Rennes · Ligue 1 · 175 cm / 70 kg
81%
Driven by: line-breaking (16%), through-balls (12%), progression (12%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via box threat, passing directness; Frankowski more via territory (wide vs central).
Vitaly Janelt Brentford · Premier League · 184 cm / 79 kg
81%
Driven by: crossing (23%), line-breaking (17%), through-balls (16%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via box threat, receiving zones.
James Garner Everton · Premier League · 186 cm / 78 kg
81%
Driven by: line-breaking (17%), crossing (16%), through-balls (14%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via receiving zones, box threat; Garner more via ball-winning.
Pape Gueye Villarreal · 189 cm / 79 kg
81%
Driven by: box threat (17%), crossing (13%), creativity (10%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via territory (wide vs central); Gueye more via passing directness.
Carlos Dotor Malaga · 180 cm / 68 kg
76%
Driven by: line-breaking (15%), through-balls (14%), box threat (14%). Different mechanism — Comesaña more via passing directness; Dotor more via carrying, ball-winning.
20

Summary

Santi Comesaña is a deep-lying playmaker: 89% completion, 19 line-breaks and 5.8 progressive passes /90, resisting pressure with 50% dribble success. A central controller. [Off-ball screening position and scanning need tracking data.]

Based on 9 matches (499 minutes) — an early read, treat with caution until more minutes are logged. He profiles as a deep-lying playmaker — best used in a system built around that identity. His biggest room for growth is retention — even a modest improvement there would meaningfully lift his overall deep-lying playmaker profile.
✨ This report is interactive

Click any stat card to filter its map, hover a dot for the exact match, and use the dropdowns to slice passes zone-to-zone. Nothing here is static.

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