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Player reportLa Liga 2026

Pape Gueye

Villarreal
Ball-winning 6 (destroyer) DM
12.1 defensive actions/90
Capability Analysis
Breaking Pressure
no action recorded in any high-press match yet
Progression56%vs 35 central mids
"Can he move the team forward with a pass, not just recycle it sideways?"
Progressive passes /904.1756%
Line-breaking passes /901.656%
Threat added by passing /901.35xT75%
Pass accuracy81.56%36%
Ball-Winning64%vs 35 central mids
"How actively does he win the ball back?"
Interceptions /901.2486%
Ball recoveries /904.4764%
Tackles /901.3944%
Duels won /900.7864%
defensive middeep-lying playmakerpress resistancescreening
774
minutes
10 apps
539
passes
85% completed
85%
pass completion
539 passes
61
progressive passes
7.1/90
104
defensive actions
12.1/90
13
tackles + interceptions
50% tackle win
37
recoveries
4.3/90
80
line-breaking passes
9.3/90
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 (65% of his 539 passes)
85% completion · 539× in 10/10 matches
↓
ESCAPE PRESSURE
turn out of a tight central area
25% won · 8× in 5/10 matches
↓
PROGRESS CENTRAL
break a line through the middle
7.1 prog/90 · 80× in 10/10 matches
↓
SCREEN / WIN BALL
protect the back four
5.8 ball-wins/90 · 50× in 10/10 matches
↓
RECYCLE / PROGRESS
keep it ticking, feed the final third
9.1 f3-entries/90 · 78× in 10/10 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.
18

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 →
54
passes / match
12.1
def actions / 90
14–86
pass range (matches)
8
clearances
Pass range = his fewest and most passes in any single match this season (14 at the low end, 86 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

126 tracked carries (14.7/90, 29 progressive, 1085m 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.

2%5%4%3%1%12%23%17%6%6%9%10%4%
progressivelateral/short% of his 126 carries originating in each zone · own goal left, attacking →
Every carry, exact path — median 7m, longest 29m
By zone — where the carry started → where it ended
3Outside → Inside
106Inside → Inside
11Outside → Outside
6Inside → Outside
First (44)Second (37)Third (25)Fourth (20)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).

6
tackle duels
3
won
3
beaten · 50%
brighter band = more tackle duels · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 67%
OUTSIDE 33%
Tackle-duel location — 4 inside · 2 outside
Right Wing
1 · 17%
Right Half-Space
1 · 17%
Central
3 · 50%
Left Half-Space
0 · 0%
Left Wing
1 · 17%
Vision AI beaten in 3 of 6 tackle duels (50% loss rate) — a solid 1v1 defensive record.
Every tackle duel, exact location
wonlost — dribbled pastown goal left, attacking →

Dribbles (1v1s)

Can he escape pressure on the ball? His carries/dribbles in tight central areas, by channel. Season rate: 0.93 dribbles attempted /90.

brighter band = more dribbles · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 62%
OUTSIDE 38%
Dribble location — 5 inside · 3 outside
Right Wing
1 · 12%
Right Half-Space
5 · 62%
Central
0 · 0%
Left Half-Space
0 · 0%
Left Wing
2 · 25%
Vision AI 62% of his carries are central — he receives and turns in congested midfield zones rather than out wide.
03

How does he build & move the ball?

How does he escape the first line?

16%
vertical passes
32×
9%
switches
18×
36%
carries
71×
38%
short circulation
75×
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 →RWRHSCLHSLWRW2962%1828%810%3RHS8828%2534%3027%246%55%4C1979%1715%3040%7927%539%18LHS1134%53%334%3834%3826%29LW293%17%217%545%1328%8FROM
Rows normalised: each row sums to 100% of that lane's completed passes. Grey number = passes from that lane.

Primary route: central areas in the middle third → central areas in the middle third — 5 progressive passes (11% of his progression) at 0.009 xT each. He keeps it in the same lane.

His progression is inward: 37% of progressive passes move the ball toward the middle versus 17% going wider — he cuts in rather than holding width.

9% of his passes are cross-field switches — he changes the point of attack often.

Quality behind the volume: 19 line-breaking passes and 78 final-third entries, 7.8 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
0%3%3%7%5%1%1%7%19%19%8%0%1%3%6%10%6%0%
completedincomplete539 passes · any zone → any zone · own goal left, attacking →
539
passes
85%
completed
83
lost
Vision AIIn line with his 85% season completion rate.
02

How does he progress play?

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

61
progressive · 7.1/90
78
final-third entries · 9.1/90
13
box entries · 1.51/90
26
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.
12

How does he create chances?

10 key passes (1.16/90), 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:
10%10%10%10%40%20%
chance creation (10)assist (0)% of the selected group's key passes originating in each zone
13

Can he finish?

16 shots · 1.77 xG · 3 goals (+1.23 vs xG). Mostly left-footed. Circle size = xG.

shots  16
on target  8
goals  3
xG  1.77
xG on target  2.41
xG / shot  0.111
Where he shoots from — click an area of the box
05

Where does he become vulnerable?

89 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.

33
attacking third (cheap)
42
middle third
14
own third (dangerous)
Vision AI 37% of losses are in the attacking third — a notable share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Mistake danger (proxy): 3.39 danger-index/90 · 0.328 avg/turnover. Weights each loss by threat conceded at that location. True xT-conceded needs the opponent possession model; positional proxy.
07

What is his passing profile?

539
passes attempted
43%
mostly forward
56%
mostly short
Direction
Forward
234 · 43%
Sideways
186 · 35%
Backward
119 · 22%
Length (completed)
Short (<15m)
256 · 56%
Medium
148 · 32%
Long (>30m)
52 · 11%
06

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.

0.780.650.490.450.390.37
own goal left, attacking →
Highest-value routes (xT)
0.78
Central Mid third → Central Att third
3 passes
0.65
Central Mid third → Right Wing Att third
6 passes
0.49
Central Mid third → Left Half-Space Att third
2 passes
0.45
Central Mid third → Central Mid third
5 passes
0.39
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Wing Att third
3 passes
0.37
Central Mid third → Left Wing Att third
3 passes
08

Where Does He Receive?

The zones where Pape Gueye 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
30%
Primary
Central, Middle third
16%
Secondary
Left Half-Space, Middle third
11%
Third
Right 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 Pape Gueye 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:
31633563443391021025472151841277
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.

0%3%3%7%5%1%1%7%19%19%8%0%1%3%6%10%6%0%
own goal left, attacking →
11

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.

10Key pass
3Cross
2Cutback
61Progressive
80Long ball
37Switch
By zone — where the pass started → where it landed
31Outside → Inside
300Inside → Inside
27Outside → Outside
98Inside → Outside
By direction
234Forward
119Backward
186Sideways
own goal left, attacking →
04

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 plays straight through the central, advancing it forward in the middle third — 3 passes worth 0.78 xT.
Where do his chances come from?
Of 10 key passes, his busiest route is a delivery where he switches it out from the right hs to the left wing, advancing it forward in the middle third — 1 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 central in the final third: 27% of his 33 touches there are lost (9 times).
—7 touches · too few6%1/16 lost13%4/31 lost17%3/18 lost—5 touches · too few7%1/14 lost8%5/60 lost12%19/165 lost14%12/87 lost21%5/24 lost8%1/12 lost25%6/24 lost27%9/33 lost26%8/31 lost25%3/12 lostRWRHSCLHSLWDEFMIDATT
Out of possession

Out of possession

Where and how he defends and presses.

14

How & where does he defend?

104 defensive actions across the season (12.1/90). 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 →
6
tackles · 50% won
7
interceptions · 0.8/90
37
recoveries · 4.3/90
8
clearances · 0.9/90
7
blocks
42
avg action height
9
won high (att 3rd)
54
middle third
41
own third
Vision AI A mid-block defender. He wins the ball mainly by stepping in — tackles, interceptions & recoveries outweigh clearances. 50 proactive ball-wins (5.8/90), tackle success 50%. He defends high, stepping out to intercept — suits a high line.
15

Can he play under pressure?

Split by how hard the opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower = more intense press). Can Pape Gueye 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 ~3-4 matches — directional evidence, not proof.

press tier
completion
prog /90
line-breaks /90
xT /90
High press (PPDA 5.5, 3m)
87%
4.7
6.8
1.27
Mid press (PPDA 6.5, 3m)
82%
7.4
7.7
1.75
Low press (PPDA 8.0, 4m)
85%
10.1
14.9
2.34
Team

Team context

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

16

Impact on the Team

Insufficient sample: Pape Gueye played nearly every Villarreal match in the loaded data, so there is no meaningful "without him" comparison yet. This section fills in as more matches (and the rest of the season) are scraped.

17

His Share of the Team

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

category
share
him / team
goals
21%
3 / 14
final-third entries
12%
225 / 1945
interceptions
11%
41 / 380
Recruitment

Style and verdict

Style profile, closest comparables, and the summary.

19

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 playmaker43%Tempo controller32%Ball-winning 629%
Why Deep-lying playmaker 43%: a weighted blend of progression 83 (weight 30%) + build-up 39 (weight 30%) + press resistance 35 (weight 20%) + retention 20 (weight 20%). The score reflects how distinctively his profile SHAPE matches this archetype vs his peers.
Elite
box threat, final-third threat, through-balls
Strong
line-breaking, passing directness, progression, creativity, receiving zones, crossing
Average
transition, carrying, dribbling
Weak
build-up, ball-winning, press resistance, defensive aggression, retention, territory (wide vs central)
Unknown
aerial ability, marking, off-ball running — not in event data
Box threat
99
Final-third threat
91
Through-balls ~proxy
89
Line-breaking
84
Passing directness
84
Progression
83
Creativity
81
Receiving zones
81
Crossing
78
Transition ~proxy
66
Carrying
65
Dribbling
50
Build-up
39
Ball-winning
37
Press resistance ~proxy
35
Defensive aggression
24
Retention
20
Territory (wide vs central)
16
20

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: 189 cm / 79 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.

Adam Wharton Crystal Palace · Premier League · 182 cm / 77 kg
85%
Driven by: creativity (12%), final-third threat (12%), passing directness (9%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via box threat, carrying; Wharton more via defensive aggression.
Santi Comesaña Villarreal · 188 cm / 75 kg
81%
Driven by: box threat (17%), crossing (13%), creativity (10%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via passing directness; Comesaña more via territory (wide vs central).
Nabil Bentaleb Lille · Ligue 1 · 187 cm / 76 kg
79%
Driven by: box threat (12%), final-third threat (12%), creativity (11%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via crossing, box threat; Bentaleb more via retention, build-up.
Granit Xhaka Sunderland · Premier League · 186 cm / 80 kg
77%
Driven by: final-third threat (15%), through-balls (11%), defensive aggression (11%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via box threat; Xhaka more via territory (wide vs central).
Youri Tielemans Man Utd · Premier League · 176 cm / 72 kg
77%
Driven by: creativity (15%), final-third threat (13%), box threat (12%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via box threat; Tielemans more via defensive aggression, retention.
Arthur Avom Lorient · Ligue 1 · 173 cm / 64 kg
66%
Driven by: final-third threat (14%), creativity (13%), through-balls (10%). Different mechanism — Gueye more via box threat; Avom more via territory (wide vs central), ball-winning.
21

Summary

Pape Gueye is a deep-lying playmaker: 85% completion, 80 line-breaks and 7.1 progressive passes /90, resisting pressure with 25% dribble success. A central controller. [Off-ball screening position and scanning need tracking data.]

Based on 10 matches (774 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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