العربيةSeason2025/262026 · this seasonAll seasons
Building the full report
Combining every season — this one is larger, give it a moment.
Vision AI ← BACK TO SEARCH
Player reportSerie A 2025/26

Ibrahim Sulemana

Sassuolo
Ball-winning 6 (destroyer) DM
13.9 defensive actions/90
defensive midtempo controllerpress resistancescreening
1034
minutes
20 apps
420
passes
88% completed
88%
pass completion
420 passes
21
progressive passes
1.8/90
160
defensive actions
13.9/90
24
tackles + interceptions
68% tackle win
69
recoveries
6.0/90
23
line-breaking passes
2.0/90
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 (67% of his 420 passes)
88% completion · 420× in 20/20 matches
↓
ESCAPE PRESSURE
turn out of a tight central area
46% won · 24× in 13/20 matches
↓
PROGRESS CENTRAL
break a line through the middle
1.8 prog/90 · 23× in 10/20 matches
↓
SCREEN / WIN BALL
protect the back four
8.1 ball-wins/90 · 93× in 20/20 matches
↓
RECYCLE / PROGRESS
keep it ticking, feed the final third
2.8 f3-entries/90 · 32× in 12/20 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 →
21
passes / match
13.9
def actions / 90
2–52
pass range (matches)
20
clearances
Pass range = his fewest and most passes in any single match this season (2 at the low end, 52 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

106 tracked carries (9.2/90, 9 progressive, 878m 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%3%7%3%2%6%17%12%5%8%15%15%7%
progressivelateral/short% of his 106 carries originating in each zone · own goal left, attacking →
Every carry, exact path — median 7m, longest 25m
By zone — where the carry started → where it ended
6Outside → Inside
74Inside → Inside
17Outside → Outside
9Inside → Outside
First (37)Second (29)Third (24)Fourth (16)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).

19
tackle duels
13
won
6
beaten · 32%
brighter band = more tackle duels · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 68%
OUTSIDE 32%
Tackle-duel location — 13 inside · 6 outside
Right Wing
1 · 5%
Right Half-Space
0 · 0%
Central
8 · 42%
Left Half-Space
5 · 26%
Left Wing
5 · 26%
Vision AI beaten in 6 of 19 tackle duels (32% 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: 2.09 dribbles attempted /90.

brighter band = more dribbles · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 71%
OUTSIDE 29%
Dribble location — 17 inside · 7 outside
Right Wing
2 · 8%
Right Half-Space
0 · 0%
Central
7 · 29%
Left Half-Space
10 · 42%
Left Wing
5 · 21%
Vision AI 71% of his carries are central — he receives and turns in congested midfield zones rather than out wide.
02

How does he build & move the ball?

How does he escape the first line?

8%
vertical passes
14×
4%
switches
7×
30%
carries
55×
59%
short circulation
110×
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 →RWRHSCLHSLWRW2868%1914%418%5RHS5157%2918%925%13C8917%1521%1933%2918%1611%10LHS1163%36%732%3728%3232%37LW877%656%4937%32FROM
Rows normalised: each row sums to 100% of that lane's completed passes. Grey number = passes from that lane.

Primary route: the left wing in the middle third → the left half-space in the middle third — 7 progressive passes (26% of his progression) at -0.003 xT each. He moves it inside.

His progression is inward: 63% of progressive passes move the ball toward the middle versus 7% going wider — he cuts in rather than holding width.

Only 7% of his passes switch play, so his threat is same-side — contain the flank he occupies and the route closes.

Quality behind the volume: 6 line-breaking passes and 32 final-third entries, 0.3 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%2%4%8%3%0%0%6%12%13%3%1%11%14%17%6%0%
completedincomplete420 passes · any zone → any zone · own goal left, attacking →
420
passes
88%
completed
49
lost
Vision AIIn line with his 88% season completion rate.
04

How does he progress play?

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

21
progressive · 1.8/90
32
final-third entries · 2.8/90
4
box entries · 0.35/90
9
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?

6 key passes (0.52/90), 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:
17%17%33%17%17%
chance creation (6)assist (0)% of the selected group's key passes originating in each zone
05

Where does he become vulnerable?

62 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.

11
attacking third (cheap)
31
middle third
20
own third (dangerous)
Vision AI 18% of losses are in the attacking third — a notable share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Mistake danger (proxy): 2.25 danger-index/90 · 0.417 avg/turnover. Weights each loss by threat conceded at that location. True xT-conceded needs the opponent possession model; positional proxy.
06

What is his passing profile?

420
passes attempted
38%
mostly sideways
51%
mostly short
Direction
Forward
148 · 35%
Sideways
159 · 38%
Backward
113 · 27%
Length (completed)
Short (<15m)
191 · 51%
Medium
162 · 44%
Long (>30m)
18 · 5%
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.

0.390.300.300.260.170.12
own goal left, attacking →
Highest-value routes (xT)
0.39
Central Mid third → Left Half-Space Att third
1 passes
0.30
Left Wing Mid third → Left Wing Mid third
4 passes
0.30
Left Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Att third
1 passes · 1 to a shot
0.26
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Att third
1 passes · 1 to a shot
0.17
Left Half-Space Att third → Left Half-Space Att third
1 passes
0.12
Left Wing Att third → Left Wing Att third
1 passes
08

Where Does He Receive?

The zones where Ibrahim Sulemana 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
21%
Primary
Left Half-Space, Middle third
16%
Secondary
Central, Middle third
15%
Third
Left Wing, 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 Ibrahim Sulemana 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:
45160762612275055253281833122
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%2%4%8%3%0%0%6%12%13%3%1%11%14%17%6%0%
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.

6Key pass
2Cross
21Progressive
23Long ball
14Switch
By zone — where the pass started → where it landed
64Outside → Inside
162Inside → Inside
51Outside → Outside
94Inside → Outside
By direction
148Forward
113Backward
159Sideways
own goal left, attacking →
03

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 central to the left hs, advancing it forward in the middle third — 1 passes worth 0.39 xT.
Where do his chances come from?
Of 6 key passes, his busiest route is a delivery where he plays straight through the central 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 left wing in the defensive third: 33% of his 21 touches there are lost (7 times).
—3 touches · too few0%0/8 lost15%3/20 lost16%5/32 lost33%7/21 lost14%3/21 lost10%4/41 lost4%3/68 lost13%12/92 lost7%4/61 lost12%1/8 lost—7 touches · too few30%3/10 lost10%1/10 lost11%2/18 lostRWRHSCLHSLWDEFMIDATT
Out of possession

Out of possession

Where and how he defends and presses.

13

How & where does he defend?

160 defensive actions across the season (13.9/90). 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 →
19
tackles · 68% won
5
interceptions · 0.4/90
69
recoveries · 6.0/90
20
clearances · 1.7/90
8
blocks
36
avg action height
6
won high (att 3rd)
74
middle third
80
own third
Vision AI A mid-block defender. He wins the ball mainly by stepping in — tackles, interceptions & recoveries outweigh clearances. 93 proactive ball-wins (8.1/90), tackle success 68%. He defends mostly around the middle third.
14

Can he play under pressure?

Split by how hard the opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower = more intense press). Can Ibrahim Sulemana 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 ~6-8 matches — directional evidence, not proof.

press tier
completion
prog /90
line-breaks /90
xT /90
High press (PPDA 4.3, 6m)
85%
1.3
0.6
0.36
Mid press (PPDA 6.2, 6m)
88%
2.8
2.8
0.66
Low press (PPDA 8.4, 8m)
90%
1.5
2.3
0.57
Team

Team context

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

15

Impact on the Team

Insufficient sample: Ibrahim Sulemana played nearly every Sassuolo 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.

16

His Share of the Team

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

category
share
him / team
ball recoveries
3%
69 / 2263
successful take-ons
3%
11 / 386
expected goals (xG)
2%
1.6 / 64.4
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.

Tempo controller68%Deep-lying playmaker58%Ball-winning 638%
Why Tempo controller 68%: a weighted blend of retention 78 (weight 35%) + build-up 61 (weight 30%) + press resistance 71 (weight 20%) + progression 24 (weight 15%). The score reflects how distinctively his profile SHAPE matches this archetype vs his peers.
Elite
—
Strong
retention, dribbling, press resistance
Average
box threat, territory (wide vs central), build-up, carrying, transition, through-balls, ball-winning
Weak
defensive aggression, passing directness, crossing, progression, final-third threat, creativity, receiving zones, line-breaking
Unknown
aerial ability, marking, off-ball running — not in event data
Retention
78
Dribbling
77
Press resistance ~proxy
71
Box threat
69
Territory (wide vs central)
62
Build-up
61
Carrying
57
Transition ~proxy
56
Through-balls ~proxy
47
Ball-winning
41
Defensive aggression
38
Passing directness
34
Crossing
30
Progression
24
Final-third threat
20
Creativity
19
Receiving zones
17
Line-breaking
9
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: 180 cm / 72 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 Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Premier League, 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.

Boubacar Traoré Metz · Ligue 1 25/26 · 183 cm / 67 kg
76%
Driven by: creativity (14%), line-breaking (13%), final-third threat (12%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via territory (wide vs central), through-balls; Traoré more via defensive aggression, ball-winning.
Junior Mwanga Le Havre · Ligue 1 · 184 cm / 80 kg
72%
Driven by: line-breaking (12%), creativity (12%), receiving zones (11%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via box threat, territory (wide vs central); Mwanga more via passing directness, carrying.
Haris Belkebla Angers · Ligue 1 · 177 cm / 68 kg
70%
Driven by: creativity (16%), final-third threat (12%), crossing (12%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via box threat, through-balls.
Maxi Oyedele Strasbourg · Ligue 1 25/26 · 180 cm / 70 kg
70%
Driven by: creativity (16%), line-breaking (13%), retention (12%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via box threat, through-balls; Oyedele more via build-up.
Batista Mendy Sevilla · La Liga 25/26 · 191 cm / 82 kg
68%
Driven by: creativity (18%), line-breaking (17%), progression (14%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via carrying, through-balls.
Facundo Bernal Real Betis · La Liga · 189 cm / 80 kg
68%
Driven by: creativity (22%), line-breaking (16%), final-third threat (14%). Different mechanism — Sulemana more via territory (wide vs central), carrying.
20

Summary

Ibrahim Sulemana is a tempo controller / deep-lying playmaker: 88% completion, 23 line-breaks and 1.8 progressive passes /90, resisting pressure with 46% dribble success. A central controller. [Off-ball screening position and scanning need tracking data.]

Based on 20 matches (1034 minutes) — a reasonable read, still building toward a full-season sample. He profiles as a tempo controller / deep-lying playmaker — best used in a system built around that identity. His biggest room for growth is progression — even a modest improvement there would meaningfully lift his overall tempo controller 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.

Vision AI · building report