David vs Freddie

Profiles in Pressure

A common refrain I have heard and read coming out of the loss the Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final was the importance of missing Reo Hatate from the team. Specifically, the consensus seems to be that his creativity would have helped breakdown the relatively passive low block Aberdeen deployed.

I admit to having been part of the consensus coming out of the game, but as is often the case, conducting an analysis to try and test the theory sent me down a related rabbit hole.

How do players perform when given time versus when they are…..Under Pressure…dun dun dun dun da dun dun?

More specifically as pertained to the Aberdeen game, how have our midfielders performed in the final attacking third, both under and not under pressure? Which midfielders were better suited for how the game played out?