One of Borussia Dortmund’s longtime servants, Raphael Guerreiro, left the club as a free agent. He is a versatile left-back who can also play an attacking role on the left side as well as in the centre of the pitch. The Portuguese were added to the list of players who joined Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund. This left a gap on the left side of the defence for last season’s runners-up.
Borussia Dortmund wasted no time and added one of the most experienced full-backs in the league. Ramy Bensebaini joined the club from Borussia Monchengladbach and has started to settle in his new home. A decent goal-scoring full-back has made a decent start to the 2023–24 campaign. Here is a look at his stats and the reason why Dortmund bought him in the summer.
Attacking mindset
Raphael Guerreiro was an attacking full-back, and so was Bensebaini. He chipped in with six Bundesliga goals for Monchengladbach in the 2022–23 campaign. The manager even trusted him and handed him the responsibility to take the penalty kick. The Algerian full-back attempted 36 shots, averaging just over a shot per 90 minutes. He had a decent accuracy rate of 36%. Bensebaini managed to find space inside the penalty box, especially in front of the goal. This is what Edin Terzic will expect from his new left-back.
Ramy Bensebaini’s passing ability is decent. In the 2022–23 campaign, he averaged 41.9 passes per 90 minutes and had an accuracy rate of 79.3%. These included 2.13 passes to the penalty box, and the accuracy rate was 41.3%. The progressive pass chart shows that the player tries to find the attacker on his side. The 28-year-old provided one assist in the last campaign.
Decent start at Dortmund
The Algerian defender has made a decent start to his Borussia Dortmund career. He has played in the first four games for the club and has been rock solid in defence.
Ramy Bensebaini has won 74% of his defensive duels and 50% of his loose ball duels. He has made 21 interceptions and 43 crucial recoveries. The player has given away fouls, but not in dangerous areas. There is a massive improvement in his ground-duels-winning ability.
Replacing Guerreiro won’t be easy for Algeria. The above viz compares the stats of both players according to their percentile rank from the 2022–23 season. Raphael Guerreiro was more of an attacking threat and has dominated the attacking and passing stats. Bensebaini edged in the aerial duels, winning ability, and had better positioning.
Borussia Dortmund are unbeaten in the 2023–24 campaign. After losing the title on the final day of last season, they will look to dethrone Bayern Munich and end their reign at the top of the table. Ramy Bensebaini will be a key figure in this campaign and could be the one to lead his side to glory.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
