View: West Brom summer signing ready to star after incredible stat v Sheffield United
West Brom got their Premier League season up and running last weekend with a valuable 1-0 win over Sheffield United at The Hawthorns.
A first-half Conor Gallagher goal was the difference between the two sides, but it was Matheus Pereira who shined brightest.
Back in his favoured number 10 role after Slaven Bilic switched to a 5-2-1-2 system, Pereira was on fire against the Blades.
On Saturday, the Brazilian was a creative menace throughout and generated numerous chances for his teammates. According to FBRef, he completed nine key passes and 13 shot-creating actions in just 90 minutes. Additionally, he made seven progressive passes and two passes into the penalty area, while he dribbled for 164 yards in progressive distance.
These numbers are by far his most impressive of the season and show just how reliant the Baggies are on the 24-year-old’s creativity. No player in the current squad has completed more than eight key passes in total this season, and Pereira achieved that in just one game (via FBRef).
While Bilic was not necessarily wrong to use him in a free role on the right, he looked at home back in the number 10 spot. The system not only gets the best out of Pereira but it also gives the side an additional defender and allows Gallagher to use his running power from deep in the midfield.
Going forward, Bilic still needs to work out his best back three configuration, but with Gallagher and Romaine Sawyers behind Pereira in midfield, he has finally hit a nice balance in the centre of the park.
With Pereira’s breakout Premier League performance coming against Sheffield United, who are bottom of the league, there is likely to be scepticism but the Blades do have a very solid defence, having conceded just 16 times in 10 matches. Goalscoring may have been a massive issue, but Pereira was able to wreak havoc against a very well-drilled backline.
Of course, replicating this sort of output every week is unrealistic, but West Brom’s number 10 can take huge confidence from this showing and begin to prove his quality as a Premier League star.
In other West Brom news, summer signing is running out of time to prove himself