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Pace, dribbling and work-rate: Why Milan signed Alex Jimenez from Real Madrid

By Isak Möller -

AC Milan secured the services of full-back Alex Jimenez from Real Madrid on a loan with an option to buy this summer. So far, the 18-year-old has looked very good for the Primavera side. 

The signing of the youngster was praised by many experts this summer and The Athletic even labelled him as ‘one of Real Madrid’s top talents’. And the start of the season has not been disappointing.

ScoutCalcio provided some insight on Jimenez in a Twitter thread, starting with a list of strengths: Incredible pace, explosive acceleration, agility aggressive defending, ball control, dribbling, vision, crossing, and finishing. Remind you of anyone?

Starting with the pace of the left-back, as you can see in the clip below, Chaka Traore wins the ball against Dortmund. Jimenez then explodes and runs to join the attack, offering solutions. This is something he also uses in the defensive phase, of course.

Not only does he have a raw pace, but he also has an impressive acceleration. In the clip below, the ball ended up further away from Jimenez than he would have liked and the defender thought he had a shot to get it. But then came the full-back’s acceleration.

In his defending, Jimenez is very aggressive, which is exactly how Milan plays under the guidance of Ignazio Abate. He’s pushing high on his man in the clip below, not giving him any time to think, but he still manages to avoid an unnecessary foul. He knows exactly how to do it, in other words.

In the 1v1 situations, Jimenez is also a very ‘clean’ tackler, so to speak. In the clips below you can see him easily winning the ball back without risking fouls. His agility helps him here, as he can get between the opponent and the ball easily.

When he’s in possession, he’s very difficult to take the ball from. That also goes for the defensive phase, the opponents struggle to win the battle against Jimenez. This gives him a constant advantage, as you can see below.

Another massive strength of Jimenez is his dribbling, both when he’s running at full pace and in tight situations. In the clips below, you can see how he (like Theo Hernandez) controls the ball at full speed to dribble past the defender, cutting inside to either pass or take a shot.

Not only does he have great dribbling skills at full speed, but he’s also very good in tight spaces thanks to his great ball control. In the clip below, in a very tight space + followed by an opponent, he uses his great ball control to dribble past the defenders.

Jimenez can play on both sides (right-back, left-back) thanks to his great ball control with both feet. In the clip below, you can see him one time getting a long ball and controlling it with his left (weak foot) and the next one controlling it with his right.

Another big skill of Jimenez is his anticipation of the opponent, and that’s why he often intercepts passes by getting into the passing lane. In the clip below, the Dortmund player tried to outsmart him, but Jimenez knew it and won the ball.

Jimenez has great vision to find his teammates in space/between the lines, and also has the passing skills to deliver the passes. In the clips below, you can see that he finds his teammates running into space or moving between the lines.

Thanks to that great vision and passing skill, Jimenez is also very good at verticalizing and, of course, crossing. In the clip below, you can see how effortlessly he makes some vertical plays to find the other winger in huge space.

Finally, the Spaniard has a great work-rate, going forward and defending. In the clip below, you can see how he starts the attack with his dribbling but Milan loses the ball, and Jimenez doesn’t stop but instantly runs to win the ball back in defence.

It’s clear all the talent needed to succeed in football, if he keeps his head on his shoulder (like he is doing at the moment), then only the sky is the limit.

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Tags AC Milan Alex Jimenez Real Madrid

7 Comments

  1. I can’t see Calabria improving any further.. so they should give him a few minutes with the senior team and get him ready..

        1. He is right footed and RB,he plays as LB just because bartesaghi joined senior team and they have very good bakoune as a RB

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