Tyler Adams is back and it’s been a bit since I’ve graded a game. Put those factors together, add in some extra time due to MLK Day, and you have the ingredients for a non-USMNT grading column. Tyler Adams will still be addressed, I can’t help myself, but not too much more than the other Leipzig players.

Now about the title…

I’ve been calling these things Plus/Minus grade columns, but I’ve been advised by a couple different people to “brand” the idea. I had no idea what that meant, but due to some advice from a couple kind Twitter users I’ve settled on HalfSpaces Player Grades. Apparently to brand something you just name it something, wait for other people to start using the name and it’s “branded.” Thanks to analytics.soccer and Tutul Rahman for lending their professional expertise btw. I almost named them the HSΔ Grades because I thought it was nerdy/cool, but was advised to keep HalfSpaces in the title.

If you haven’t read one of these before click here for an explanation of the grading system.

I’ve also moved to a spreadsheet (created by a helpful redditor) for grading so there won’t be a picture of the notes for this one and possibly from now on. It was starting to take a while to calculate the grades and the spreadsheet streamlines the process.

Completed Grades

How to Interpret the Numbers

15+ Excellent game 9-14 Played well to very well 5-8 Solid 0-4 Not great, Bob Below 0 My expectations for Bill and Ted 3 (I’m 100% watching it though)

*The Adjusted Total uses the Elo formula to take into account opponent and competition factors.*

MOTM – Dayot Upamecano (+17)

I knew he was good. You hear that Arsenal and a host of other teams are after him, but I’d never really paid close attention to his game before. He’s amazing. He was dictating the attack from the back line during the first half, he can dribble out of pressure, he wins everything in the air, and shuts down counters with the best of them. In the play below Leipzig screws up a corner routine and Union Berlin gets out on the break. Upamecano was all the way in the box for the corner, but he gets back to get a foot on it. Then when the ball deflects to another attacker he chases down that guy and knocks it out of bounds.

And the crazy thing is HE CAN’T EVEN GET A GAME WITH THE FRENCH NATIONAL TEAM. There’s like 8 guys ahead of him on the depth chart. As an American soccer fan desperate for ONE world class center back it kinda makes me want to cry. In conclusion, Dayot Upamecano is a stud and life’s not fair.

Away Days

Still a little weirded out that I have an actual advertiser, but here we are. 🤓

Away Days is a soccer clothing startup based in Boston, MA that offers unique/cool soccer stuff. It’s a one person operation, but Martin will make sure you are taken care of no matter what. The company is known for the Mystery Kit, which for $25, Martin will send you a brand new jersey from a “lesser known” team. Away Days also has their own branded clothing line (hoodies, t-shirts, hats, etc), partners with US clubs to sell their jerseys, and offers a host of other mystery products. If you are looking for awesome soccer gear and customer service, look no further than http://awaydaysfootball.com.

I’ve purchased two of their jerseys and they are very nice. Received a Nottingham Forest jersey for myself and an FC Wacker jersey for my five year old son. Very cool idea.

Other Positive Performances

Timo Werner (+15)

Werner started the game out a little slowly, but he certainly finished with a flourish. He was only +2 at half time and had been fairly uninvolved. Then this happened:

Apparently, Timo Werner wants to join Liverpool next season. 🔴



Will we be seeing goals like this at Anfield next season? 👀#LFC #Liverpool #Liverpoolfc



pic.twitter.com/UKDvAAbJFS — The MVP Podcast (@The_MVPPodcast) January 20, 2020

After that he was a different player. He piled up +13 in the second half and scored another goal in addition to the one above. He’s terrifying in transition (+8) and good in possession (+7) as well. It’s easy to see why Liverpool and others are after him.

Tyler Shaan Melon Farmin’ Adams (+9)

Adams didn’t have his best game in my estimation (neither did Leipzig as a whole) and he still has me all kinds of hyped. I expected to be impressed with his defense and pressing, and while that was good, I came away even more impressed with his play while Leipzig was in possession. Adams has a knack for playing the ball quickly. He knows where his guys are and gets the ball to them unexpectedly fast. It catches the defense off guard and helps his team create dangerous chances. There were three of these passes that directly created danger and a couple more that were just good, quick passes.

You add that to his stellar defense and winning mentality and you have the USMNT’s #6 for the next decade. March can’t get here soon enough (January and February suck anyhow).

Room to Improve

Marcel Halstenberg (-4)

I haven’t watched much RB Leipzig this season (I expect that to change 🤓) so I don’t know if this is a regular thing, but Halstenberg struggled at left back. His passing was frequently off target and an errant pass led directly to Union Berlin’s only goal in the first half. He does make sneaky/clever runs, but he looked like the biggest liability in the team to me.

Adams may have been able to rescue this with a better touch, but that’s a bad ball

Konrad Laimer (+2)

I wasn’t real impressed with Adams’ midfield partner. He undoubtedly had some good moments, he was quite good in transition, but he was a problem in possession. When your team is approaching 70% possession, that’s gonna be an issue. Like Halstenberg, Laimer had difficulties passing the ball to the correct team and lost it a couple other times getting by caught on the ball.

Conclusion

I know most everyone in Germany hates RB Leipzig, but they are a very enjoyable team to watch. With Adams back and an actual title race in the Bundesliga I expect to be watching quite a bit of Leipzig in the Rückrunde. Rooting for the evil empire has never been so much fun.

PS – I’m having some issues with my right eye (eye doctor says it’s iritis) so anything you disagree with can be blamed directly on my poor vision. 😂

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