Matheus Cunha provided the assist for Hwang Hee-Chan’s eighth goal of the season, and the only goal in a 1-0 win for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Burnley, which saw the home side move to 12th in the table, 11 points ahead of Burnley.
Although Burnley tried imposing themselves at the other end of the pitch in the first-half, trying to play out from the back drew Wolves’ press closer. Dara O’Shea’s pass to Sander Berge triggered the press. Midfielder Mario Lemina pushed up to close down Berge, who took a heavy touch. Pablo Sarabia recovered possession and in doing so, cut the ball back to Cunha who had been occupying space on the edge of the penalty-area. Cunha quickly fed the ball to Hwang, who took a touch, and feinted before shooting.
Hwang has been enjoying a good run of goal scoring form, but in the latest Weekly Tactical, we are here to talk about Cunha.
Cunha is part of a Wolves side that was taken over by Gary O’Neill, after he steered Bournemouth clear of relegation last season. And in his time as manager, Wolves have shown themselves to be disciplined without the ball, and a side who try to create solutions to derail the strengths of the opposition, whilst also wanting to move the ball forward quickly after regaining it.
Firstly, Cunha is a frequent dribbler, and not the only one for Wolves. According to FBref, Hwang, Neto, Aït-Nouri, and Cunha have all completed at least 1.9 take ons per 90 after at least nine full 90s; Cunha completes the most with 2.39, achieving a success rate of 45.8% in the process. For further context, Cunha completed 7 in a heavily contested 2-2 draw with Newcastle United.
Playing as a centre-forward, either alone or in a front two depending on the chosen set-up, Cunha will drop back into midfield to receive the ball. From there, Cunha will bring the ball forward at speed, forcing the opposition’s shape backwards, and bringing Wolves’ forward respectively. Cunha made use of vacant space in central areas during transitions against Manchester United, who, although taking three points, struggled to contain his ball-carrying with their own press.
And when carrying the ball towards goal, Cunha tends to feed runs made by wing-backs and wingers on either flank, who can either drive down the outside and play a cross into the box, or into the box and go for goal themselves. In one example, in a 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur, both Rayan Aït-Nouri took a shot at goal after Cunha brought the ball forward and fed him the ball.
Cunha’s tendency to drop into midfield is further evidenced by his touch maps. Cunha’s touch maps for the last two league games, against Arsenal and Burnley, show that Wolves’ centre-forward has the ball on both left and right sides, and even in Wolves’ half of the pitch. Cunha likes to be heavily involved in the lead up to goal scoring chances, rather than only being on the end of them.
Receiving the ball in positions across the pitch, be that up front, in midfield, or out wide, lends itself to providing goals and assists. Cunha has provided a goal or an assist in five of the past seven games, and has 4 goals (Second to Hwang) and 3 assists (Second to Neto, with 7) in total. These contributions have come in key moments; Cunha’s lofted delivery from the left set up Sarabia to equalise against Tottenham, and Cunha combined with Neto to score an equaliser away to Bournemouth.
But even when bearing this in mind, you might argue that Cunha needs to improve when shooting at goal. Cunha has scored 4, but that is only after 31 shots, which means Cunha has only converted 12.4% of his attempts at goal. In comparison, Hwang has scored 8 goals from 24 shots, with a conversion rate of 19.2%.
Cunha does combine well with Hwang, and does as well with Sarabia and, prior to his injury, Neto. Though could Cunha continue to do this from a role in midfield for Wolves? Cunha’s biggest strengths are arguably his ability to carry the ball forward from deep, and his work-rate without the ball. From midfield, either in a 3-4–3, 3-5–2, or 4-2-3-1, Cunha would be able to assist in closing down space in midfield, and be able to carry the ball forward, as he does when dropping deeper from more advanced areas.
They are not exactly the same profiles, but inspiration could be taken from Brazilian compatriot Joelinton being converted from an inconsistent centre-forward, to a highly reliable midfielder at Newcastle. It would mean that Wolves would have to deploy another forward, be that Sasa Kalajdzic, Fabio Silva, or a signing that could be made in January, but it could be a move worth considering.
The Conventional Playmaker 