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How Fabian Hurzeler Has Changed Maxim De Cuyper At Brighton
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- How Fabian Hurzeler Has Changed Maxim De Cuyper At Brighton
Maxim De Cuyper has changed his entire Brighton career trajectory this season, contributing goals and assists in nearly every game he plays. But what has changed?
Left back... or an elite forward?
De Cuyper was formerly known for playing as an out-and-out left back, and continues to do so for his country, Belgium.
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However, it seems like things have changed this season, as Fabian Hürzeler has tapped into his skill set further beyond his traditional natural position. As we know, Hürzeler loves to interchange players based on their qualities as opposed to their natural position, but on this occasion, it works incredibly well.
We have known since Albion faced Nottingham Forest last season that De Cuyper was capable of popping up with goals inside the box. He opened his Albion account at the City Ground in rather impressive fashion.
A pop-up in the box after the ball broke into free space, and the right foot of the Belgian finished off the chance magnificently. You could tell from that very moment that it appeared to be very natural for him.
De Cuyper continued to have cameos on the left wing largely due to the unavailability of Kaoru Mitoma. Despite Mitoma's quality, his availability has let him down in recent years.
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Perhaps the box-crashing ability has become something to seriously look out for in the Premier League this season. While he isn't a traditional take-on winger, he will often get himself into a good position, ghosting into the box relatively unmarked.
His goals so far against the likes of Aston Villa, Tromsø, Manchester United, and most recently up at Sunderland have all come from a similar manoeuvre.
Interestingly, this fails to be picked up on by defenders almost every time, down to the intense style of play and carefully picked passes in the Hürzeler system.
Graph via Football Critic
I'm sorry, but this is not the graph of a defensive football player. This is a ball-playing attacker who knows how to finish chances clinically.
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De Cuyper has scored twice in the Premier League, providing two assists from 1.8xG and 0.67xA (expected assists), as well as scoring a goal and providing an assist against Tromsø. These aren't normal numbers for a 'left back'.
On top of this, he is surprisingly two-footed. The Belgian scored with his right foot at Old Trafford to win the game for the Seagulls.
The most shocking part of that winning goal wasn't just the finish, but the position he occupied for the goal. Popping up in the six-yard box is a common theme for De Cuyper, just like his goal against Villa on opening day. Right place, right time... there are no accidents.
