The best LB in the world. NUNO MENDES.✨ pic.twitter.com/0vcrcUZUh2— Breezeway (@Breezyway7) October 5, 2025 what a fu*king goal
Nuno mendes His freekick goal against Lille last night Try refreshing the page as I edited my post and added a tweet with the same video.
His trajectory, including absolutely owning Yamal so easily and completely Nuno wins MoTM awards (against Spain in the Nations League final and last week against Barcelona in the Champions League) Even free kicks are in the man’s repertoire. Can’t be stopped. Literally just turned 23 a few months ago.
What he will do is my prognosis. To be honest, I'd be very surprised if he becomes worse or lesser than Neymar at his peak. The only thing I see standing in his way is injuries. Yeah, Gabriel Jesus was a scam, Vinicius Jr, another, and so on, but Estevao is the truth! At 20 or 21 will be one of the best EPL player ever!
Roberto Carlos, yes. Roberto Carlos was not primarily known for his defensive ability whereas Nuno does that role extremely well - and this is an important distinction. A left back is still a defender so their primary purpose is to defend first, attack second. Nuno’s game against Spain perfectly represents him as a player - defensively he literally owned Yamal and then he also changed the game from an attacking perspective - both scoring and providing an assist. Literally doing everything he can conceivably be expected to do as a left back - shutting down the opponent’s attack and influencing the attacking game from both a goal-scoring and assisting perspective. As perfect a game a left back can have. Maldini is a different story. Honestly it would be very difficult to surpass him but the point is it’s possible - especially if Mendes wins a World Cup or Euro with Portugal. Maldini’s impact at Milan though is really second to none as a defender not named Beckenbauer so the standard is as high as it gets. It’s possible is my point, just not possible to definitively say one way or another yet.
0:17 - presses him by the line. Does not interrupt him enough to recieve the pass, doesn't physically push him off or gains an advantagous position, nor does he clear the ball off. He gets turned, gets distracted by potential off ball, loses Yamal. Yamal is not physically strong. This was reluctant from Mendes, not enough aggression. Not a proper technique and use of physical attributes. 0:21 - tries to recover and tackle him from the behind. Gets sitted down on his ass. The worst thing you can do as a defender because you temporarly get out of the picture. Recovers tho because it wasn't a clear cut counter attack. 0:30 - gets absolutely owned by Yamal and sitted on his ass again within 5 seconds. Creates a space in defense that Yamal exploits with through ball (where Mendes should be) for a very good chance to score. Already from this sequence I can tell you several things about his defending: Hesitant aggression Gets on the ground too easy Inadequate use of physical attributes 0:38 - he is decently close so he can close down Yamal by the line relatively quickly. Decent use of physical attributes just to show him "I am here" and push Yamal backwards. That is good. Of course, with more confidence or specific game state, this was an opportunity to close down aggressively and win the ball, but nothing wrong with pushing him /forcing him backwards. Do not give him breathing room, make him feel you and push him backwards. 0:51 - this was not very smart. This is a terrible situation to put yourself in and you have to make decisions prior that to not put yourself in this situation. Bad decisions led to this. Of course it is hard to tell from a clip the full context. But too long on the ball. Kind of missing the vision because his teammate was behind him. Tunnel vision. Then trying to shield the ball and almost losing it. If this is a pattern for him (inability to solve such situations when high pressed), that is a big problem. 1:06 - not sure why he chased him so hard for so long. He was pulled way off of his position and turned easily without challenge. Then he doesn't press him hard once he turns towards goal and allows him a free pass forward into "the left fullback" position. He is really not very aggressive defender. He likes to chase more than really get into it. He is like in this no mans land, neither aggressive nor positional. Few times he tried to be aggressive so far, he was owned by Yamal. 1:19 - one on one with Yamal. Gets a bit wrong footed by Yamal, but this is the type of aggressivness that is necessary. This was on the edge of being dribbled past, which would resulted in a big chance, but he recovered the initial momentum by Yamal. But also it is Yamal, it would be no shame being dribbled past by him. This is a high quality one on one defending and this shows a defending potential by Mendes where he uses very good physical attributes and aggressiveness to win the ball. Problem so far is that he looks a little bit lost at moments, not sure when to use aggressiveness and when not. 1:28 - he clearly approached a job of defending against Yamal in terms of not being dribbled past by him. His whole posture is so defensive. He has a posture of "I am ready to sprint back. You are not going to dribble past him": Yamal's threat of dribbling is actually messing with his head a little bit. Not sure if this was a strategy by Enrique for Yamal, but Mendes is expecting and anticipating dribbling so much that he is allowing him time and space on the ball to pick up passes. The reason is that if you try to press him aggressively or try to anticipate a pass so you could intercept it, your posture and body becomes vulnerable and you might be caught by surprise and get dribbled past. This is what's happening here and so far in the game. The problem is that you are giving Yamal time and space to pick up passes which he can do extremely well. To be fair, that is why Yamal is Yamal. It is a bit too much to ask of him to do all. However, I would expect that the soon to be the greatest left fullback of all time kind of has a capacity to handle multiple threats at once at a very high level. So far Mendes is struggling a lot to handle Yamal in this game. 1:47 - again, terrified to close down because of the dribbling threat. Allows Yamal to do whatever he wants. 1:54 - Yamal is just brilliant. Not much to say about Mendes. I think he positions well. This is extremely unorthodox passing line to intercept it. No need to press this highly like a maniac. This is more down to central defenders to cover such passes. And sometimes it is just brilliance by attackers. 2:08 - again terrified of getting dribbled past. That might indicate a very narrow capacity to handle multiple things at once. Also he doesn't have much confidence in defensive IQ and defensive skills nor ability to recover after being dribbled past. Plus, what I absolutely don't like in this clip is his initial reaction to pass getting through. It is instinctively slow to run backwards. 2:18 - decent closing down. The same thing: being prepared not to get dribbled past. Pushes him backwards a bit, that is good. However, again, I don't like his reaction while running back. 2:28 - and this is EXACTLY why I don't like his reactions. he does it again. Pushes up to intercept Yamal, gets off his position. Then does the same slow turn and jogging backwards. Ferran exploits the space he left vacant with Mendes stepping up, and you can clearly see the moment in which Mendes realizes that he ********ed up because he speeds up a little bit. But only for a moment because Pedri goes towards left flank (Rashford) after which Mendes slows down again thinking danger is done. It is not done. Ferran scores a goal. It is his man. Central defenders were also a bit silly. Mendes rises the hand up immediately calling offside which was not the case. I think he really thought Ferran was offside, which means his sense of space is a bit skewed. He doesn't have a natural sense for time and space. That is not something you can work on throughout your career. It is a complete miscalculation and overconfidence on his part. 2:53 - good job staying with him. You can here see why Mendes has entire game been so cautious with his defensive posture. Yamal lost the control of the ball. 3:00 - again, not close enough to press him down, intercept pass, make him take a bad touch, push him away.. not far away to defend his zone. In no men land. But to be fair again, Yamal is just that good. 3:10 - good reaction. However, he doesn't have an instinct to immediately offer a passing option when they are in possession, but is a bit sluggish again. 3:16 - sluggish, slow reaction again, gets caught napping and Pedri runs in behind him. It is a pattern of sluggish reactions. However, he now sprints towards Pedri, recovers quickly and uses aggression well in that tackle. So physical attributes are there, but his reactions, defensive IQ is average at best. 3:27 - almost the worst thing you can do as a fullback is to press high with aggression and be easily turned over, which almost happened here. I mean these clips of Menders oerall are not some catastrophic defensive blunders that never happen in matches, but I am not seeing much impressive here defensively, especially to say something like Mendes owned Yamal in this game. It is actually the other way around in this game. Yamal toyed with Mendes who was struggling to find a rythm. 3:38 - again we see a sluggish reaction by Mendes when jogging backwards, but not that bad this time around. Other examples were much worse. 3:48 - he is not afraid of contact and duel. That is a good thing. He is not avoiding it. This was a good body position, he was light on his feet, didn't concede space. He has good qualities of a proper, trained, textbook fullback. 3:55 - gets caught again. I don't understand does he not anticipate them or does he overestimates his ability to recover back with sprint... but Yamal, this entire game keeps him guessing and he is unsure when to press, when to defend zones. 4:00 - one on one with Kounde. probably should have been more aggressive with Kounde given the fact he is not that technically good or a dribbling threat. And here I like his reaction after Kounde passes the ball. In contrast with the Ferran goal: His reaction was quick and decisive. 4:05 - good, let him feel you physically. Do not let him breath. This is good. 4:20 - a big error. "Mendes owned Yamal the last week in ucl". Yeah, cool. Later with foul, shows a capacity for aggression. Pace, athleticism is world class. 4:36 - very good pressing and aggression. Yamal is just freak. Good foul as well. 4:50 - proper, excellent defending. Reactions good. He covers a run in behind so he can anticipate it, at least he did it in this situation unlike Kounde, Ferran and others. Good defending posture and technique. Quick feet, agility... his positioning between the ball and goal is on point, which allowed him to block the shot. 5:07 - good explosiveness although he was sleeping a tiny bit. Physical abilities again on point. His agility to stop and sntach the ball was very good. I don't like his decision to carry the ball forward so eagerly. There was no point in being so aggressive with the ball carry. He won fould, but this could have easily resulted in the possession lost in dangerous area. This is not a good habit to have. Not sure if it is a habit tho. 5:29 - gets caught pressing high and attacker running past him the space behind him. Again. This could easily be a big chance because he overcommited too much against a player who has pace (Yamal). Unless of course he thinks he is faster than him. I dont know. Then you can afford such risk. 5:36 - there is only one player getting owned in this match and it is not Yamal. 5:56 - Yamal again toys with him. Mendes goes to press him, he passes behind him. 6:04 - Mendes eventually recovers and clears the ball from Yamal. Very good recovery in chaotic situation. Basically that is it. Hardly a defensive titan. Mendes is better in attack than he is in defense. What he did is put together several very good / excellent performances in winning teams under big enough spotlight, and now he is the next something? I mean there are fullbacks all the time putting in great work and excellent performances. Mendes is very good offensively, and here he can perhaps built his world class career, if he is going to have such, but defensively he is far from being talented enough to make a mark there.
lmao cope harder. In his main two battles with Yamal he came out as Man of the Match and you literally try to downplay it lmaooo My guy, you should try accepting reality rather than fighting it. Your words are taken more seriously when you do. But you keep wasting your time with inane second by second analyses - you're smarter than everyone else so keep it up! https://www.beinsports.com/en-us/so...-mvp-against-barcelona-s-wonderkid-2025-10-02 Nuno Mendes has proven to be the only defender capable of stopping Lamine Yamal: two duels, two MVPs, and a rivalry that is already a European classic. "Two Matches, Two MVP Performances What makes this rivalry so striking is that in both encounters, Mendes not only performed well but outshone everyone else on the pitch. For a left-back to claim MVP honors twice, especially against one of the game’s brightest young stars, is a rare feat. Nations League 2025: MVP, goal, and flawless defending. Champions League 2025/26: MVP, assist, and total control in Barcelona. The record is clear: two games, two victories for Mendes in his personal battle with Yamal."
I have no interest in entertaining opinions of sensationalists and simpletons. If you want to talk actual football, then you can join the analysis of Mendes' defensive performance against Yamal. Football is played on the pitch, not in newspapers' articles. Btw, his performance against Spain is much better than against Barcelona. I am talking about the later and specifically about his defensive performance against Yamal and his prospect as the futures "greatest left fullback of all time." Yamal owned him in the ucl game.
There’s your problem right there. You’re very clearly arrogant and pompous - your words prove it. You assume you know more than literally everyone else including the technical committee that decided Nuno Mendes was MoTM. They must be biased , right? You’re actually so arrogant you claim that opinions that divert from yours, in this case commonly held opinion by the general public and specific footballing committees hired to make assessments like this, are that of simpletons and sensationalists. Everyone else is a simpleton and sensationalist, except you. You’re a piece of work. You actually literally said with your own words why anything you state on this subject is in bad faith and why nobody should waste their time discussing this with you. For you to claim Mendes was owned in a game he won Man of the Match highlights the absurdity of your logic. Or lack of.
Show me a person who can watch 22+ players simultaniously for 90+ minutes on the pitch, see everything that is going on for every player: every positioning, movement, decision, touch, etc... can keep all that information in their head for every player and then within minutes or hours after the game make a reasonable, fair, sound judgement about the level of performance for each player? (Let alone actually understanding football to certain level) Show me that person. The difference is that I simply dont lie to myself that I can. People can hold around 7 pieces of information simultaniously in their head. Think about that and what does that mean about newspaper ratings and opinions. If you have a different opinion than someone else, of course you will think that the other person is wrong that is kind of the point of having a different opinion. Newspapers are not about sensationalism?
Buddy, you said the player who won the Man of the Match was owned. Do you know what these words mean? To be "owned' means being thoroughly beaten by your opponent - it means they neutralized you, made you look foolish and you were a liability to your team. To be "Man of the Match" means being judged as the single most effective and influential player on the entire pitch. It is a logical impossibility for both of those things to be true. You don't seem to get this - because of what? Your personal analysis of a few video clips that you deem superior to the collective judgement of an UEFA technical committee, professional journalists and the general public? It's literally such an absurd take I have to ask if you're joking. And you want an answer to your first question? Who is that person? You literally do think you are that person. You can state you think you're not - but your behavior and words are very coherent in showing YOU DO think you are that person. You said, verbatim, everyone else (including a professional technical committee cannot properly assess the game - they are simpletons that can't see what you see so you are literally in your own words claiming you can do what they can't.) You think that a technical committee (COMMITTEE - do you know what this word means? It means an assembly of people, not just a single person.) can't properly track the performance of a game yet you are literally claiming that you can do it - better than them. This has got to be some sort of bit. I've been on this forum 20 years now and rarely have I seen someone so arrogant and pompous work themselves into a logical pretzel by their own words.
"The official UEFA committee, the media, and the public are all incorrect, and I, a random Croatian Barcelona fan on an internet forum, am correct. Simple." You sound like a baby throwing a tantrum. And no - I am not going to waste my time to prove what everyone else, except you, already knows. You've shown you don't listen to others. It would be, by definition, a literal waste of my time.
Better yet, show me where did Mendes own Yamal in that game in ucl based on your own criteria. You claimed that. Your words:
Croatian, random, Barcelona. What is that, mf? It has nothing to do with the discussion! You are being unfair and you know that! That user SexyBeast actually put a video and analyzed play by play Nuno's match (in the UCL), it is clearly visible by the video that Yamal got clearly the best of Nuno there! To appear to authority when you have the real evidence is misery! Nuno was better in the Nations League match, which Sexy apointed, but not in every encounter... to be seen as better than Roberto Carlos is also a big step, maybe even harder to Mbappe became better than Cristiano Ronaldo.
If someone disagreeing with the official UEFA commitee's MotM award makes that person arrogant, then, yes, I am arrogant.