Luca Netz Makes First Premier League Start

91 days after joining the club, the 22 year old made his first start in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge

He perhaps wouldn’t have expected nor wanted to have waited so long for his first start, but when it came there’s no doubt Luca Netz put in a fantastic shift, up against a tough (but out of form) Cole Palmer.

Some of his key stats from the game included:

• No player attempted more tackles than Netz’s 6

• No player had more successful tackles than Netz’s 4

• No player made more clearances than Netz’s 4

• No player made more ball recoveries than Netz’s 6

Yes, it’s just one game - but these are all very encouraging statistics from a game where the 22 year old didn’t look out of place at all. He’s unfortunate that there was no room for him in the 22-man Europa League squad, and also that in the pecking order he’s behind arguably Forest’s most consistent performer in Neco Williams.

But at Stamford Bridge, he showed that he can be trusted should Forest need to call on him again - and if they are to progress into the Europa League final, then we’ll no doubt see more of him in the final 3 league games of the season.

No Game Time? No Problem

Netz showed with his first action that he had no nerves at all - remember despite his young age he has over 100 Bundesliga appearances under his belt already. Here he jumps onto a loose pass and immediately carries forward.

It’s a confident move considering that he’s been left with both Cole Palmer & Malo Gusto on his flank - but this first action is great to see. Obviously his decision making could improve here - he makes a nice move to open up some space but turns down a pass wide to Igor Jesus and turns the ball over.

He does know however he has players behind him though, and I think the fact he feels like he can try this so early speaks volumes about the atmosphere and culture Vitor Pereira is creating behind the scenes.

Only a few minutes later, Netz is on his toes again and is able to intercept from a good base position - not too wide and not too narrow. He carries the ball strongly for 60 yards before turning back and recycling the ball.

Defensively Strong - Staying Tight to Palmer

Throughout the first half, Netz would regularly get tight to Cole Palmer when he was wide - the idea being that there was no easy opportunity for him to turn and run at him or any other Forest defender.