Analysis: Impressive Ismail Jakobs shines brightly vs. Lyon
While the likes of Eliesse Ben Seghir and Lamine Camara drew the majority of the headlines from AS Monaco’s thumping 0-2 away win against Olympique Lyonnais, there’s no doubting Ismail Jakobs deserved the spotlight too following his exceptional display.
With rumours circulating that the Senegal international could be leaving the club this summer, despite Adi Hutter wanting him to stay, due to the quality ASM possess at left-back, which also includes Caio Henrique and Kassoum Ouattara, Jakobs let his football do all talking to continue his impressive form.
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“Caio is now available, but when you are out for a while, it is not easy to come back. We obviously know his strengths and we know how important he is but for the moment, “Izo” deserves to be in the starting eleven because he played good games against Saint-Etienne, Barcelona and last season. With Kassoum, Ismail and Caio, I have three quality players in this position and after the international break, everyone will have their chance because we are going to play a lot of games,” Hutter recently explained.
Once again repaying his manager’s faith and showcasing why he’s such a weapon for Hutter’s Monaco, just like he’s done in pre-season and vs. AS Saint-Etienne, the athletic defender was a constant thorn in the side of Lyon.
Providing his team with so much offensive thrust and drive, his marauding forward runs were a huge feature of his game, as he effectively stretched the Lyon backline horizontally and vertically on countless instances.
Timing his runs superbly and taking full advantage of nominal left winger, Ben Seghir, drifting infield to draw his marker, Jakobs was a fantastic outlet to propel his team forward with his intelligent movement.
The examples below aptly illustrate how he exploited the oceans of space on offer, as Lyon struggled to combat him courtesy of them being so concerned with Ben Seghir and ASM’s central offensive presence.
His high and wide positioning also saw him serve as a fine option for Philipp Kohn to find directly from goal kicks to exploit Lyon’s weakness in this area when pressing. Regularly forming ideal 2v1s with Ben Seghir and evading detection from markers, this, in combination with how he’d frequently generate overloads, enhanced his menace.
The way he’d execute sharp rotations with Ben Seghir certainly elevated his threat, with this giving him the platform to embark on some wicked underlapping runs and occupy quality central areas to hurt Lyon.
Coalescing brilliantly with Ben Seghir, it was a joy to watch them generate space for one another by pinning and drawing foes and by causing disconnects in the home team’s rearguard.
Also impacted proceedings with his terrific crosses and cutbacks, much upside could be gained from his work here. Breathing life into many a passage, how he assessed his options before, more often than not, finding his targets acted as a key chance creation method for Monaco.
Although his many wonderful deliveries weren’t finished off, it was still positive to see him register a secondary assist when he neatly found Ouattara ahead of ASM’s second.
His dynamic ball carrying warranted mention too, for his speed, directness and handy array of manoeuvres ensured he powered upfield with gusto and gained separation from markers to help increase his team’s final third danger.
Meanwhile, it was important to note that Jakobs held his own on the defensive end by chiming in with some vital interventions, tracking runners diligently and handling 1v1s comfortably against the likes of Malick Fofana, Ernest Nuamah and Georges Mikautadze at various times.
By the numbers, his seven ball recoveries, five interceptions, four accurate crosses, four accurate passes into the final third and three progressive runs punctuated what an accomplished outing he enjoyed.
Bringing so much to the table in all phases and proving why he’s such an outstanding left-back, his latest body of work will have unquestionably impressed Hutter.
While it remains to be seen if he’ll stay with the Principality club beyond this transfer window considering the interest in him and the fierce competition for places on the left side of defence, Jakobs certainly put his best foot forward to underline why a player with his unique skill set is so valuable, especially considering the gruelling schedule that awaits ASM this campaign.
In sensational form and truly coming into his own, Hutter and many associated with the club will be hoping he stays, as it’ll be a case of watch this space to see what the future holds for Jakobs.