Champions League Performance Insights: Vitinha's magic under the microscope
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
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UEFA's game insights unit analyses how Vitinha helps champions Paris Saint-Germain tick ahead of Champions League Matchday 6.
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For any young footballers seeking lessons on how to dictate the play, this week's Athletic Club vs Paris Saint-Germain match should be recommended viewing.
After all, it will provide an opportunity to look and learn from Vitinha, the Paris midfielder who conducts the tempo as well as any midfielder in the UEFA Champions League right now.
Across the first five matchdays so far, no player has had as many touches of the ball (563) or completed as many passes (476) as the Portuguese international. Moreover, he enters this round of fixtures ranked second in the competition for line-breaking passes (80) and third for through balls (seven)
Ahead of Matchday 6, UEFA's game insights unit analysed Vitinha's most recent appearance in the competition, when he scored a first career hat-trick against Tottenham, to shine a light on what makes him such a special talent.
Creativity and composure
This first video offers examples of Vitinha's role at the heart of Paris' attacking play. As UEFA Technical Observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær said: "Everything in the team flows through him. He dictates the tempo, the direction of play and the rhythm of every attacking sequence, supported by team-mates who understand how central he is to their structure."
After Paris' final triumph against Inter last season, we highlighted how Vitinha drops alongside the centre-backs to create a 3v2 when building from the back.
That is evident again in clip one, though the key point is his patience and composure. "He picks up the ball everywhere," said Solskjær, and it is notable how calm he is despite the proximity of opposition players such as Lucas Bergvall. Indeed, he actually invites pressure by standing with the ball while waiting to find the best angle from which to play the pass to Fabián Ruiz.
There is more of the same in clip two as Vitinha escapes pressure, showing his ability to find space. He is always scanning, always on the move, searching for the optimal position before making the line-breaking pass to Quentin Ndjantou.
"When they applied tight man-marking, he dropped deeper, found new pockets of space, and continued to control the match," Solskjær observed. "His ability to read pressure, adjust his positioning, and make himself available is exceptional.
"He can invite pressure, draw opponents in, and use that moment to open up space for the team."
Vitinha's 1v1 ability is a significant asset in helping him operate in tight spaces and, as exhibited by this graphic, he had more 1v1s in opposition territory than any other player on the Parc des Princes pitch on Matchday 5.
His pinpoint passing accuracy is vital too in finding gaps for team-mates in the tightest of spaces – and there is a dazzling example in clip three above with the floated ball behind the back line for Warren Zaïre-Emery.
"Paul Scholes has often said about the very best midfielders that they just disappear from their markers. Vitinha's movement is a perfect example. He plays with such fluency – one-touch, two-touch combinations – and is constantly drifting into new spaces."
Vitinha contributes out of possession too, as this second video illustrates. His awareness is excellent, both with and without the ball, and in clip one we see him provide defensive balance by beating Richarlison to the ball down the side.
To underline his effectiveness in these situations, his total number of ball recoveries in the first five matchdays was 34 – a number surpassed only by Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai and Olympique de Marseille's Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.
The 25-year-old has the necessary discipline too, as evidenced by him tracking the run of Pedro Porro in clip two.
Overall, Vitinha excelled in so many aspects against Spurs – and the data above reflects his all-round excellence. He ranked first in the match for not just completed passes, shots and goals but also ball carries and receptions between the lines in the Tottenham half.
Last but not least, this third video offers a reminder of the individual brilliance that brought two of his three goals against Tottenham, previously highlighted in this post-match analysis of that 5-3 Matchday 5 success.
Coaching reflection: Solskjær on 'seeing pictures' like Vitinha
"When I look at Vitinha, I see a player who is constantly scanning, which gives him a full picture of the pitch before the ball arrives. This is fundamental and much of that can be trained.
"In his case, having been one of the smallest players growing up, he likely had to rely on intelligence, sharp movement and spatial awareness to avoid challenges. That background has shaped him into a player who thinks faster than opponents.
"For developing these skills with young players, I'd suggest implementing warm-up and technical drills where players are having to look over their shoulders before receiving the ball. That way they can get into the habit of always scanning before the ball gets to them."
The perfect playmaker package
• Awareness
• Control
• Vision
• Progression
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