Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has heaped praise on forward Yanela Mbuthuma following the Buccaneers’ 2-0 victory over La Liga side Granada.
The win was a highlight of Pirates’ four-match tour, having previously lost 2-0 to English Championship side Bolton Wanderers, drawn 1-1 with Cyprus’ Pafos FC, and played to a goalless stalemate against Spanish outfit Las Palmas.
Reflecting on the performance against Granada, Ouaddou singled out 23-year-old Mbuthuma for his tactical discipline and pressing ability in the final third.
“Pressing is one of the key instructions when we are defending,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV. “He [Mbuthuma] did a great job in terms of pressing, exactly what we asked of him. His role was to block the link between the central defender and the goalkeeper.”
The Moroccan tactician further explained that the team’s pressing system aimed to force Granada into mistakes by cutting off central passing lanes and regaining possession in wide areas.
“We wanted to recover the ball on the sides. We did very well in the first half,” he said. “When we recovered the ball, the idea was to open the play wide and exploit free spaces to create chances.”