Ona Batlle is considered to be one of the best fullbacks in the world. We will look at why that is the case.
The Spaniard started her career in Barcelona’s famed “La Masia” academy. In 2017, Barcelona Femeni were interested in acquiring high-profile seniors, making it difficult for youth to break into the first team.
After her release, she joined Madrid CFF and a year later she joined Levante in 2018. On 13 July 2020, she joined FA WSL club Manchester United for two years, having the option of a third.
Coming to her goal-scoring stats, she is not so big on goals as she is a fullback, which is understandable. However, one game that proved that she is one of the best fullbacks in the game was against Man City in the Conti Cup.
The scoreline was 1–1, Batlle popped up in the 82nd minute to score the winner. This goes to say that despite being a fullback, she has an attacking outlet to herself.
Passing Stats
Coming to her passing stats, we can see that Ona excels in short passes, as she ranks 28.86 and 31.50 per 90 in short successful passes and attempted. Her short passes with Ella Toone are a joy to watch as she ranks 99 percentile in successful passes.
From the above picture, we can see that she ranks 48% in successful passes she had made and 52% in passes that she had attempted. She had a total of 512 successful passes and 554 which were attempted.
Ona has an eye for gold as she passes the majority of passes into the danger zone, and she has 21 key passes to her name. Ranking her with other fullbacks, she is at the top.
The Spaniard has played short progressive passes to help her team inch closer to the opponent’s goal. She has 95 progressive passes to her name, and she is only behind Ella Toone, whom she clicks with very well. Toone has 111 progressive passes to her name.
Ona is not afraid to whip passes to the final- third, as she had made 62 passes into the final third.
Ona Batlle has a good positional sense on the pitch, she ensures to always offers a good passing option for her teammates. As a defender and a player in this Manchester United Women’s team, it is essential that Batlle is adaptable and able to fit into Manchester United’s tactical structure.
Possession
Ona has taken most of her touches in the middle third with 668 touches and 437 in the attacking area. Though she covers every blade of grass on the pitch, she has made most of the touches in these areas. Ona ranks 95 percentile in the touches which she made in the middle third.
Ona is a good carrier of the ball, as she had made the most progressive carries in the Man Utd Women’s team with 119. Ella Toone is behind her with 115. She carries the ball at ease to the opponent’s penalty area. It goes on to show why Ona Batlle is considered one of the best full-backs in the English Women FA.
Defensive Actions
Coming to Ona’s defensive attributes, the Spaniard has seemed to make most of her tackles in the defensive third making 41 tackles, out of which she won 37 of them. She chases down the opponent and snatches the ball from their feet or she tackles them. It is the important and basic part of being a defender.
From above we can see the % of tackles she made in all three areas. She made most of the tackles in the defensive 3rd with 60%, 29% in the middle third, and only 10% in the attacking third.
Ona has defensive sense as she had tackled 80 opponents out of which she has been successful 34 times, taking her % of dribblers tackled to 60.7%.
The Spaniard has closed down her opponents by pressurizing them to make errors or leaving them with a shortage of space that they either lose the ball or miss-pass it. Ona ranks 8.07 per 90 in successfully pressurizing opponents to commit errors.
When Batlle left Barcelona, she had vowed to return to the club one day as that club made her what she is today.
This season, she may be on the move as according to rumors Leila Ouahabi of Barcelona has been linked to Manchester City. It’s a perfect time for Ona to make a move back to where she once honed her skills to be one of the best full-backs in the game. Chelsea are also rumored to be after her in the summer, or Man Utd has the option to trigger her additional one-year contract and keep her on board.
