Vitinha: PSG and Portugal’s midfield dynamo

After a promising first season, Vitinha was one of the key men for Luis Enrique’s PSG in 2023/24. Currently at the Euros, he has continued that momentum with Portugal.
At the age of 24, Vitor Machado Ferreira, better known as Vitinha, has taken on another dimension under the orders of Luis Enrique. After a promising first season at PSG, where the midfielder was the key man in the Parisian midfield, whether in Ligue 1 Uber Eats or in the UEFA Champions League, his play was enough to earn a starting place for Portugal’s first match at the Euro, in which he shone and finished man of the match. Ahead of Portugal’s final group stage match this evening, we take a closer look at his season

If there is one area where Vitinha has improved over the last 12 months, it is when approaching the opponent’s goal. With just two goals in all competitions last season, the Portuguese international saw his stats explode in the recently finished campaign. The native of Vila das Aves finished third top scorer for PSG, tied with Randal Kolo Muani, scoring 9 goals this season (7 in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, 2 in the Champions League). The number 17 also recorded 4 assists in the league, ranking among the best passers for his club.

With great technique from range, Vitinha particularly distinguished himself in this area. With 4 goals scored from outside the area this season in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, he posted the second best total in the league in this area, behind only Kylian Mbappé (5). Often in a good position, he has unleashed 45 shots this season, PSG’s third-best total behind Mbappé (120) and Gonçalo Ramos (55). This represents a new string for the proverbial Parisian bow, with midfielders who have hardly shone in this area until now.

Over the months, he thus began to represent a real long-distance threat, with some memorable strikes like that in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg in Barcelona (1-4). This season, he is the Ligue 1 Uber Eats midfielder who has posted the best differential between his goals and his Expected Goals (3.85 – 7 goals for 3.15 xG), ahead of Takumi Minamino (3.13) and Teddy Teuma (2.94).

Always gifted in creation as well, the Portuguese was also able to be at the origin of many Parisian attacked. He thus delivered seven key passes before a goal, the best total in the league this season, level with Montpellier’s Téji Savanier and his teammate Warren Zaire-Emery. Author of 34 passes before a shot, he only saw Savanier (39), Romain Del Castillo (38) and Maxence Caqueret (35) ahead of him in the category, a symbol of his ability to destabilize low blocks with his passing quality.

Another dimension in the Champions League

An important player for PSG this season in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Vitinha was also an important player in Europe. Proof of his contribution to the game, he is the only Parisian to have finished in the Champions League team of the season, unveiled by UEFA at the end of the competition. It was only logical as the Portuguese has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the competition in 2023/24.

For example, he is the player who displayed the highest rate of successful passes in the final third in the competition (92%) among players having attempted at least 200 (233, the third-best total in the Champions League this season behind Rodri and Achraf Hakimi). In recovery, he was also able to do well thanks to effective pressing. Only Martin Odegaard (12) recovered more balls than him (11) in the final third.

With 715 passes attempted, he finished the competition in fourth place in the category, behind Rodri (924), Toni Kroos (882) and Joshua Kimmich (844). He also stood out thanks to his shooting. Only Madrid’s Federico Valverde (18) attempted more shots from outside the area than him among midfielders, an area where he shares second place with Phil Foden (17). With his 22 shots attempted in total in the event, he is only ahead of Foden (33), Valverde (24) and Jude Bellingham (23) this season among midfielders, sacred references…

“A quality player”

“Vitinha is a perfect player for a coach of my style, where the most important thing is to have the ball, not to lose it and to be a quality player. In our style, the first quality of a midfielder is not to lose the ball. He must know how to fix players, play between the lines, project himself, score goals, shoot and know how to be aggressive in defense. Vitinha has all this and more.” These praises, delivered by Luis Enrique at the end of March after Le Classique, clearly show the new dimension taken by the Portuguese this season. He was the third most-used Parisian in the league (2130 minutes), behind Gianluigi Donnarumma (2170) and Mbappé (2158), as Vitinha put his playing intelligence at the service of the Asturian coach.

Because in addition to being a destabilizing element in the offensive phase and important in managing the tempo of his team, Vitinha does not give up his part when it comes to defending. The proof ? His 61 balls recovered in the defensive third in Ligue 1 Uber Eats this season. Only Hakimi (74) and Milan Skriniar (68) did better at PSG.

In the Champions League, he is the Parisian who has made the most interceptions (13), ahead of Marquinhos and Hakimi (12). And with his 11 successful tackles, he ranks just behind Hakimi (14) at PSG, but ahead of his other teammates like Lucas Hernandez for example (10).

Vitinha ensures this defensive mission by remaining very clean. The Portuguese is the outfield player who has played the most minutes (2130) without receiving a single card this season in the league. Author of 0.72 fouls per 90 minutes, he ranks second among Ligue 1 Uber Eats midfielders on make the fewest fouls on average, behind Benjamin Bourigeaud (0.59) and ahead of Romain Del Castillo (0.75).

Now at the Euros with a Portuguese team who are among the favorites of the competition, Vitinha started the competition on the same level as his Parisian season. Very present in the Lusitanians’ midfield against the Czechs, he unleashed several dangerous strikes before being at the origin of the first Portuguese goal by finding the head of Nuno Mendes. Named man of the match, he returned to his tournament in an ideal manner and he’ll hope to finish strongly this evening.