Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira produced an impressive performance for Porto in the Club World Cup against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Atlanta.
Porto slumped to a 2-1 defeat, with goals from Telasco Segovia and Messi cancelling out Samuel Aghehowa’s early penalty.
With Palmeiras cruising past Al Ahly in the other match in Group A, the Portuguese giants are now in a precarious position regarding their hopes of progression.
Vieira’s side face the Egyptian team in the final group match, needing to win and hope Miami and Palmeiras don’t draw to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages.
Portuguese media were somewhat critical of Vieira’s performance in the opening match earlier this week, but the playmaker atoned for that display with a positive outing against the MLS outfit.
Fabio Vieira impresses against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami
Deployed as part of a front three in the last match, Vieira was selected in a deeper role in Atlanta, stationed next to Alan Varela in Porto’s double pivot.
With a back three behind him, the 25-year-old wasn’t tasked with doing too much defensive work, but instead was given the responsibility of being Porto’s primary creator.
Having exactly 100 touches, Vieira was at the heart of everything for the Primeira Liga side, dictating the game from deep, completing 71 of his 80 passes (89%) and playing 17 passes into the final third.
Despite most of his work coming in ball progression and facilitating the build-up, he still managed to get forward and influence proceedings in the final third, creating two chances, taking two shots and completing two successful dribbles (the same number as Messi).
He also produced a highlight moment in stoppage time, nutmegging Messi, before passing the ball out of play.
Fabio Vieira’s display shows he could be useful to Arsenal
Porto want to sign Vieira permanently this summer, but aren’t confident they’ll have the financial capacity to meet Arsenal’s demands.
This could ultimately mean that the Gunners keep hold of the attacking midfielder, with few clubs on the continent able to pay the sort of fee and wages it would take to acquire him.
Based on this display, retaining Vieira wouldn’t be the worst thing, and he could genuinely provide Martin Odegaard with some cover and competition.
The former Portugal under-21 international has always shown an ability to produce a final ball in high-leverage moments, with his quality in this aspect unquestionable.
However, there are question marks about whether he can do some of the other things that Odegaard provides, such as progressing the ball from deep, and dictating a game with metronomic passes.
Managing over 100 touches against Inter Miami, he showed that when he is platformed in a team and given this responsibility, he has it within him.
Mikel Arteta would’ve been delighted to see this and may be content with keeping him if it comes to it.
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