You are correct in pointing out that it is strange that he has not registered any goals or assists. But I think you are incorrect in taking that as a measure of his form this year.
His job does not include goal scoring or assisting though it would ofcourse be nice if he scores or assists. With the ball, his job is to distribute the ball to the more offensive players. He can switch play from the right side to the left side. He can pass the ball back to defense for bonnuci to try a pass. He can take the ball from the defense and give it to a player in a more dangerous position.
Without the ball, his job is to make himself available for any player under pressure be it a defender or an attacker. He can also intercept passes and tackle and switch to a counter attack. Many players can do what he does with the ball (distribute) but most lack the necessary off the ball movement to be good registas. You end up with a static player that can pass and when another player is pressured he is not available to relieve the pressure and keep possession.
He does all this very consistently so he is a very good regista/DM. 1 or 2 extra assists or goals don't change the fact that he is doing his tactical role almost perfectly. I'd normally expect him to get the occasional assist but that would be an added bonus. What matters is that he can do his role consistently at a high level. That is better than being inconsistent but more involved in our goal scoring because if he has a day off, our possession game stops functioning the way we saw early in the season.
Pirlo was Pirlo so he could take on offensive duties as well. He was also protected by Vidal who is on a different level than Khedira. But even for Pirlo, a good game is when our midfield is an oiled machine because of his presence regardless of whether he registered an assist or not. Pirlo could have bad games despite scoring or assisting.
We needed Pirlo's offensive skills because our attack sucked but now we have a good attack and can do damage going forward without Pirloesque passes.
His job does not include goal scoring or assisting though it would ofcourse be nice if he scores or assists. With the ball, his job is to distribute the ball to the more offensive players. He can switch play from the right side to the left side. He can pass the ball back to defense for bonnuci to try a pass. He can take the ball from the defense and give it to a player in a more dangerous position.
Without the ball, his job is to make himself available for any player under pressure be it a defender or an attacker. He can also intercept passes and tackle and switch to a counter attack. Many players can do what he does with the ball (distribute) but most lack the necessary off the ball movement to be good registas. You end up with a static player that can pass and when another player is pressured he is not available to relieve the pressure and keep possession.
He does all this very consistently so he is a very good regista/DM. 1 or 2 extra assists or goals don't change the fact that he is doing his tactical role almost perfectly. I'd normally expect him to get the occasional assist but that would be an added bonus. What matters is that he can do his role consistently at a high level. That is better than being inconsistent but more involved in our goal scoring because if he has a day off, our possession game stops functioning the way we saw early in the season.
Pirlo was Pirlo so he could take on offensive duties as well. He was also protected by Vidal who is on a different level than Khedira. But even for Pirlo, a good game is when our midfield is an oiled machine because of his presence regardless of whether he registered an assist or not. Pirlo could have bad games despite scoring or assisting.
We needed Pirlo's offensive skills because our attack sucked but now we have a good attack and can do damage going forward without Pirloesque passes.
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