What immediately stood out was that the Brazilian defender recorded the most touches of any player on the pitch at the Asito Stadion. In total, he had 86 touches, mainly down the left flank.
Interestingly, the left side is not the position where the defender usually operates. Rosa is most commonly deployed as a right-back, a role in which Anton Gaaei started against Heracles. Of the 35 matches Rosa has played for Ajax, he featured 21 times on the right flank.
From those 86 touches, Rosa attempted 53 passes. Only Josip Šutalo completed more passes for Ajax. Of Rosa's 53 passes, 49 found a teammate, giving him a pass accuracy of 92.5 percent. Oscar Gloukh was the most accurate player on Saturday evening with 94.1 percent, followed by Šutalo with 92.8 percent. Rosa completed the top three. In addition, the left-back on the night created two chances for Ajax, ranking behind only Wout Weghorst (five chances created) and Gloukh (three).
Rosa’s impact was not limited to Ajax’s possession game. Defensively, he more than held his own. The Brazilian with Italian roots won eight individual duels.
Razor-sharp
Only Jorthy Mokio, with eleven, won more personal battles. And with eight ball recoveries, Rosa was also the player on the pitch who most frequently managed to win the ball directly from an opponent.
