Moussa Diaby – Bayer Leverkusen’s attacking livewire
In modern football, crossing is an inexact science as the likelihood of high crosses leading to goals is less than the likelihood of low crosses and cut-backs from the by-line. However, at 20-years-old, Moussa Diaby is an aberration to those metrics as he is lethal from crosses with both feet from either flank as his gently dinked lobs, land perfectly on the forehead of his teammates to caress them into the net. In Diaby and Christopher Nkunku, Paris Saint Germain have donated 19 assists to the Bundesliga as the duo bring their Parisian flair to Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig. Diaby had to wait for his opportunity but has taken the Bundesliga by storm in the second half of the season.
Diaby was born in the 19th arrondisement of Paris and holds such strong ties with his community that he decided to sponsor his old school when he was promoted to the PSG first-team. His departure from PSG was not a matter of him being devalued as he was a favourite of Thomas Tuchel last season as the German tactician was sad to lose him to Die Werkself. His dribbling ability, creativity, low centre of gravity and two footedness must have given Tuchel fond memories of Borussia Dortmund’s one season wonder in Ousmane Dembele as Diaby has the traits to be a dynamic and consistent threat from the half-space.
"Tuchel believed in me from the beginning. Without him, I would never have made it to Leverkusen and the Bundesliga so fast. I was and am enthusiastic about Tuchel. He is a very nice and friendly, but also extremely ambitious coach. He obviously enjoys working with young players and making them better. He always approached the boys, every day,” said Diaby to SPOX and Goal after joining Bayer Leverkusen last summer.
Tuchel is not the only German manager that Diaby has caught under his spell as Christian Streich took time to compliment the French youngster after his full debut against Freiburg, saying he was ‘afraid’ of the youngster turning out against them after the impression he made, coming off the bench against Wolfsburg the previous week. Diaby had only made five Bundesliga appearances at that point as Peter Bosz took the time to allow him to settle in Germany, gain confidence and learn the language so that he could interact with his teammates. Diaby has taken flight since then, becoming one of the Bundesliga’s most astute playmakers as he has allowed Bosz to alter his formations and personnel.
One of Diaby’s finer traits, is his enjoyment of cutting inside and driving into the centre with mazy dribbling runs to link up play and create opportunities from the central positions. Diaby is multi-faceted as he can hug the touchline, receive the ball, drive to the by-line and work an accurate cross as an old-fashioned winger or he can cut inside and attack the central positions like a new-age attacker. In counter-attacks, if he is 1v1 with his fullback then he can receive the ball, burst forward and drive into the centre to attract markers before releasing the ball to a teammate making a run into space in the wide areas. He loves to cut inside and work nifty little one-twos with players in the central pockets before moving into an area where he can create an opportunity or have a shot on goal. His assist for Leon Bailey away to Rangers was an example of this, he received the ball on the right to cut inside and work a one-two with Havertz who was in the half-space before switching the ball to the Jamaican attacker on the far side who cut past his man and curled a shot into the goal.
Not only can Diaby cross with both feet but he can create crossing opportunities simultaneously while running with the ball at his feet using little back-lift, almost digging the ball out of the turf with his toe and carefully guiding it onto an opponent’s head. Away at Paderborn, he was on the left flank and drove past his man on the break to then lift a cross onto the head of Kevin Volland. In a more recent match away to Werder Bremen, he was on the right where he controlled a switch ball, drove outside the fullback to the by-line and worked a cross for Havertz to head in. He then bagged his second assist from the opposite flank by driving to the by-line, moving into the box and lifting a delivery for Havertz to divert into the goal for his second.
Diaby and Havertz’ relationship is one of the reasons that Peter Bosz has felt so comfortable using the young German as a false-nine with the Frenchman playing closer to him in an attacking three. When Havertz drops deep, Diaby and Kerem Bellerabi will move into the centre to act as more central strikers as if given the opportunity to charge through on the break, in the central areas or half-space, the 20-year-old can cause major issues for teams. Not only can Diaby carve teams open out wide with crosses but when he receives the ball in the centre, he can spin past opponents and craft perfectly weighted through balls into runners in behind or in the channels. The Frenchman can have a larger effect on the game with the support of a wing-back driving past him, allowing him to isolate defenders and glide past them.
Diaby’s ability to cross with both feet allows him to be effective from a wide array of crossing zones in the wide areas, be it at the by-line or in the much deeper and lower percentage areas of the pitch. Fullbacks will constantly keep guessing which foot he will cross with as on the right flank, he can be driving with his right boot to suddenly switch, face his fullback and lay in a cross with his left boot. He did this against Stuttgart in the DFB Pokal as he took on a pass from Havertz to cut onto his left foot, stand up his fullback and just clip a cross into the path of Lucas Alario to head in at the back-post. His brand of trickery, vast array of resources in 1v1s as well as his unpredictability against fullback will make him a statistical anomaly for years to come.
One area Diaby will need to improve is his shooting as he can have more than his 4 goals this season as he has had opportunities to break through on goal, go 1v1 with the keeper but lacked the calm and cold-bloodedness to finish these opportunities. Most of his goals for Leverkusen have been in counter-attacking situations where has gone through on goal and applied the finish as that seems to be the sequence to generate most of his shooting opportunities but there have been too many times where he has let good opportunities go begging. In defensive situations, Diaby has the focus and dedication to shield his wing-back and make tackles in his own box before launching breaks forward as he has such a well-rounded skillset at such a young age.
“With his pace, Moussa can be a really, really big factor in our attacking game,” said Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper, Lucas Hradecky to the club website.
“He's not only very quick but also a very clever player and you don't see that very often in the Bundesliga,” exclaimed Kerem Demirbay to the same source.
Paris is the premier hotbed of high-level European talent as Paris Saint Germain’s academy is overflowing with promising young footballers. Diaby is part of an exuberant and youthful Bayer Leverkusen on the rise and in the tussle for European football as his two-footedness, ability to play on both wings and crossing ability could make him an option for Didier Deschamps at Euro 2020 next year. He will need to sustain his excellent form towards the end of this season as well as next season in a side loaded with young attacking talent as the sky is the limit for Diaby.
