Leeds United loanee Marc Roca has been praised for his performance at centre-back in Real Betis’ 4-1 win over Aris Limassol.
As per Mucho Deporte, Roca was hailed as Betis’ ‘most active defender’ on Thursday night, having also got on the scoresheet for the third time since his move from Leeds.
Roca appears to be enjoying his time at Betis having been one of eight members of last season’s first team squad at Leeds to depart after relegation from the Premier League.
He has started all but two of their 17 matches across all competitions, but has been handed somewhat of a different role in Betis’ Europa League campaign so far.
Yesterday was the third European match in a row that Roca has started at centre-back, with Betis having won all of those after losing at Rangers in their group opener.
Leeds loanee Roca praised for centre-back performance
Despite a ‘couple’ of errors, Roca was handed a solid rating of 7/10 in Mucho Deporte’s post-match piece, thanks to his goal and front-foot defending.
“Marc Roca (7): Hyperactive, the most active defender, with a couple of gross errors, which he had, and enough successes to reach the notable one with a goal included.”
Though the calibre of opposition Betis have come up against while Roca has been at centre-back has been relatively weak, it is certainly interesting to see that he is playing well there.
During his time at Leeds, there was little to no evidence at all to suggest he would ever work playing as a central defender, as his strengths were always on the ball, rather than off it.
It is clear to see just how important Roca has become to Manuel Pellegrini with how intent he is on always fitting him into his side, and so you would think a permanent deal is a certainty.
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