Comparing Sander Berge and Joao Palhinha
Written by Cameron Donaldson on 4th March 2025
After his stellar performance at Old Trafford, which has been reflective of most of his performances since his integration into the team this season, Sander Berge has once again proved to be a pivotal signing within this team’s success. Some have started to compare Sander to Joao Palhinha of last season, with both playing a key role in the Fulham midfield, but just how similar are they?
Joao’s strengths: is he better?
It will come as no news to anyone that Joao Palhinha’s key asset for the Whites last season was the sheer strength of tackling that he possessed, breaking up the oppositions counter attacks regularly. This bears out when you compare the Portuguese enforcer’s campaign last year to Berge’s season so far, which is nearly three-quarters of the way through.
Joao made 46 interceptions in comparison to Sander’s 18, 152 tackles compared to Sander’s 39, and 75 successful tackles in comparison to Sander’s 23. It is notable that there is a difference in games played with Sander having played 20 games in comparison to Joao’s 33, however conclusions can be drawn as Joao’s tallies in each department work out to be over double that of Sander Berge.
This also portrays a tactical shift in comparison to last season. Harrison Reed played alongside Joao Palhinha predominantly last season, and he was given the freedom to go forward and was therefore less combative in midfield in comparison to how he had been in previous seasons, for example under Scott Parker in the Championship when Reed played as the number six, rather than the number eight. This, in turn allowed Joao to take on last season’s tackling burden mostly on just his shoulders. However, this season both Sasa Lukic and Sander Berge are well-rounded footballers and tackling is an asset in both of their arsenals, showing fluidity within the midfield two.
Berge: is he more well rounded?
In terms of goal contributions, Joao was more of a threat last season. He contributed with four goals and was a threat from corners, as well as one assist and created one big chance, all of which are categories that Sander Berge has not yet contributed in. With respective passes forwards and backwards in the team, stats suggest that by the end of the season, Sander Berge will have provided similar numbers to Palhinha, however Berge has a pass completion rate of 90.77% in comparison to Joao’s 83.04%. Sander has also been disposed 10 times on the ball, whereas Joao’s tally in that category last season totalled 26 times, indicating that Berge is a more comfortable presence with the ball at his feet.
Conclusion
The stats that are portrayed are largely unsurprising, indicating that Joao Palhinha’s assets were largely within the realm of tackling whereas Sander Berge has been influential both in tackling and on the ball. However, Fulham seem to have found a happy medium with Berge and Sasa Lukic complimenting one another with a balance within the midfield two.
