Ahmed Sidibé is emerging as Guimaraes' defensive reference

Franck Ahmed Sidibé left Guimaraes's 1-2 defeat to FC Porto with the kind of display that centre-backs use to build a case. Against Porto, he won 100% of his aerial and ground duels, made three interceptions and recovered the ball eight times in Guimaraes vs FC Porto. It was the sort of performance that explains why he is being trusted so quickly.

Sidibé's numbers against FC Porto

The ball-winning was backed up by his distribution. Sidibé completed 39 of 50 passes, a 78% rate, so he was not just defending the box, he was helping Guimaraes keep some order when they had to play out. A Bola also described the 24-year-old French centre-back as very solid against the national champions.

The broader trend is just as encouraging. Guimaraes have kept clean sheets in four of Sidibé's six appearances, a 66.6% shutout rate. He already has five appearances this season and a 6.99 average rating, which is a strong return for a player still in the early part of his spell.

The selection issue for the next league match

Tiago Margarido had positive conclusions from the Porto game despite the defeat, and the line in the middle of the defence now looks more settled with Sidibé in it. That comes at a cost for Toni Borevković, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and a lip wound that required nine stitches, and who was booked for his fifth yellow card against Porto.

Borevković will miss Guimaraes' next league match against Estrela da Amadora, so the immediate defensive question is not about Sidibé's form. It is about how much of the back line Guimaraes can keep intact after a night when their new centre-back again looked like their most reliable one.