CANADIANS ABROAD: Adriana Leon's resurgent 23/24 continues | Olivia Smith can't stop scoring
It cannot be understated how important confidence can be for a player. Just ask Adriana Leon.
At this time last year, she was quite short of it at the club level, amid a quiet seven-game short-term loan to the Portland Thorns from Manchester United, where she’d had quite the 2022-2023 season to forget up until her loan.
Her first campaign with United after signing from West Ham in the summer of 2022, she’d struggled for minutes right from the get-go, though, making just nine appearances before she decided to head to Portland in the chase of minutes ahead of the World Cup. She’d made the most of her appearances for United, scoring three times despite being limited in her opportunities, but she just couldn’t crack the field on a regular enough basis to consider staying there long-term.
As a result, she was on the move again in the summer of 2023, choosing to head to Aston Villa in the chase of a fresh start.
And there, she’s become a brand-new player in her new environment. She showed that once again this weekend, too, as she set up Ebony Salmon with a beautiful assist for Villa’s opener in a clash against Arsenal, giving them early life before they eventually fell 3-1 on the day.
Aston Villa leads Arsenal 1-0 at home, and Adriana Leon has played a big part in that, setting up Ebony Salmon with a beautiful cutback for Villa's opener
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 24, 2024
Great to see from Leon, who now has 6G/6A in all competitions for Villa in 23/24#CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/TBAsAQtmRy
Thanks to that assist, Leon’s now got quite the stat line on the season - six goals and six assists, for a total of 12 goal contributions.
For reference, Leon had never had a season in England with more than six goal contributions, which came in 2019/2020 when she scored six goals and had no assists for West Ham, while her best-ever professional season was a six-goal and five-assist showing for the Boston Breakers in the NWSL in 2017, showing that this effort is also the best of her career, too.
Given that Leon turned 31 last fall, that’s even more impressive, yet it shows the value of finding the right environment as a player, and what it can do for someone’s confidence.
But that’s a credit to how she’s been deployed in Villa’s attack, where she’s got a free role on the right side of the front three in their 3-4-2-1. There, she’s free to drift inside and play as more of an inside forward, where she’s usually at her best, but also still has room to create, as seen on her assist against Arsenal, where she did well to draw some space and then find Salmon with a great cutback.
After playing more as a true wide player at United, it’s been a role that suits her skillset much better, as she’s a dangerous shooter who is not shy in pulling the trigger (she averages 2.51 shots per game for Villa), but she’s also quite creative in the right scenarios (she has 7.28 Expected Assists (xA) and nearly two key passes a game in 23/24).
Adriana Leon scored in a 2nd straight WSL game today, slotting home after a nice run to score Aston Villa’s opener in a 2-1 win over Tottenham
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) February 18, 2024
That puts her up to 6 on the year in all competitions, as she continues to roll along#CanWNT/#CanXNT
pic.twitter.com/IFysnETkqp
As a winger, she could sometimes fade out of the game when pushed too far wide, while as a striker she doesn’t get to face the goal as much as she likes, but as an inside forward, she can both combine with teammates while also finding space to shoot.
And now, Canada stands to benefit enormously from this. Leon’s been a mainstay in Canada’s starting XI ever since Bev Priestman started her tenure as Canadian head coach in 2021, scoring 18 of her 37 goals for Canada (48%) in that span, but she looks set to hit another level this year.
She showed that at the Gold Cup, where she won the tournament’s Golden Boot with six goals in five games giving an idea of what’s to come in 2024, where every goal she scores will best her most prolific year for Canada (six in 10 games in 2018). Especially given that she’s also playing as an inside forward in Canada’s new-look 3-4-2-1, which is the same role she has for Villa, that familiarity seems to be giving her all sorts of confidence for Canada right now.
But that just shows how Leon’s been able to translate the confidence she has at Villa into her play for Canada, which is why it’ll be hoped she can now finish off the year strongly.
Heading into an Olympic year, this is the exact form that you want to see from Leon. Especially given that she’s only scored twice at major tournaments, once in the 2021 Olympics and once in the 2023 World Cup, she’ll hope her form can make her an early candidate to win the Golden Boot at this year’s Olympics.
Given the form she’s in at the moment, that’s not an unreasonable goal to have, which is exciting to imagine, especially when seeing this turnaround that she’s had.
Olivia Smith continues Olympic push:
Sticking with Canadian attackers, Leon wasn’t the only one to have a big weekend, as Olivia Smith continued her strong debut pro season over in Portugal with Sporting CP.
There, she scored a brace in a 4-1 Sporting win over Famalicão, putting her up to 11 goals and 8 assists on the season. They were far from Smith’s best goals of the year, as she potted a pair of rebounds, but she won’t care, especially given that her team was able to win thanks to her efforts.
Olivia Smith’s strong debut campaign at Sporting CP continued today, as she had a brace in a 4-1 win over Famalicão
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 23, 2024
That’s now pushed her up to 11G/8A on the year, as she continues to find her feet in Portugal
Olympic push continues#CanWNT/#CanXNT
pic.twitter.com/Mjdn6Ps6ey
As a result, she was able to continue her push to make Canada’s Olympic squad, something she seems likelier to do by the day now.
Given that she was already able to make Canada’s World Cup squad last year before she’d even turned pro, showing the potential that Bev Priestman saw in the 19-year-old, one has to imagine her living up to some of that potential should be enough to earn her an Olympic nod.
Especially after a strong Gold Cup, where she scored her first two goals for Canada and added two assists to be crowned the tournament’s top young player, she’s quickly shown that she can bring something different to this Canadian attack.
Yet, she’s shown that all year for Sporting. A dangerous attacker, one who can beat defenders with her dribbling, her speed and her smarts, she has proven quite tough to defend with her ability to both score and create chances for others as a dual threat.
Because of that, she’s been able to influence games in different ways, as she’s an offensive threat every time she touches the ball. Just look at some of her numbers for Sporting in Portuguese league play, where she’s averaging an impressive 0.81 goals, 0.63 assists, 0.65 xG, 0.47 xA, 4.59 shots, 2.25 key passes and over 4 dribbles per 90 minutes, which are elite all-around numbers for any attacker.
When realizing that, it helps explain why she was so dominant at the Gold Cup, as that was just a continuation of what she’s been doing all year long at Sporting.
Olivia Smith has been excellent off the bench for the #CanWNT. So much energy, and her quality on the ball and from set pieces is clear to see.
— Benedict Rhodes (@BTFR17) February 23, 2024
Making that reduced 18-player Olympic squad this summer will be difficult, but I wouldn't be surprised if she's an alternate at least.
Now, however, a big few months await Smith, for both club and country.
At Sporting, she’ll look to finish strong and potentially nab some trophies while continuing to rack up the numbers, while she’ll look to now prove that she can cement herself on Canada’s Olympic team, which she can do with some strong performances against top opposition in their remaining friendlies before the summer.
Either way, one thing’s for sure - this is only the start of what’s to come for Smith, which is why it’ll be exciting to imagine what she will bring to this Canadian team for the years to come now based on the early returns she’s provided so far.
