Pascal Groß: A key cog in Nuri Sahin's midfield at Borussia Dortmund

Pascal Groß's progressive passes received

According to fbref, "progressive passes received" is defined has how many times a player receives a forward pass per 90 mins, that moves up the field over a distance of 10 yards or into the penalty area. This metric takes into account the passes received in the final 60% of the pitch as that area is typically closer to the opponent's goal.

This metric in the end is indicative of how much a player is involved in the attacking build-up or near the penalty box. Pascal Groß received 3.65 progressive passes per game and ranks ahead of 97% players in this regard. Even though BVB's Bundesliga season has started on a mixed note, Groß has been consistent in terms of being involved in attacking build-up initiated by Dortmund.

This is crucial as the more the number of players are involved in the attacking build-up, chances of the opposition getting rattled and losing its footing while defending increases as well because their defence has to stretch wide to deal with it. Groß being involved in attacking build-up means that it creates room for the attackers to exploit the opposition defence more as Groß has the ability to receive passes in the attacking channels and alter the plans of opposition defence.

Conclusion

So far, it can be said that Groß has made a pretty good start to his Borussia Dortmund career by quickly establishing himself as one of the key players of the team. As the season will go on, his form will get even better, provided if Dortmund are able to resolve their lingering issues.