Clarissa Larisey 2023/2024: Decoding the core attributes of BK Hacken’s power player – scout report
Clarissa Larisey is a 24-year-old forward who plays for the Swedish Damallsvenskan club, BK Häcken and is also a Canadian international. Lately, Larisey has been attracting a lot of attention from the followers of the game, especially following her impressive performances not only in the Damallsvenskan but also in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as she helped BK Häcken qualify second from a complicated Group D that contains powerful teams like Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris FC.
Although the result of the quarter-finals against PSG has not been known yet at the time of writing this scout report, we can already say that BK Häcken achieved an excellent result this season from a European perspective by reaching the quarter-finals and having a chance to challenge PSG for a semi-finals ticket. At the same time, we should consider the fact that BK Häcken are lacking competition since the Damallsvenskan starts on April 13, 2024, which gives more credit to BK Häcken for succeeding in keeping up with teams that are more powerful on paper and more active/ready in terms of match sharpness.
Larisey’s role in BK Häcken’s results so far has been evident to everyone. It can become even more pivotal to her team if she keeps her good run of form going and succeeds in scoring more goals regularly, whether in the Damallsvenskan or the UWCL.
Following these numerous short-term experiences at different clubs and in various countries throughout her career thus far, it might do Larisey good to find stability for a few seasons and be crucial for her actual without having to change teams each season. Stability can guarantee more development in her performances as it would allow her to focus only on working hard, developing her skills and improving her performances in each game instead of worrying about adaptation and spending energy plus time in getting accustomed to her new team’s tactics, to her teammates’ playing styles, and even to her personal life in new countries.
At the moment, BK Häcken looks like a very fitting club for Larisey since they started relying on her upfront even against big teams like Real Madrid and Chelsea. They know that she was able to put on some convincing performances during these games, which can pave the way for her to build on them to perform even better and score more goals, especially in the Damallsvenskan’s new season.
This being said, BK Häcken has alternatives for Larisey and have been using strikers like former Everton’s Anna Anvegård and Felicia Schröder so often in the Damallsvenskan; that’s why Larisey should work even harder to snatch a regular spot and win the confidence of head coach Mark Lind.
In this tactical analysis, we will provide an analysis of Larisey’s attacking traits and especially her goalscoring skills, in addition to focusing on her roles and positions in BK Häcken’s tactics. The analysis will also try to answer whether Larisey can be useful in other roles, such as playmaking.
Roles and positions at BK Häcken
Larisey is mainly a striker who finds herself very comfortable inside the box and excels in goalscoring and finishing actions. She has usually been employed as a striker at all of the teams she played at, including BK Häcken. However, she was sometimes used as a left winger with BK Häcken and as a right winger with Canada. This ability to play as a winger, in general, represents an advantage for Larisey, as not all strikers are capable of coping well with the winger position.
In this regard, being a Pacy player and a quick dribbler helps Larisey be very useful as a winger as it allows her more playing time, especially in Canada, since there is a lot of competition in attacking positions. Moreover, we should note that Larisey can develop her traits in terms of playmaking, pressing, and defending further since she has all that is needed to become more impactful in these aspects.
Giving Larisey precise roles in these aspects can surely guarantee more valuable performances from the Canadian as it would automatically make her more experienced, especially in terms of playmaking. The following heat map highlights Larisey’s attacking versatility and ability to cover most of the final third spots and positions even when she plays as a striker.
This ability to move a lot without the ball and ask for the ball more often, as well as retreating to receive more passes when needed, make Larisey a solid and active striker for BK Häcken.
Goalscoring abilities
In terms of goalscoring, Larisey scores 0.64 goals per match and shoots 3.21 times per game, for an accuracy rate equalling 49.5%. These statistics are not weak and are expected to improve progressively if Larisey finds some stability in performance and environment, which stresses the importance of remaining with the same team for at least some time.
Larisey can finish with different techniques and from various positions. She is often very dynamic inside the box and works a lot on anticipating defenders’ movements by moving quicker towards the ball. That’s exactly how she was able to score this excellent goal against Chelsea while being marked by a tough defender such as Jess Carter.
This picture shows the end of the action when Larisey could be first on the ball and direct it towards the net with a powerful header after succeeding in moving before Carter despite being behind her initially when the ball was not crossed yet. This reading of her teammates’ potential actions and the quick anticipations she makes regarding movements without the ball are key to many of her scored goals so far.
What is impressive about Larisey is her capability of using both feet to score, losing neither accuracy nor power when executing shots with her left foot. This represents a massive advantage to her, making it more complicated for goalkeepers to predict her shots. The following example shows one of her numerous left-footed goals and highlights the ease with which she executes these shots after succeeding to cut inside and get past two defenders.
Although Larisey does not seem to be a physical player, she wins 44.6% of duels and has some fairly good physical strength and resistance when facing defenders. In addition to pace, this physical strength helps Larisey a lot in excluding defenders and creating more goalscoring occasions for herself and sometimes for her teammates. This picture shows a goal action during which Larisey started her run way behind her opposing defenders and could still get to the ball first at the back of the defensive line. She was also capable of resisting her marker’s tight disturbance before scoring a beautiful goal with a lob.
Larisey masters many shooting techniques and is expected to show more of her goalscoring abilities with her actual team if she keeps her excellent run of form going. As a striker, she is one of the players who can exploit each type of attack, including crosses, passes at the back of the defensive line, long passes from defence or midfield, and more. And that’s precisely why Larisey can become a versatile striker very soon, knowing that she needs to work on consistency in terms of goalscoring.
Playmaking and pressing traits
Apart from goalscoring, Larisey can also be very useful in terms of passing and playmaking whenever she retreats or moves to the wings. Her passing accuracy is 66.6%, and her long-passing accuracy is 71.4%. What is even more important is that Larisey is a striker who has a good vision of the pitch combined with excellent and well-timed decision-making in terms of passing.
BK Häcken can use Larisey a bit more often in terms of passing in order to create space for players coming from behind and let Larisey provide them assists like she did in the following example. Being a dynamic player who moves a lot without the ball and retreats so often to receive the ball and provide passes represents a key weapon for the team as it confuses opposing defences regarding positioning and players to mark.
Larisey got the ball and quickly served her teammate with an excellent through pass behind the defensive line, which made things easier for BK Häcken’s player and a lot more complicated for the defence. This pass type can be used more often to create similar goalscoring opportunities and exploit Larisey’s playmaking talent.
In addition to playmaking, Larisey can be very effective in high pressing and disturbing defenders, obliging them to clear the ball away or intercept it using sliding tackles, as she did in the following example. Being a pacy player helps Larisey a lot in this regard and makes her confident enough to intercept balls, especially from slow defenders.
These disciplined, pressing attempts can only highlight Larisey’s team mentality and unselfishness. She often executes similar attempts and can also be very useful when defending in her own team’s half.
Conclusion
Clarissa Larisey is a beneficial attacking signing for BK Häcken and can become an even more pivotal player to this team, whether in the UWCL or the Damallsvenskan. This being said, knowing how to exploit the player’s various abilities intelligently and keeping her for an extended period while playing her regularly will eventually pay off, as we are expected to witness a significantly developed version of Larisey in the coming season if she keeps improving her traits.
