FC 25 RTTK Garnacho Player Review

New Game. New Format. Same relentless grind.  If you were brave (or maybe the word is silly) enough to take on the first installment of Weekend League mania then you will already know… It wasn’t for the faint of heart.  5 at the back formations, kick off glitch spamming, disconnect riddled, and rage-inducing gameplay… But it sure was good to be back if I am honest. 

Perhaps it is bringing you these reviews or maybe I am just a sucker for punishment, but I still enjoyed my 15 matches of sweatfest football… And let's be honest, it beats having to play 40 matches in a weekend.  But enough yapping, let’s get into this week's review, which essentially fell into my lap with the loan of RTTK Garnacho. 

Certainly more to discuss this year in terms of where and which ROLES a player takes up throughout the match.  So far this year I have been married to the 4-4-2 formation due to the balance of width and depth that seems vital to success this year.  With that in mind Garnacho slotted in perfectly as the LM and his INSIDE FORWARD + was in line with how I want that position to play in the first place.  The HUNTER Chemistry Style seemed like the right choice and all was set for Garnacho to steal the first weekend limelight in the following squad:

Overall 

Rating: 8.5/10

Feels like EA is coming out of the gates a little bit hot with the power curve this year if I am honest.  So far this year I have tried a plethora of NIF cards on the wing and it wasn’t until I tried HERO Guily that I really found the perfect fit for this formation… But now Garnacho has already usurped the Frenchman and it is going to be incredibly hard moving forward without the United speedster..  

Main Statistics – Dribbling

Dribbling Rating: 9/10

Pace Rating: 10/10

Skills: ★★★★

PlayStyles: Technical, Flair, Quick Step 

From a dribbling perspective this card simply has the ball on a string and has the ability to dangle the carrot for defenders before shifting direction and taking off into space.  The TECHNICAL dribbling is a nice addition, while the left stick and L1 dribbling was as responsive as any card I have used (with Giuly the closest match thus far).

Obviously the L1 Speed Boost is the talk of FC25 so far this year and to a degree turns most cards into The Flash.  However, with Garnacho he was borderline unstoppable as the QUICK STEP PlayStyle and MOSTLY EXPLOSIVE AcceleRATE seemed to amplify the slingshot effect and were a big part of the 10 goal contributions in 5 matches.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 3.5/5

This is a really tough category to judge at this point.  Garnacho is undoubtedly the most potent player that I have used and I will dive into some of those qualities in a second… However, 450k is a massive price tag and the difference to the likes of Giuly was certainly not four times the card.  In the end it was the Passing that really hindered this category and for that price tag you expect better performance.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

The 7 goals in 5 matches from the LM position is probably as good as I am going to see for some time, but I certainly enjoyed it while it lasted.

+ Shooting: The 4 STAR WEAK FOOT with Garnacho is the best I have used thus far.  The amount of left footed finishes that found the back of the net was impressive and needed to keep up with some of the God Squads I was facing.  The HUNTER is obviously helping and the 92 SHOT POWER and 95 FINISHING were just about flawless in front of goal.

While the 7 goals are easily explained by the dynamic dribbling, blazing pace and pinpoint shooting… The 3 assists tell a bit of a different story.

- The biggest let down with Garnacho is by far and away his Passing.  Yes, the lack of STRENGTH meant that the slightest tackle was met with minimal resistance and overall Garnacho is far from “jammy” compared to other players… But I expected that.  The Passing however showed signs of promise with the WHIPPED PASS PlayStyle and 86 CROSSING, which probably only adds to the disappointment of how poor Garnacho delivered the ball throughout this review.

Closing Words

Great to be back reviewing cards and even better to be reviewing a card that contributed so significantly across the 5 matches, leading me to a 4-1 record to kick off the weekend.  Garnacho is an expensive option on the wing and from a purely attacking output perspective he just about justified the massive price tag.  But if you have saved up the coins and are looking for a game changing player… I might just hold off on Garnacho given the Passing and Physicality flaws.  

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading