Original sentence: Rather than tackle a player, he is more likely to shadow him, thus pushing him back
Edited sentence: A possible explanation for this is Gilberto's short passing range.Despite Gilberto's high pass completion rate, his passing technique has been criticised in the past.He is more likely to offload the ball frequently to midfield players close around him (such as Patrick Vieira or Cesc Fàbregas), thus easily gaining a high pass completion rate.Rather than tackle a player, he is more likely to shadow him thus pushing him back.These short-range passes often go unnoticed, while relatively infrequent long-range incomplete passes often receive negative attention, although not enough to significantly lower his overall pass completion rate