In a Basque Derby between two opposing styles of play, Athletic forced a technical, possession-based Real Sociedad side into playing long balls, causing aerial duels and fighting over second balls, which is exactly the game Athletic wanted. Despite Real’s substitutions and tactical changes to adapt to this tactical context and become more direct, Athletic still […]
Ligue 1 behemoth Paris Saint-Germain took a trip to the Stade Saint-Symphorien to face newly-promoted Metz. This Ligue 1 game came at one of the worst possible times for PSG, as they had to deal with plenty of injuries and off-field drama. In spite of their troubles, PSG claimed a controlled, albeit unimpressive, 2-0 win […]
Both teams were proactive both in and out of possession, making for an entertaining game. Gladbach showed plenty of promising moments throughout, but Leipzig’s compact pressing and creation of overloads around the ball in possession were difficult to deal with. The decisive moments came in transition for Leipzig though, aided by the lightening quick Timo […]
Flamengo’s first half performance was superior in nearly every way to the host’s, both in terms of keeping the ball and defending against it. However, the second half’s change in momentum came down to Internacional chasing the tie, leading to some scrappier, uglier and especially disjointed periods of football. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter […]
Everything seemed to be going in the right direction for Palmeiras as Luiz Adriano scored the first goal after fourteen minutes. However, Grêmio learned from the mistakes they made in the first leg and adjusted their play accordingly. They were able to score two goals in the first half to take the lead in the […]
If the ball was a cake, we would expect Lyon to have the biggest slice, but Montpellier were hungry too.
LA Galaxy scored the first goal of the match after just two minutes. Although Los Angeles FC equalized about ten minutes later, the guests were clinical on the counterattack twice, to achieve a two-goal lead, with just a quarter of an hour played. After that, LAFC dominated possession, yet needed a few adjustments in the […]
Real Betis were able to take the lead early on at the Nou Camp in one of their few attacks throughout the game. Barcelona initially found it tough to break down a compact Betis side, who defended increasingly deep once they were ahead. Eventually Barcelona found a way through with two Antoine Griezmann goals either […]
RB Leipzig’s clash with Eintracht Frankfurt was a perfect example of football’s unparalleled fluidity and constantly evolving nature. The game began in chaos, before briefly bending to the will of Julian Nagelsmann’s tactics. Frankfurt adapted towards the end of the first half and exerted a surprising amount of control in the second. An eightieth minute […]
Arguably the two most offensive sides of the opening Premier League weeks produced a feisty affair at Carrow Road, with four goals scored in the first thirty minutes. Both teams impressed going forward, but the defensive woes continued. Tammy Abraham’s second of the day punished Norwich’s poor defensive transition and proved to be the winner. […]