Neither Villarreal nor Atalanta had met before in their history, but those viewing events at El Madrigal will hope these two will continue such affairs for years to come. Unai Emery’s counterpressing locked horns against the wide rotations of Gian Piero Gasperini’s team, in a feisty tactical faceoff that makes the group stages worthwhile.      […]

At times in the first half, it looked like Bayern were intentionally keeping the game slow as they waited for Barcelona to react. Instead, they found an opponent uninterested in attacking and ineffective in defending, as Ronald Koeman’s side crumbled in view of the manager’s misguided conservatism. Tactical analysis and match report by Manasvin Andra. […]