Improving significantly on their first leg performance, Sevilla managed to push Dortmund back and counterpress successfully to prevent their deadly counterattacks. However, all it takes is one mistake to concede against the force of nature that is Erling Haaland. Tactical analysis and match report by José Pérez. Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla are a great team, and […]
Throughout the 2020/21 season, Real Madrid’s performances have followed the same tactical storyline: they struggle against deep blocks while thriving against opponents who press them high. This trend would continue against Atalanta, with a 17th minute red card forcing the Italian side to defend deep. Real Madrid struggled to break this defense down until a […]
Manchester City continued their recent form by showing dominance of possession and territory against Gladbach. The German side had a decent defensive idea and tried to be constructive playing out from the back, but City ultimately had too much for them as Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus provided the goals which handed City control of […]
Diego Simeone’s vintage defense-first mentality dictated the tempo and tactical pattern of this match. In a game where chances were rare and the game state only changed once, fans of football tactics still had enough to look out for. Eventually it took a little bit of Olivier Giroud magic to break the deadlock, meaning Atléti […]
Based on the form book, Borussia Dortmund’s prospects could not have been bleaker. Yet, despite going down early, their rampant intensity on the break against a sluggish Sevilla outfit made the difference in a superb showing. Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere. Borussia Dortmund find themselves in a sporting crisis. Sacking Lucien Favre […]
A fervent 4-4-2 medium block, replete with well-timed pressing and counterpressing sequences helped Porto dictate play out of possession. The home side earned a much deserved victory over a Juventus side that was passive, slow, narrow and unimaginative. Tactical analysis and match report by K.T. Stockwell. With only one loss in the group stage, which […]
The overarching storyline involving Julian Nagelsmann and Jürgen Klopp aside, this was a game made for the tactically-minded football fan. While goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané sealed a morale-boosting win for the Merseyside club, it was in fact the details of how the teams exploited the other teams’ weaknesses that resulted in a […]
Barcelona took the lead through a Lionel Messi penalty, but were punished for an unstable man-oriented defensive scheme, with the first two goals conceded through wide spaces created by defensive weakness between fullback and winger. Mbappé menaced throughout and was able to complete his hattrick late in the game on the counterattack after Kean’s contribution […]
The pressure was at a historic high for Real Madrid, but in turn, they put the pressure on their visitors early. Borussia Mönchengladbach were thus prohibited from getting into a rhythm in possession all game. Madrid would capitalize on the advantages they had on the flanks, especially attacking the right side, to set up a […]
With a ticket for post-winter Champions League football on the line, Atalanta set up smartly in a 5-3-2 / 5-2-1-2 shape that frustrated Ajax for the entire game. The Dutch were unable to crack the code and created next to nothing from open play. A late strike from supersub Luis Muriel meant Atalanta would progress […]