Atlético deservedly won the first leg of their tie against Juventus by following the classic Simeone playbook: outstanding defensive organization, good attacking transitions, and a decisive set-piece game. Juventus did not create scoring chances and Allegri and his players did not react well – both tactically and emotionally – to Atlético’s superiority. Tactical analysis and […]
All the traits that got Schalke in the Champions League last season – passionate and disciplined defending paired with quick counterattacks and dangerous set-pieces – made life difficult for Manchester City. Guardiola’s side was not capable of creating many goal scoring opportunities with their center-focused approach. To win, they needed a free-kick goal and the […]
Isn’t this the best time of the year? The winter cold slowly fades away, to be replaced by the thin and hopeful sunlight of early spring. Club football enters its decisive phase, with lots to play for in every competition. After a set of very enjoyable Champions league ties last week and a double goalless […]
The incessant attacking flow of this game was in no way comparable to the final scoreline. However, a lot more of the open attacks fell in favor of the visitors, whose exploits in every third of the pitch were superior to Lyon. The weaknesses within Lyon’s deep block were plain to see but Barcelona could […]
Liverpool and Bayern Munich approached the game in aggressive defensive stances that made the first half a high-octane affair. Things settled down in the second period of play as Bayern Munich became much more passive, which proved to be an even more effective method at stymieing Liverpool’s offense. Tactical analysis and match report by Om […]
Isn’t this the best time of the year? The winter cold slowly fades away, to be replaced by the thin and hopeful sunlight of early spring. Club football enters its decisive phase, with lots to play for in every competition. After a set of very enjoyable Champions league ties last week, the biggest competition in […]
Put aside many of the things Spurs did so well without the ball, and one could still argue that Dortmund were architects of their own downfall. The lacking threat in behind, the swelling of players around the ball and their inability to remotely deal with Spurs’ man-marking approach made escaping and creating chances an impossible […]
Real Madrid were second best the whole game, largely because of Ajax’s fierce high press and quality on the ball. But the best team sometimes does not win in a game of football, and that was exactly the case in this intriguing Champions League round of 16 match-up. Tactical analysis and match report by Om […]
Isn’t this the best time of the year? The winter cold slowly fades away, to be replaced by the thin and hopeful sunlight of early spring. Club football enters its decisive phase, with lots to play for in every competition. Whatsmore, we’ve got Champions League football lined up this week. The world’s most watched competition […]
In the highly anticipated return of Champions League football, both teams initially struggled to establish a rhythm. Paris Saint-Germain had some problems playing from the back, and United showed potential defensive issues. In the second half, PSG came out as the dominant team, helped by United’s injuries forcing them to make two half-time changes. Thomas […]