For forty-eight minutes, the Europa League Final was a fairly dull affair, with both Chelsea and Arsenal’s pressing games suffocating each other’s buildup. Then, Giroud scored and the floodgates crashed open, allowing Chelsea to capture the Europa League trophy by the half hour mark. Tactical analysis and match report by Om Arvind. Judging causality in […]
Game states and a fantastic Arsenal striker constantly getting in good scoring positions were the largest factors in this Europa League semi-final. Initially, Valencia applied themselves well to this match, and managed to score the opener. However, they failed to maintain the efficiency of their early attacking, and fell victim to an onslaught. Tactical analysis […]
The Europa League semi-final clash between Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt was characterized by stalemate. Both Maurizio Sarri and Adi Hütter struggled to put their teams in the driver’s seat, forcing the tie to go down to penalties. Kepa Arrizabalaga held his nerve after Azpilicueta missed, allowing Eden Hazard to bury the winner and create an […]
Valencia manager Marcelino surprised by deviating from his usual preferred formation for this Europa League semi-final. Rodrigo Moreno was the focal point of Valencia’s attack in a lineup packed with nominal central defenders. Initially Valencia dominated the home team, but the attacking prowess of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette helped Arsenal seize the day in […]
European semi-finals are often highly anticipated, entertaining and thrilling tactical battles. Eintracht Frankfurt versus Chelsea was no different. Against a compact, man-marking and aggressive pressing unit, Sarri’s team struggled throughout, but adapted and were able to claim an important away goal. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. Both these clubs sit in fourth […]
Frankfurt were able to dominate the first half of the game, chasing a 4-2 aggregate deficit. In the second half, Benfica came out stronger, and found more success against Frankfurt’s pressing, which had pinned them back in the first half. Nevertheless, Frankfurt’s direct attack helped them to a second goal, and they were able to […]
Although chances to score were few and far between, these two European heavyweights still managed to play out an intriguing, evenly fought contest, which saw Arsenal crowned victors. Napoli’s early threat might have provided a doorway back into the tie but a lacking clinical edge cost them, as it did at the end of the […]
Arsenal’s dominant home display has left Napoli on the brink of a quarter final exit, but where did it all go wrong for the Italians? Arguably, this might have been an incidental clash of systems that prevented Carlo Ancelotti’s side from fully exploiting the weaknesses they saw in this Arsenal side. Tactical analysis and match […]
This battle between two attacking minded sides promised to be an action-packed Europa League quarter final. The game lived up its promises and was full of intense pressing. Although Frankfurt conceded a penalty and a red card after just twenty minutes, the match did not lose any suspense. Being one man down, Frankfurt stuck to […]
After losing 3-1 away in France, Arsenal stepped it up at the Emirates and produced a brilliant performance to complete the comeback and progress into the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Despite managing to stay in the tie until the final whistle, Rennes were outclassed here, simply unable to cope with Arsenal’s off-the-ball movement in […]