José Mourinho’s vintage defensive block nullified his greatest opponent and created the counterattacks that recorded his first consecutive wins over Pep Guardiola, in his career. With heavy occupation against their opponent’s eights, Tottenham Hotspur denied Manchester City from getting their creators on the ball, as glaring tactical issues were aggravated further. Tactical analysis and match […]
A Liverpool side focused on pressing and transitions ensured that the game had a fast-paced start, which resulted in an early lead for the visitors through a Mohamed Salah penalty. City tweaked their shape slightly and eventually hit back through Gabriel Jesus. As the game progressed, the chances dried up as both sides looked to […]
While both Everton and Manchester United had limitations in their respective buildups, only one team had Bruno Fernandes. His roaming from the number ten spot was pivotal to progressing through Everton’s passive 4-5-1 defensive formation, being involved in all three of their goals and provided Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side with an important three points. Tactical […]
Arsenal dominated from the start thanks to their well-designed pressing system which helped to take advantage of the deficits in United’s buildup. Neither attack was overly impressive, and it took Arsenal some time to capitalize on their superiority. Eventually, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put them ahead from the penalty spot and from there on Mikel Arteta’s side […]
David Moyes’ West Ham provided one of the sturdiest deep blocks that the Anfield stands might have ever seen. The visitors ceremoniously allowed their opponents all the possession in the world and managed to not crack at all while they sat back in their 5-4-1 stronghold. Sadly for West Ham, this was the case prior […]
From an entertainment perspective, Manchester United and Chelsea played out a rather unspectacular affair at Old Trafford, as both managers focused on defensive stability without taking too much risk initially. In the second half, United tried to open the game up a bit more with the introduction of Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani, however they […]
Leeds failed to capitalize on their positive wide play during Wolves’ sluggish start out of their 5-3-2 defensive shape. Marcelo Bielsa’s outfit got in behind the Wolves wing-backs frequently but were unable to cash in on all their crossing opportunities. A fortuitous second-half goal made the difference for the away side as Leeds captured hearts […]
After an aggressive and chaotic first half, James Rodríguez and Thiago Alcântara began to influence the events of the match, which helped deliver an entertaining affair. Although this contest will be remembered for its heavy tackles, Richarlison’s red card and a late VAR decision, Carlo Ancelotti and Jürgen Klopp produced an intelligent tactical battle, something […]
Manchester City were able to return to winning ways in the Premier League against Arsenal with a new system which featured an unorthodox distribution of roles for the players on the pitch. City’s new arrangement saw them have good control of the match, helped by their solid pressing and counterpressing. In the end Raheem Sterling’s […]
During a chaotic start, United took the lead in the second minute, before finding themselves 2-0 down only five minutes later. After this, Spurs were largely superior, with a stable possession game and good use of width. Anthony Martial’s sending off just before the 30th minute effectively ended United’s game, as Spurs went 4-1 up […]