Returning to LaLiga football, Barcelona sought to extend their lead at the top of the table against an endangered Mallorca. Although Barcelona still faces problems, especially with their offensive plan lacking cohesion, they could turn to some familiar faces to rack up a decisive margin of victory. Tactical analysis by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere. RCD Mallorca find […]
Top teams’ ability to progress the ball becomes increasingly scrutinized in modern football due to the continued improvement of the defensive systems they face. This analysis outlines the buildup strategies of seven of Europe’s elite teams, and briefly discusses some of the trends observed within. Written by Josh Manley. Defending and pressing in modern football […]
Barcelona once again struggled with threatening from width and depth in possession, meanwhile Madrid’s possession game was very loosely structured. Both teams were also relatively disorganized in pressing. These aspects made for a relatively chaotic and tactically low-standard game, especially in the second half, where Madrid eventually came out on top through goals from Vinícius […]
A frustrating evening for the visitors came forth from their inadequacies in attack just as much as it was due to a very well-drilled and aggressive defense from their opponents. All the possession for Barça but only the one goal, albeit a crucial one, to show for it. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter […]
Club football has entered its decisive phase, with lots to play for in every competition. Last week we previewed the first four matches of the knock-out stage. Today we focus on Tuesday’s ties of the most important tournament in club football: the Champions League. Article by Manasvin Andra, Kareem Bianchi and Joel Parker. Chelsea – […]
If pitting second against third is not enough, then this reignited managerial feud between two managers should do the trick. Quique Setién’s previous frustrations were – to his relief – laid to rest for now after seeing José Bordalás’s side off in almost convincing fashion. Some very astute – but definitely needed – in-game tweaks […]
Although the visitors had to cling on until the break, Quique Setién’s Barça were consistently finding ways to manipulate Betis’ press. Not in the most conventional of ways, the source of their goals highlighted some of the problem areas Betis suffered from. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter Munnelly. Three not-so-great away results preceding […]
In their second LaLiga game under new coach Quique Setién, Barcelona once again dominated the ball but struggled to penetrate due to an inability to stretch their opponents through width and depth when in possession. Barcelona improved in the second half with midfield runners getting more involved in attack, but a Jordi Alba deflected own […]
Barcelona might have had the ease of possession but the same could not be said on the chance creation front. Granada stood up and were counted as their aggressive medium block defense aimed to strangle the home side’s interplay in Barcelona’s fresh-faced system. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter Munnelly. Quite a lot has […]
Barcelona dominated for seventy minutes, until, when nobody expected it, Diego Simeone made the decisive adjustments to change his team’s fate. Valverde could not react, as the defensive line was stretched for the final blow. Tactical analysis and match report by Kareem Bianchi. The last time these two teams met, Lionel Messi’s brilliance had bailed […]