Despite very brief hope for Manchester United with a promising first five minutes, Barcelona would go on to completely dominate this second leg. Two first half goals from Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a comfortable cushion, and they went on to give a lesson in controlling a game with possession. Tactical analysis and match report by […]
In some ways, this was a game of three parts. Barcelona took an early lead, and looked like suffocating United with their stability in possession. United gained momentum either side of halftime though, making Barcelona look nervous against the high press. Barcelona then managed to slow the game down again in the final stages to […]
Whereas yesterday went down as an almost exclusively English night, this evening is reserved for Europe’s classic football giants. Ajax, Juventus, Manchester United and FC Barcelona are all clubs with a gigantic reputation, meaning both of these encounters have significant backstory and intrigue in them, in addition to tactical questions posed. Written by Erik Elias, […]
In the key game to decide LaLiga’s title race, Barcelona ultimately defeated Atlético. In the first half hour, this was an even match, with a surprisingly proactive Atlético, until Diego Costa was sent off. After the 30th minute, Atlético retreated into a deep block and focused on counterattacks. Only the ever-decisive Suárez and Messi were […]
Espanyol genuinely made life hard for Barcelona at Camp Nou by playing in a very compact and well-functioning 5-3-1-1 formation. Only past the midway point of the second half did the home side find a way to score and this essentially ended the game, after what had been a very interesting, yet one-sided seventy minutes […]
There were a lot of tactical aspects that gave colour to this match. From Betis’ problematic attacking structure to the manipulation of Betis’ center-backs and how Barcelona’s offensive players consistently created space for themselves. All in all however, this match was mostly defined by an outrageously good performance by Lionel Messi, even by his standards. […]
Bruno Génésio’s Lyon went for an ambitious man-for-man approach in the second leg of their tie with FC Barcelona. Because of Lyon’s poor execution of the matching system and the clear division in individual quality, Barcelona were able to comfortably wipe aside the French underdogs. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter M. Barça boss […]
Both teams struggled to organize themselves properly on defense, creating bouts of end-to-end football that allowed Rakitić to score a chipped effort in the first half. The score held until full-time, even though Madrid tried their best to threaten through Vinícius Júnior. Tactical analysis and match report by Om Arvind. Nothing tells us we are […]
Real Madrid had the better of their eternal rivals for most of the game. They threatened on the counterattack late in the first half and responded with a flood of shots after going down 1-0, but simply were not clinical enough. The exact opposite was true for Barcelona, who scored three goals on only four […]
Pablo Machín’s tactical creativity only earned its credit in the early stages of this encounter as the little Argentine’s talents eventually prevailed. Sevilla’s true pantomime villain showcased why he is still undoubtedly the best there is. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter M. Just three days had passed since Sevilla’s 2-0 victory over SS […]