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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid played a Clásico that was intense, but will not go in the books as an extraordinary performance. After Real Madrid were dominant in the opening twenty minutes and scored the opener, the match stabilized, becoming even tame at times. A draw leaves all possibilities open when the second leg takes […]
Barcelona took a risky approach in possession against Valencia’s counterattacking threat, and found themselves 2-0 down just over thirty minutes in. Valencia’s brave possession structure kept Barcelona’s backline busy, hurting them with well-executed quick breaks. A moment of individual quality from Lionel Messi was required – again – to find a way past Valencia’s compact […]