The defending French champions visited the side that had only avoided relegation last season by virtue of winning the play-off. A lot was at stake in this clash as the two sides were separated by just one point going into the match. Being sixth and eighth in the table, a win for either team had […]
In a crisis, a leader has two primary options: unearth a unique answer, or go back to familiar ideas. Thomas Tuchel has delved deep into both choices, but at home to an outfit wallowing through their own campaign, the return of a back three was the gateway to a routine victory. Tactical analysis and match […]
As reigning champions faced the champions elect, the former had one final chance to show why they upset the apple cart last campaign. However, their guests had decided it was their day to affirm their class. Putting Lille to the sword, PSG upset the odds themselves with the tenets of a commanding display that could […]
Defending Ligue 1 champions Lille travelled to face Marseille in the headline clash of the weekend in French football. An early red card heavily shaped this match, as Sampaoli’s possession-based approach tried to breach Lille’s two banks of four, with mixed results. Tactical analysis and match report by Neel Shelat. Last week had been unpleasant […]
At the campaigns’ midpoint, not many had LOSC Lille and Olympique Lyonnais as eleventh and twelfth on their pre-season predictors. In a game deprived of offensive quality, both showcased how they got to this point, whilst a significant shift in momentum should have seen one of them take all three points at the end. Tactical […]
PSG are making a habit of faltering over the line, but here it came with an added twist. Lille’s 4-4-2 setup set the tone for the first half, only for Mauricio Pochettino to make several adaptations that handed the Parisians a victory and a new system signaling how things could fall into place. Tactical analysis […]
The Trophée des Champions marked a return to club football, pitting league champions Lille against Coupe de France winners Paris Saint-Germain in a battle for early season bragging rights. While the two sides looked wildly different from the outfits that competed in the last campaign, what did not change was the result, as a superb […]