Schalke’s marginal gains were the key to their success, as David Wagner’s diamond formation troubled Julian Nagelsmann’s men, albeit not without weaknesses of their own. Leipzig’s performance was creditable once again, both in their starting plan and in their adaptations, but they ultimately let the game slip away from their grasp. Tactical analysis and match […]
A match made up of small battles up, down and across the pitch, Mainz’s diamond formation was the catalyst for an interesting affair, albeit one that failed to create much excitement in attack. At least not until the very end. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter M. Schalke appear to have found their feet […]
Structural incompetence in defense and divine striking of the football defined Schalke 04’s fixture against reigning champions Bayern Munich. David Wagner’s second game in charge suggested he has no chance against top teams, whilst Niko Kovač’s tactical tweak in shape allowed Bayern to look dangerous and flexible once again. Tactical analysis and match report by […]
Los Angeles Galaxy looked like the better team in the first few minutes – until a red card gave them a handicap for the rest of the game. Seattle seemed to have decent plans, but failed in the execution. Ultimately, they were unable to take advantage of being a man up for almost the entire […]
Adopting new systems and styles can result in your team underperforming, whilst getting used to it. Both Borussia Mönchengladbach and Schalke ‘04 showed glimpses of quality, but the score remained goalless thanks to Gladbach’s high counterpressing and Schalke’s positional play out of possession. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. The opening weekend of […]
Schalke produced a shock result away at Borussia Dortmund, heavily altering the title chances of their rivals. Although Dortmund were able to dominate most parts of the game in possession, Schalke’s 5-3-2 shape prevented them from creating many chances. On the opposite side, Schalke showed high efficiency with their offenisve moves. After two players of […]
The match between 1. FC Nürnberg and FC Schalke 04 was a battle between two sides highly threatened by relegation. Therefore, it was not a big surprise that both sides chose rather riskless attacking strategies. This led to a game without many scoring opportunities from open play. Nürnberg could still dominate the match with clever […]
The Bundesliga clash between Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 promised to be an interesting tactical battle as the styles of play could not be more different. Schalke managed to dominae the first half with their direct vertical play and posed problems for Werder’s defense. Werder on the other hand opted for a possession-based approach, focusing […]
All the traits that got Schalke in the Champions League last season – passionate and disciplined defending paired with quick counterattacks and dangerous set-pieces – made life difficult for Manchester City. Guardiola’s side was not capable of creating many goal scoring opportunities with their center-focused approach. To win, they needed a free-kick goal and the […]
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 and a double goalless […]