tactical analysis
Tactical Analysis: Bayern Munich’s continued dominance against Barcelona shows just how far the Catalans have fallen
Just under 13 months after that historic 8-2 demolition in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were back at it – this time for the blockbuster Matchday 1 Group E clash of the 2021/22 campaign of the tournament. A few things changed after that, most notably for Barcelona who saw new manager Ronald Koeman taking charge, Lionel Messi leaving, and a few more notable departures taking place including those of Luis Suárez and Antoine Griezmann, both of whom went to Atlético Madrid. Bayern’s core squad, meanwhile, remained relatively unchanged, though, key defenders Jérôme Boateng and David Alaba departed while the likes of Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer came in from RB Leipzig, along with new manager Julian Nagelsmann. Still, old wounds remained unlicked, and...
Tactical Analysis: Hansi Flick’s managerial debut for the German National Team against Liechtenstein
After Louis van Gaal’s outing with the Dutch national team, Hansi Flick became the second man in two days to make a return to his national team in a coaching role after a gap of seven years. In his case, though, this was the first time that he was right at the helm, having been an assistant to Joachim Löw (the man who he was now replacing) previously. He only took on one managerial role thereafter as the majority of his time was spent as the sporting director of the DFB, but that was about as successful a stint as you will ever see as the former midfielder won it all with Bayern Munich as he completed an incredible sextuple in 2020. The German national team job was not much easier, although his first assignment wasn’t overly daunting as he took his squad to face Liechtenstein – a side that...
Tactical Analysis: Louis van Gaal’s solid return to management with the Dutch National Team against Norway
Just over seven years after the end of his last stint with the Dutch national team, Louis van Gaal was back again. This time, he was replacing Frank de Boer, who faced the sack after a disappointing Euros campaign that was riddled with tactical issues. His job was, of course, to fix those problems, and the first chance he got to show some of his work in practice came against Norway in Group G of the European Qualifiers for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Heading into the match, the Netherlands were second in their group and just a point behind leaders Turkey, but with both their opponents on the night and Montenegro level on points with them, a win was imperative to keep their qualification campaign on track. The first thing we got to see was, obviously, his line-up, which saw a number of key fi...
Tactical Analysis: How England nearly caught Italy off guard in the Euro 2020 final
This was it. A month, 50 games, and 140 goals after the curtain-raiser in Rome between Turkey and Italy, this was the ultimate stage of the Euros – the final. Coincidentally, Italy represented one half of the story. while hosts England were the other. Just as he had done against Germany, Gareth Southgate went for a back-three system, although the difference here was that he was not mirroring his opposition, but instead working against a 4-3-3. That decision took less than two minutes to make a lasting impact on the match, as England scored the fastest-ever goal at a Euro final. After an intense battle, Italy found an equaliser in the second half to take the game beyond the normally allocated 90 minutes. There were no goals in extra time either, so penalties were needed to decide the winner...
Tactical Analysis: How Argentina’s disciplined defending helped them beat Brazil in the Copa América final
After 27 matches of enthralling South American football, we reached the final of the 2021 Copa América, where Brazil and Argentina were set to do battle. The Seleção were the defending champions, and with an unbeaten record to this stage involving just one draw, they certainly were the team to beat. Argentina, on the other hand, had the chance to become the joint-most successful side in the competition’s history with a 15th title, but it would be the first since 1993 as Lionel Messi had never won a major international trophy for his country. An intense battle ensued, with crunching challenges and utterly disgusting fouls flying everywhere, but in the end, Argentina triumphed thanks to the only goal of the match. The standard of football on show was not particularly high for the a...
Tactical Analysis: How Italy outclassed Belgium in the Euros
The 16th edition of the European Championships continued to deliver football and entertainment of the highest order as we entered the quarterfinal stage, and the biggest clash of the last-eight featured Belgium and Italy, who squared off in the Allianz Arena in Munich. Both sides had exited in the quarterfinals in Euro 2016, but one of their fates was set to change here. Belgium had a couple of key players including Eden Hazard out due to injury, while Italy were fit and firing as Roberto Mancini had a winning formula working brilliantly even before the group stage started. After a hard-fought 90 minutes, Italy emerged 2-1 winners thanks to a couple of very good finishes in the first half. In this analysis, we will take a look at how Roberto Mancini’s side were able to beat the Belgians, a...
Tactical Analysis: How Scotland’s in-match adjustments contained England in the Euros
For the 100th time in a competitive football match, less-than-friendly neighbours England and Scotland prepared to face each other. This was their first clash at the Euros since (look away Scottish readers) 1996, which was also at Wembley Stadium, where a certain man with bleached hair scored a rather good goal. This time around, England and Scotland’s match was their second group game, but the difference was that the hosts had won their opening clash while the visitors had lost theirs, as opposed to both drawing. So, this game bore greater importance for Steve Clarke’s side, who needed to win to keep their chances of progression to the knockouts in their own hands. A gripping tactical battle followed, which involved both managers making various changes during the match to give their side ...
Tactical Analysis: How Manchester City undid themselves against Chelsea in the Champions League final
After three encounters this season in the Premier League and FA Cup, Manchester City and Chelsea squared off in the biggest match of the European club football season – the Champions League final. Pep Guardiola’s side played Frank Lampard’s men off the park in Stamford Bridge to kick off an incredible winning streak at the very beginning of 2021, but new manager Thomas Tuchel won both in the FA Cup semi-final and reverse league fixture. All of that would not have a big bearing on this match, as City were looking to lift the first-ever Champions League trophy while Chelsea were looking to win their second. After an intense strategic battle, Chelsea emerged 1-0 winners thanks to Kai Havertz’s first-half goal. There were many intriguing tactical aspects to the game, right from player selectio...
Analysis: How Villarreal’s adaptability helped them beat Manchester United
In the second-last match of continental football in Europe for the 2020/21 season, Villarreal and Manchester United prepared to square off for the UEFA Europa League trophy. Ole Gunnar Solskjær was leading the Red Devils into his first-ever final as a manager, meaning that this was also his first chance to lift a trophy for the club, and it would also be United’s first major honour since 2017 when they won the same competition. Villarreal, meanwhile, were battling for their first-ever coveted piece of silverware barring the Tercera División and UEFA Intertoto Cup, as Unai Emery was eyeing his fourth Europa League success in five finals. The Yellow Submarine had an additional incentive as this was a bonus shot for them to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, as their sevent...
Analysis: Why Chelsea’s tactics weren’t enough to stop Leicester magic
Just more than two weeks before this day in 2016, Leicester City were celebrating a miraculous Premier League title after Chelsea halted Tottenham Hotspur’s title charge for good at Stamford Bridge. Fast forward five years and those two accidental allies had become adversaries in the FA Cup final. Chelsea’s season had started well under Frank Lampard, but a terrible run of form which saw them slump out of the European spots from the top of the table spelt the end of the English manager’s tenure. His replacement was German tactician Thomas Tuchel, who almost instantly got a supremely talented squad firing their way back to the top-four and into two cup finals, one of which was the Champions League. A triumph in the FA Cup final would mean that the ex-Paris Saint-Germain manager delivered ne...
Tactical Analysis: How Chelsea halted Manchester City’s Premier League title party
Just over three weeks after their FA Cup semi-final success, Chelsea faced Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with the hosts having the chance to seal the Premier League title with a victory. The two sides were fresh after midweek Champions League semi-final successes – against Paris Saint-Germain for City and Real Madrid for Chelsea – but with wholesale changes to the line-ups (nine for City and five for Chelsea), this was no dress rehearsal. Psychologically, though, this was a significant battle, and Chelsea came away with a crucial win (for their top-four hopes, too) after going a goal down in the first half. The match was filled with plenty of controversies, but we will strictly restrict ourselves to focusing on the tactical aspects of the clash. Manchester City in poss...
Analysis: How a dominant Man City took apart Neymar, Mbappe and co
After a hard-fought 1-1 draw between Real Madrid and Chelsea, the Champions League served up another semi-final feast as Paris Saint-Germain hosted Manchester City at the Parc de Princes. The home side were certainly in the mood in this season’s Champions League, having knocked out Barcelona in the round of 16 and exacting their revenge over holders Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Naturally, last season’s final disappointment was not forgotten in Paris, and an instant redemption would be the best way to heal that wound. City are arguably the best team in Europe this season – unquestionably after the turn of the year – so anything short of a Champions League success would be considered a small failure at the very least. Pep Guardiola had received a fair amount of criticism for his inab...
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