Chelsea 5-2-3/5-4-1 zonal block (between medium & low) seems to put struggles for Manchester City. Cole Palmer displayed a great show off-ball given the roles he has to fulfill. He cuts off really well the passing lanes between the backline & O'Reilly & always offers support to Gusto against Doku.

The PSG process is quite similar to Bayern Munich, but PSG didn't with one head coach, which is Luis Enrique. In his first season, he tried to teach the players the fundamentals of positional play, and PSG was rigid. His second season saw Luis Enrique introduce fluidity.

I like the process Bayern Munich took to rejuvenate their identity after 2008. They were determined to play possession-based football & they hired Louis Van Gaal to achieve this goal. He did, but they arrived at a point where RIGIDITY prevented them from taking the next step. They were predictable.

Real Madrid recruitment board didn't manage to maintain similar qualities and level to the previous group in midfield. The qualities that enabled Real Madrid to navigate through heavy pressure moments and exert control.

It's really rare to find a board at a big club that understands the difference between what it takes to win a league and what it takes to win a UCL. Bayern Munich seems to understand that whoever the head coach is. And they made it clear the day of Pep Guardiola's presentation.

The Fall Of Real Madrid’s Dominoes Out-Of-Possession Real’s horrible defensive shape persists. www.managingmadrid.com/el-clasico/1...

Barcelona goes around diagonally & enters diagonally. Ferran Torres' half-turn receiving & his curved run toward the touchlines left his man in his wake. In the meantime, Rashford, with an out-in run, punishes the space behind. Diagonality is the kryptonite to man-marking.

Real Madrid midfielders state in deeper areas: —Tchouaméni cannot pass or operate under pressure; —Bellingham lack of enough scanning drove him to many possession losses that led to turnovers; —Camavinga lacks consistency.

Barcelona model with Hansi Flick enabled them & will allow them to maintain the Spanish league dominance, should they improve the quality of some positions, depth, & the game model. I think improving the high-press scheme that impacts the high line and offside trap is Barcelona's first part to fix.

Barcelona is hindering Real Madrid with off-ball movements: deeper darts to pull out one of the CBs, runs in behind to exploit depth. On the other side, no coordination across Real Madrid backline, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo easily pull out the CBs & exploit their blindside.

A 4-4-2 zonal block defending success starts from the front line where the front two block off the passing lanes into the opponents CMs/DMs. To notice the difference, it suffices to watch how G. Garcia stands between G. Martin & Pedri & what happens when Vinicius JR stands between Cubarsi & Gavi.

Concerning Jeremy Doku dribbling ability, what separates him from other wingers his explosive speed and acceleration over the first five meters. He usually creates separation by nudging the ball forward, matching the defender momentum until suddenly he accelerates toward the byline for the cutback.

Jeremy Doku shot placement improved so much. Goalkeepers have a hard time to save his shot. Another part, I like in his game is he will, without any delay, pass the ball to an underlapping FB, because he knows it's gonna be generate more threat than his attempt to dribble.

Youri Baas is from the mould of Nico Schlotterbeck and Diego Aguado.

Real Madrid 2016/17 was the only version that would secure sustainability over the long term if the board kept recruiting the players who would suit that style. Back then, Real Madrid's model under Zidane revolved around associative play brought to reality thanks to the generational players...

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I think the Couvade syndrome applies to all departments of Real Madrid. If we take, for example, the off-ball phases, it's totally normal for players to compare themselves to Mbappé & proceed by not commit to OOP duties.

There are some aspects I like about Doué & Kvaratskhelia. Ofc, they are 1v1 specialists, but more than that, they can take shots from difficult positions, and their deliveries are on target, and they make it hard for the goalkeeper to save them.

Kvaratskhelia and Luiz Diaz perfectly: —Accelerate & Decelerate, master the pause & Restart; —Easily can change direction; —Agile & Mobile; —Ballistic control is top; —Lateral movement is elite; —Strong and powerful; They have a very high level of Athleticism.

Paris Saint-Germain is one of the best study cases when it comes to squad building. They tried approximately all the models: the one star team, the all stars team, and at the end the team is the star.

Declan Rice is one of Arsenal consistent players across the season and in this 2nd leg against Atlético he provided quality in terms of passing, medium to long range carrying, clean tackles & interceptions, duels & space coverage, setpieces delivery. Elite defensive midfielder

The only thing I liked in this first half is that sequence of backward passes from Atlético Madrid baiting Arsenal forward. More than that was Oblak playing through to Koke instead of launching long. It led to Atlético most dangerous attempt to score (Llorente was offside)

I think Alvaro Arbeloa is a promising coach whose next step should've been similar to the one Xabi Alonso took when Bayer Leverkusen recruited him.

In the summer of 2024, there was a funny story. Florentino Perez looked at Real Madrid's squad needs and decided to bring in a doppelganger of the team's best player in the 2023/24 season. Statistically, in the 2023/24 season, Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior produced nearly the same numbers...

Real Madrid have elite corners and free-kick takers in Arda Guler and Alexander-Arnold. However, after releasing Jesús Rueda from his duties (after sacking Xabi Alonso), either the routines are bad or the players' heading ability is so subpar when they establish first contact.

Arne Slot introduced Rio Ngumoha as a right winger and immediately made him play on the left. The difference was night and day. His dribbles have more threat when he cuts inside and generate those shooting angles.

Saka looks fresh physically against Fulham. Nimble in 1v1 situations, solid against contact enabling him to retain the ball. Liked his disguised finishing opening up his body as if he was targeting the far post angle & instantly powering the ball toward the near post.

The brilliance of Pavlovic & Neves extends to their off-ball game. They are elite at regaining possession from 2nd-ball situations just by being at the right place at the right moment & anticipating the landing zone. Both did a great job in the HSs when Safonov or Neuer proceeded with long launches.

From Arsenal, only Noni Madueke can pull off something incredible, zipping through Atlético Madrid and pull the trigger from a very hard position. From Atlético Madrid, Julian Alvarez once he finds a tiny space to shoot, David Raya needs to stretch to the max to save that shot.

Rewatching the PSG & Bayern München tie, the transitions, fast paced attacks, high intensity & fitness level, individual quality being maximised by two elite coaches get me wondering how would Jurgen Klopp (with his heavy metal football) set his team up if he's still coaching.

This is one of the best football games I've ever watched. This is the apex of football. 1v1s all over the pitch, your quality in these situations determines whether you'll survive & thrive or you'll sink. Direct attack vs Direct attack, counterattack vs counterattack.

Real Madrid's coach after sacking Jose Mourinho by Florentino Perez will be Manuel Pellegrini.

Some question marks after Man United's first GA: Ceding possession & retreating might serve the goal of maximising the profiles Carrick has, as many players thrive in transitions, but the low block was full of gaps, especially between Maguire and Dalot.

Manchester United displayed whatever you want in 15 mins: —Some nice buildup ideas; —Counterattacks; —Mainoo is so damn good; —Missing Goals, Losing possession in the mid 3rd after breaking nicely Brentford 1st line of pressure; —Scoring a GA from a corner (It's Casemiro again)

We often talk about head coaches setting up the best environment, being convincing for the players to buy in. BUT the other way is often overlooked. A player having the willingness to learn in a regular basis helps him at the 1st place, eases the coach work & improve the collective performance.

Idk if the data backs this up, but in a winning game state, Arsenal tend to play more long balls and sit more in a midblock and low block. There is some logic in this, as the opponent wants to return to the scoresheet.

One thing for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta is to make sure that Eberechi Eze is free at the edge of the box. Either from a short corner kicks, long corners with him gobbling up the rebound, or from open play with Havertz pushing the backline and Eze roaming there...

In football, recruitment has to take into account the psychological profile of the player expected to be bought and his impact on the collective psychological environment. I think this aspect is more important, or at least as important as the technical and tactical aspects.

My stance on Xabi Alonso is that clubs that want to hire a head coach should ignore his tenure with Real Madrid. Because RMA is an exception to the way the board led by Florentino Perez views football, and how they treat players and recruitment. Additionally, he spent approximately six months...

Aurélien Tchouaméni, Real Madrid's version, is a traditional DM who covers ground, is elite in duels, positions well for interceptions, poses an aerial threat in the boxes, and is physically strong. However, in possession, you need to partner him with midfielders with an elite passing range...

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In open spaces, probably there is no striker in the world like Haaland in attacking depth/blindside of defenders, which gets him in isolation vs GKs and he's likely to finish that off with ease.

The majority of clubs' owners have no football knowledge. & when these clubs have no footballing vision & don't hire competent directors, players' recruitment isn't up to snuff & usually the role of a head coach is marginalized. The result is: they are stuck in the same loop.

I think Kylian Mbappé has left his left winger days in the past. Making him operate as SS off a ST, like Gnabry with Kane, Raphinha with Lewandowski, Alvarez with Haaland, etc maximises him well.

PSG & Manchester City have the financial luxury to spend. However, PSG has different luxuries than Man City & the other clubs in England. To cite a few of them: –The financial ability allows them to buy elite players and manage the squad's minutes across the season (depth).

Clubs with financial capability don't need a revolution. IMO they need: –Alignement across all the departments –Smart recruitment serving the short & long term to compose a balanced squad –Give the coach (a good one) time & space to work Real Madrid are behind in time in all these requirements.

Khusanov offers Manchester City a package of quality: pace to recover, counterpress, clean tackles, 1v1s, aerials & ground duels. On the other side, Marc Guéhi provides the quality of carrying through, breaking the lines via passes.

Kai Havertz is an effective getaway for Arsenal especially when acting as a target for long balls/launches. He's aerially good and Arsenal can win the second balls in the space around Man City midfield (between Nunes & Semenyo) where usually Hincapié is free.

In goalkicks, Brighton involve the CBs & Kadioglu pushing on a bit. As a reaction, Gallagher joins Solanke & Kolo Muani (before substitution) to press the GK. The rest of Brighton players advance up the field.

There is a bad tradition when a club goes & buys a player with a big contract & salary knowing already his weaknesses & strengths & there are signs that he's not going to fit. When that becomes a reality & the team in question underperforms, people in charge seem to be surprised by that failure.