I was playing around to see how many passes per defensive action La Liga teams have allowed since 2015/16. Real Madrid PPDA in their winning seasons is higher than in the previous one. In other words, RMA allows more passes per defensive action in the season they win La Liga.

Barcelona's diagonal play is simple but very effective. A 4-2-3-1 buildup shape in which Pedri & De Jong drop deeper to bait their markers forward, & the ball-side winger (Rashford) drops & offers width. So, the ST (Ferran Torres) can move into the stretched space BTLs to lay the ball off.

Normally I don't post things like that, but I feel I have to this time. Marcus LIorente has 7 goals in the UCL. 4 of them against Liverpool and at Anfield. Even the best scriptwriters can't come up with a story like that.

Use Gravenberch feints, half turn receiving to break down Burnley lines. I love how Gravenberch faints his marker, adopts a side-on stance, let the ball run across his body, then boom he leaves his marker in his wake.

MyGamePlan launched the MGContribution metric, a version of the Possession Value Model, similar to On-Ball Value (OBV). It measures the value that each on-ball action added to the team. Here is La Liga CBs' MGContribution from passes in the 2025/26 season.

The game against Mallorca was totally different from Osasuna and Real Oviedo. Jagoba Arrasate plateformed Mallorca in a way to exploit Real Madrid's high press. No preseason and not enough time to train the team for Xabi Alonso, and yet he has to deliver results. Thread ⚪

I set a tracker to count La Liga's teams' pressure actions following a possession loss in their opponent's final third. Real Madrid led the table with 1.82 pressure actions per 90 minutes after three games. Now, it's a question of consistency for Xabi Alonso's men.

Some of Arsenal's shapes when they press Liverpool high up the pitch. I think they went m2m only when Gravenberch didn't step back between Konaté & Van Dijk. Mainly, Liverpool found wide avenues to work the ball out.

I think the challenge for Xabi Alonso is to keep the team press with intensity when Real Madrid decide to press high up the pitch. The challenge is to instill INTENSITY as a part of the culture, something natural. The Real Challenge will be vs the mammoths in La Liga & UCL.

I think if we only took a deep look into each *head coach*, *manager* upbringing, cultural context of the country they born in, and their personal experiences as players and pre-first managerial role, we'll be able to decipher to some extent how that manager sees football.

I think Real Oviedo's kick-off routine vs Real Madrid has gone under the radar because it didn't result in a goal. Real Madrid didn't drop back, nor did they instantly jump on to apply pressure.

Gravenberch and Curtis Jones are a lightweight to Guimarăes and Joelinton. How on earth Joelinton could square that pass to the free Livramento while Gravenberch got tight against Gravenberch. Then, Newcastle are 2v1 on the left again Szoboszlai (Liverpool RB).

This is how Man Utd's high press looked at the start. Amad and Diallo push on to engage with Fulham FBs. Casemiro advances next to Cunha to mark the DPs. Bruno against the King (#10), whereas the rest occupy Fulham’s front three.

Manchester United's OOP approach holds too many question marks. If Sander Berge sneaks behind Matheus Cunha immediately, Fulham have a +1 in the middle of the park. The solution is simple IMO. A compact 4-4-2 with aggressive "step-outs".

Despite my limited time on this platform, 100+ accounts followed me. So, Thank you so much. More yet to come. Love ❤, Achraf;

Manchester United — Arsenal: tactical analysis; How Ruben Amorim set the team up to build through, around, and over Arsenal's high press. What did change in Man Utd's buildup dynamics. 🧵Thread🔴⚪️

I think Thomas Frank with Tottenham will try to maximise everything to close the gap with the other big teams (setpieces, throw-ins, and especially the out of possession play) Arteta succeeded in doing so. Thomas Frank may be the next one. I can be wrong.

Adam Wharton, Ismaila Sarr, Eberechi Eze, Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi, Daniel Munõz are top quality and it's only matter of time that some of them will take a step forward. Adam Wharton cutting off passes and immediately sliding a pass behind to a runner, amazing.

Watching some Juventus games from the 2024/25 season, some questions are crossing my mind: —What exactly was Thiago Motta sacked for? —Why can't people see what Manuel Locatelli could do off-ball? —Andrea Cambiaso: What a freak of a player!

Xabi Alonso's football: —Width provided by RWB Frimpong and Aleix Garcia (Out of shot) and depth secured by ST Boniface; —LWB drops and drags RCM with him while the LCM is occupied by RCB Mukiele; —DM Sissoko was following Adli before. As a result, Bayer Leverkusen generates a 2v1 in midfield;

Welcome Xabi Alonso, part II. Real Madrid with Xabi Alonso in the Club World Cup. An analytical look at Real Madrid's out-of-possession against Al Hilal, Pachuca, RB Salzburg, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain. open.substack.com/pub/lamdarhr...

Dortmund reluctance to give up +1 at the back facilitated Real Madrid buildup & progression. I think this started vs Pachuca but the red card made Tchouaméni play as CB. So, Real Madrid shape in the build-up was 4-2-1-2. Vs Dortmund, it was 4-2-2-2. Valverde was a free man.

Welcome Xabi Alonso. Real Madrid in the Club World Cup. An analytical look at Real Madrid's in possession dynamics against Al Hilal, Pachuca, RB Salzburg, and Juventus. open.substack.com/pub/lamdarhr...

IMHO, Raul Asencio's red card was the cause of bad press. Don't get me wrong, he acted recklessly & it wasn't the first time when he turned his brain off in such a situation. But let's assess Real Madrid press that led to Pachuca ST finding joy behind.

I only have to recall Henry Wadsworth quote to describe Gonzalo Garcia: "In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity" His simple passes, simple decisions, simple movements, simple reading of the game, simple layoffs do wonders.

Scouting Dean Huijsen: The Spanish Chill Center-Back. The long-awaited article is up. An in-depth, big scouting report for an adept fullback. Taking a nuanced look at Real Madrid's new signing, his play style, analytics, passing, value, and a lot more. Enjoy♥️ Link: bit.ly/3HCDkED

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘃𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀: —Iñigo Martínez, Nico Schlotterbeck, Delay Blind, & Alexander-Arnold are on another level (Elite progressors) —There are a few defenders who can break lines like Luis Dunk & Van Hecke.

Simone Inzaghi passed by here. Maybe his chapter with Inter is over, which is not IMO, because of how Inter delivered with him, the way he plateformed & maximized the team. That cliché of history remembers just the winner isn't right in this case...

The "aerial duel" metrics (won, lost, % of aerials won) in isolation don't highlight the whole truth. Let me explain myself. A player may accumulate an average rate of aerials won, but the subsequent actions may have an optimal & better outcome than a player with a high rate.

—Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves, Vitiniha, Zaïre-Emery: PSG —Rice, Zubimendi, Ødegaard, Merino: Arsenal —De Jong, Pedri, Gavi, Olmo: Barcelona —Gravenberch, MacAllister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz: Liverpool —Caicedo, Lavia, Palmer, Enzo: Chelsea —Tielemans, Onana, Kamara: Aston Villa

I want to discuss some of Xabi Alonso's general concepts that he always brings to the scene: —High press and quick ball recovery; —The concept of control; —Gegenpress; —Platforming players; A Short Thread

Arsenal won the Women's Champions League against the dominant force in women's football in recent years, Barcelona. So, Congratulations, Arsenal fans. Now, Nobody can dare to talk nonsense about a trophyless season.

Rewatching the Europa League Final, and some things catch my eye. Idk if there were instructions from Amorim to Bruno Fernandes. But when he pushed forward to press Bissouma, Casemiro was left on a large island to cover BTLs. Not only that, but it also allowed Solanke to come short...

Fluid positional rotations were Manchester City theme against Bournemouth. Iraola opting for a 5-3-2 shape OOP with Zabarnyi & Huijsen doubling up on Haaland was in City's favor as they generated an overload in buildup. Here, Marmoush & Gundogan work on countermouvement...

Ambidexterity unlocks another world: more angles to pass, carry, dribble & shoot. Unpredictability doubles up, so confusion doubles up within the opponent. Both brain's hemispheres work so new abilities to gain the edge over the opponent.

This Internazionale players ability to play or shoot the ball from first time touches is so incredible and underrated IMO. Also, that enables them to find each others under heavy pressures no matter how are their bodies orientation to receive and pass at that moment.

Since Guardiola & Manchester City started falling, I saw people with large communities stating that they are happy to see Guardiola downfall. Their reason is: he's the one responsible for how he made Football so robotic, minimised self-expression which conducted to... 1/n

Despite the offside, but that run in behind, ball receipt, first time touch to find the back of the net is from a striker book and Harry Maguire executed it comfortably as if he plays there all the time.

Recently, I've been watching some of Bournemouth's games to watch Dean Huijsen. There is so much potential in him. He is one of the smartest CBs I saw this season, I think, to mark a false nine and be in a position that allows him to cover his spot. How does he do it?

Rodrygo with Real Madrid in La Liga 2024-25: —Overperformed his xG, but attempted fewer shots with lower xG per game this term compared to the 2023-24 season. There are too many underlying reasons: —Drop-in form; —Mbappé arrival led to him playing further, couldn't operate...

This was my conclusion on Martin Zubimendi when I wrote the scouting report of his profile. Ofc, there's still room for improvement, but he will be a fascinating asset to Arsenal and Arteta's ideas. When you'll see him play, you'll see Arsenal's whole game. lamdarhri.substack.com/p/martin-zub...

Tijjani Reijnders is a maverick. —Extraordinary close control and capability to evade pressure in tight spaces using smart cunning body movements. —Progression via carries & dribbles (the type of midfielders that Guardiola stated you cannot deal with as they left defenders...

Barcelona baiting Real Madrid forward to press: —Gerard Martin drops to lure Vazquez forward; —DPs & AM pull out RMA's midfielders; —Numerical Superiority on the right; —Draw RMA defense up then set runner in Torres free behind CBs.

It's very shame on Carlo Ancelotti having such a game plan vs Barcelona. He's literally treating Real Madrid as Everton in this point. Real Madrid have no clue to build from the back. Just long balls forward where there is no Calvert-Lewin up top to win 1st balls.

Claudio Giráldez might be one of the most suited coaches in the scene for Bayer Leverkusen after Xabi Alonso's departure. First of all, no need for structural changes: 3-4-3 turned into 3-2-5 in possession and 5-4-1 low/mid block out of it.

There is your Xabi Alonso aggressive & intense man-oriented press. Everyone knows how to mark, close passing lanes through perfecting body orientations while running. Pressing traps & triggers, second balls scenario preparation, etc Does this applicable at Real Madrid?

Once Leny Yoro started to take the initiative down that LHS, Manchester United reaped the reward. Mount & Amad Diallo brought intensity. The latter brought action with the ball in tight spaces, Bruno deep dictated the progression. Shaw needs to bring more his crosses, cutbacks.

I get what Amorim intend to do sit deep & hurt Athletic Club on the counter because Manchester United don't chase the game (3 goal difference) However, being that passive off-ball, not only that but there are cracks there is asking for trouble. Manchester United had moments...

Fullbacks in the semi-final of the UCL brought their names back into the scene: —Hakimi off-ball movement inside, carrying ability & striking from distance; —Dumfries pushing on to overload Barca LB with Barella, his crossing, runs in behind, carries, ball striking were perfect.

It's been a while since I last posted something here. So, apologies. The great news is I'm back.