More than half of Premier League teams have adopted a more direct approach with the ball this season compared to last year, with Man City showing the most dramatic shift so far

New season, new reminder that you can follow a bunch of smart soccer people here

My favourite visual of the 2024–25 season is "Serie A pressing efficiency". You can now create the same type of graph yourself with markstats.club

Some of you may already have access to markstats.club 2.0. We’ve moved from WordPress to React, and one new feature lets you create scatter plots right in your browser. Check it out if you have access

Man United and Spurs were in similar, if not identical, situations: a generally poor season ended with a sudden knockout success. Yet the managers were judged in completely opposite ways

Ange Postecoglou tenure at Spurs: instant impact followed by a gradual decline

If Inter stays brave tonight, they can leverage their biggest strength: effective buildup and press resistance. As PSG typically presses high m2m, opportunities to create artificial transitions will likely arise. Set pieces might offer another edge

Manchester United 2024-25 compared to 2023-24: They have a less effective high press, but overall open-play defense improved massively from "catastrophic" to "slightly above average". An open-play attack and buildup quality have not remarkably changed

"Glasner's defensive masterclass" looks like this by the way. Basically the worst game of the season

Crystal Palace is one of the most effective defensive PL teams. Their mid-block restricts opponents’ access to the final third and danger zones. However, today’s match was a complete contrast. Palace allowed 16 shots from the penalty box and 24 entries into the danger zone

Are you prepared for a flood of "Glasner's defensive masterclass" and "Pep's overthinking" hot takes?

A chaotic, open game with frequent transitions is the best *this Real* can hope for against *this Barcelona*

Why won’t Carlo Ancelotti just let his players express themselves? 🙃

Chelsea excels at attacking space, creating fast-break opportunities through natural turnovers and artificially (baiting opposition press). Sharper decisions with the ball in the second half against Liverpool could have led to a couple more goals

Carlo Ancelotti: Gives his players flexibility and freedom to “express themselves” The players: Cross the ball into the penalty box instantly

Since Ruben Amorim’s appointment, Manchester United has lost possession in the dangerous buildup areas more often than any other Premier League team except Crystal Palace

@whitecapsfc.com are the best team in the league right now, even considering factors like schedule difficulty and home advantage. This season, they feel like a much better-coached team in and out of possession

This is honestly one of the most comprehensive, one-sided beatings I've ever seen in an MLS game. And the 'Caps are doing it on short rest and without multiple starters, including their best player.

Vancouver 5 : 1 Austin ▪ xG: 4.43 - 0.79 ▪ xThreat: 1.8 - 0.98 ▪ Possession: 52.0% - 48.0% ▪ Field Tilt: 54.8% - 45.2% ▪ Def Action Height: 49.1 - 43.5

Vitinha is the most effective player at advancing the ball through passing in Europe this season. This metric measures players who move the ball forward and maintain possession, rarely losing the ball

How Arsenal curbed Real Madrid’s fast breaks: - Cautious possession to avoid turnovers - Deep fullbacks to strengthen the center - Vinícius’s poor decisions

Man City's attack hit rock bottom tonight: the season's lowest Expected Goals, Expected Threat, and danger zone entries

Over the past five seasons, 82% of La Liga teams have been more effective than Real Madrid at stopping opponents from building play. You're missing a clear opportunity to gain an edge if you’re not targeting Real Madrid's high press

Startup idea: Build a team with a strong defense, exceed expected goals significantly, and secure a spot in European competitions

Manchester City’s buildup faced its sternest test this season. The challenge is visible in post-match stats: the lowest pass accuracy and high number of turnovers in the danger zone. Still, aside from Nunes’ odd pass, which led to a goal, Bournemouth offered no real threat.

How on earth can you generate 1.5 xG from a single attack?

Girona handled Barca’s high press well during the early buildup. But sloppy touches and misplaced passes past the halfway line halted most of their attacking transitions

Genoa ranks second in Italy at forcing opponents to lose the ball in dangerous zones. Juventus struggled against their high press in the first 45 minutes, often pinned in their half. Juve’s goal came from Vlahović’s hold-up play, a quick throw-in, and Yıldız’s brilliance

Yet another 'worst performance of the season' for Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk was the only player who won an aerial duel against Dan Burn in the final. Schär and Burn combined won 13 out of 16 individual battles

Is this one of those 'Real Madrid got punished for poor pressing but escaped dropping points thanks to their fantastic attack' kind of games?

Jérémy Doku: 13 successful dribbles, 2 completed passes into the penalty box, 0 shots 🤷

PSG has taken an impressive step forward out-of-possession this season, improving their pressing effectiveness and overall defensive quality without sacrificing their attacking threat

I fear we are watching Chekhov's Donnarumma

Two great teams, thrilling top-level football, twenty-one players who don’t deserve to exit this early... and then there’s Donnarumma #LIVPSG

💥BIG QUESTIONS💥 #119: (Why) Are Arsenal Boring? 🎙: @towells.bsky.social @lorcanmcc.bsky.social @eulenberg.bsky.social ⚪️ What is "boring" football? 🟡 Why do we care if the team is boring? 🔴 How can a "boring" team win 7-1? 🔵 Do we need to get less boring to get better? Listen 👉 pod.fo/e/2b713d

No player in the Premier League has a bigger gap in 'attacking threat creation' compared to their average teammate than Bruno Fernandes at Man United

Bournemouth’s progress under Andoni Iraola is clear. It took around 15 matches to click, but since then, they’ve consistently created more chances than conceded. As for Tottenham, the past two seasons were a little more complicated.

In recent weeks, Man City improved defensively, regaining control and defending effectively after turnovers. Thanks to Khusanov, Nico, and the 3-2 buildup structure. The next step might be the hardest: restoring the attack to 'normal' levels without sacrificing defensive stability

Barcelona's defender's first instinct is to step up for the offside trap. It is already a reflex. But this time, Pavlidis just kept driving forward instead of passing. It cost Barcelona a red card 🤷

PSG created fewer chances in the second half than in the first, and Liverpool’s counterattacks looked far more dangerous. The difference? Liverpool closed gaps by sitting deeper and started carrying the ball after turnovers instead of launching it long

Needless to say, this was Liverpool’s worst performance of the season. PSG was the better team in every department except the goalkeeping/shotstopping #PSGLIV

Sorry, hard to resist

Real delivered one of their best defensive performances this season. Atleti managed three shots from the penalty box and five entries into the danger zone. Key factors: - Solid rest-defense in a 4-2-4 shape - Midblock instead of high-press - Modric introduction and ball control

Just as inevitably as Monday follows Sunday, so must that Monday involve some noticing and so here we are. And this week, I used the FA Cup weekend as an excuse to travel to the continent… or more like… the Conte-nent amirite?! [thread]

Fulham have improved massively compared to last season. The most impressive aspects are solid defense (both open play and set pieces) and press resistance

One of Real Madrid’s worst performances with the ball this season. Best case: sterile U-shaped possession with no penetration. Worst case: dangerous buildup losses. Excellent out-of-possession work from Real Betis

Scouting Andrea Cambiaso: Shapeless Like Water The long-awaited article is up. An in-depth, big scouting report for an adept fullback. Taking a nuanced look at Andrea Cambiaso's profile, his play style, analytics, passing, position, value, and a lot more. open.substack.com/pub/lamdarhr...