Borussia Dortmund marked the return of the Bundesliga with a convincing victory in the Revierderby against FC Schalke 04. Our professional coaches assess 👇
Dortmund were organised into a 3-4-3 formation, led by the potent front three of Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard and Erling Braut Haaland, during the periods they had possession #BVB
That 3-4-3 became a 5-4-1 when they defended, largely through Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi withdrawing into defence #BVB
The movement of Brandt and Hazard was used to create an assymetrical structure in their pursuit of overloads on one side of the pitch #BVB#BVBS04
Dortmund’s wing-backs, central midfielders and wider central defenders combined to negate the potential attacking treats posed by Suat Serdar and Daniel Caligiuri #BVB#BVBS04
Schalke adopted a 4-1-5 while they had possession; Weston McKennie represented their sole central midfielder, and was often stretched #BVB#BVBS04
For the periods they were defending they reorganised into a 5-4-1; Jonjoe Kenny withdrew into defence, and Benito Raman became their lone striker #BVB#BVBS04
The hosts regularly succeeded in drawing Schalke’s defenders out of position – particularly towards the right – and therefore creating spaces in the final third #BVB#BVBS04
For the second half, the visitors adopted a back four and a diamond midfield, improving their management of space and the threat Dortmund posed #BVB#BVBS04
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Spain used a 4-3-3 structure and built play patiently from the back, despite Germany pressing aggressively from their 4-2-3-1. They moved the ball around the back line to isolate Thomas Müller, before a centre-back stepped out with the ball into midfield... 🧐🧵
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Although Pep Guardiola is the coach most associated with the inverted full-back, Johan Cruyff used them with Barcelona many years before. Then, he often converted the 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 diamond, with one full-back inverting into central midfield... ↩️🧐
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