Valverde favours three different means of playing out of pressure. Fast, threaded passes towards a more advanced teammate; using a burst of pace to carry the ball between opponents; moving without the ball to behind his opponent and then attempting to receive it beyond them #RMCF
If he is convincing playing the ball with both feet, Valverde’s right foot is clearly his strongest. When he plays on the right in a 4-4-2 he often attempts to advance around the outside of his opposing defenders and to deliver crosses into the penalty area #RMCF
He makes intelligent runs while without the ball to attempt to make use of spaces in the final third by providing a new passing option. Regardless of whether his marker follows him, he is then capable of receiving those passes under pressure #RMCF
Valverde is similarly valuable when Real are counter-pressing. He is quick over the ground, and makes strong, well-timed and effective tackles. He is also adept at anticipating the opposition’s passes
In Real's 4-3-3, Valverde plays ahead of Casemiro and alongside Toni Kroos or Luka Modric; in their 4-4-2 he most commonly plays on the right, and provides support for the relevant central midfielder while still advancing from a wide position #RMCF
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Manchester City’s 4-3-3 started on the front foot as Arsenal initially attempted to press into the host’s half, in a 4-4-2 shape. Arsenal went player-oriented in the wide areas, with Declan Rice and Thomas Partey tracking Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gündogan’s forward runs. However, Silva’s wide runs to City’s right-side created space for Savinho to drive inside, penetrating against the aggressive jumping of Arsenal’s left-back, Calafiori. This helped disrupt and stretch Arsenal’s back line in the early stages, including when Haaland was slid in-behind to calmly open the scoring... 🧐🧵
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Central protection...
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