🆕 Fresh analysis! 🙌 Barcelona increased Real Madrid’s hopes of winning La Liga when they were held to a draw by Atlético Madrid. We assess how Diego Simeone’s team frustrated Quique Setién’s 👇 coachesvoice.com/barcelona-2-at…#FCB
Barcelona were organised into a four-diamond-two formation, featuring the little-known Riqui Puig at the tip of that diamond, during the periods they had possession #BarcaAtleti
That four-diamond-two became a 4-4-2 when they were defending; Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic operated as their wide midfielders when they did so #BarcaAtleti
The hosts attempted to build possession from defence, where Rakitic would withdraw to, from his role in their midfield #BarcaAtleti
Quique Setién’s team posed an increased threat when they positioned players between Atlético Madrid’s midfielders and could therefore create overloads in wide areas #BarcaAtleti
Atléti operated in Diego Simeone’s favoured 4-4-2, which on this occasion was led by the front two of Diego Costa and Marcos Llorente #BarcaAtleti
They remained in that 4-4-2, and their positioning was both disciplined and compact, during the periods they were without possession #BarcaAtleti
@joaofelix70@AntoGriezmann Ángel Correa and Yannick Carrasco sought to drift inside from their wide starting positions and to combine with their teammates to create spaces in the final third #BarcaAtleti
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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... 🧐🧵
Olmo continued to move inside and Asensio dropped deep, in the process pulling Süle out of his position in Germany’s back line. This helped Spain to build out from the back and get around Germany’s increasingly effective high press... 🧐🧵
Traditionally, full-backs are the widest players in a back four, and as a result they attack and defend mostly in the wide areas. However, full-backs who move inside into central spaces are known as ‘inverted full-backs’. This movement adds an extra presence centrally... ↩️🧐
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... ↩️🧐
Manchester United were set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but Fred pushed forward from the double pivot to become a number 8 and give them a stronger attacking presence in central midfield. Bruno Fernandes then adapted his positioning, moving into the left inside channel... 🧐🧵
The hosts eventually pushed both full-backs higher, primarily working around the outside of Tottenham’s wing-backs. United’s wingers then came inside, with the freedom to rotate with Fred and Fernandes, as long as both inside channels were always occupied... 🧐🧵
Barcelona were set up in a 4-3-3, against a Madrid 4-4-2 defensive block. Torres moved inside to support centre-forward Aubameyang. De Jong and Pedri widened to support through the inside channels, with Busquets left as the single pivot ahead of the two centre-backs... 🧐🧵
Busquets dropped into defence to draw one of Madrid’s central midfielders up, and Pedri drifted wider to drag the other out. This often left De Jong as the free man to receive in the inside channel when Barcelona’s back line could access him... 🧐🧵
4-4-2 is made up of three distinct lines. The back four including two centre-backs and two full-backs. Ahead of them, a midfield four features two players in the middle and one on each side. Then the front two in attack who provide both height and goalscoring threat... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵
In the 1950s, Viktor Maslov developed another variation of the 4-2-4, in which the two wingers dropped back alongside the two central midfielders. So originated the 4-4-2, which worked to overload opposition midfields with traditionally fewer numbers... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵