As expected England sat back in the opening exchanges - feeling their way into the new shape and frustrating the Germans early doors (notorious for their fast starts and putting teams away).
Now out of the opening period, England begin to take control of the game. At this stage they had 66% possession and were winning the ball in midfield areas as well as at times inside the German half.
The wing back system of England begins to show its worth. Kimmich and Gosens are unable to make inroads as the likes of Shaw, Trippier and the midfield duo stamp their authority on the game and Germans can’t get out or perhaps too afraid of Saka and Sterling’s pace sit back.
The Germans start the first half on fire and Pickford and co have to keep their wits about them.
England soon turn the tide and go back on the front foot - seeking to win the ball in the middle, targeting Ginter and Goretzka (weaker ball players than Kroos and Rudiger)
All England now - going for the win in front of a baying home crowd. Southgate gets called negative but here he let’s off the shackles and goes for the win.. seizing the moment.
Goals secured, England then understandably drop back and protect the lead. No need to be gung ho but there are still some gilt edged chances conceded.
Massive thanks once again to @footyanalytica for the visuals, please drop him a follow and consider retweeting if you are a big fan of football tactics and pressing variations.
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Prediction: Leaning towards Gunners... but Bayern can hurt them if either counter via Sane or have too many periods where they set up camp in final third.
➡️ Bayern build up looks compromised with Arse press very strong, Pavlovic/Kimmi only routes out
➡️ Bayern should surprise press, not sustain it, as Raya to Havertz will cause issues
➡️ Arse must avoid allowing Bayern final third 'camping' as wide areas are vulnerable, too many box threats
See thread below for more points and in-depth details...
#FCBayern #Arsenal #UCL
Arsenal if they select Zinchenko should be pretty strong at building up, unless they choke - Kane/Muller are not your go-to forwards for central pressing and I'd advise them to sit off and protect passes going into Zinny/Jorginho rather than put pressure on the CBs and tire themselves out.
The other drawback of pressing is that Raya has laser-like long kicks and Havertz is a beast in the air, so aerial flicks to Odegaard or guys like Jesus cutting in and Bayern will be caught cold.
The best way to deal with Arsenal is 'stifle' - not go toe to toe all game. Press now and again to catch them by surprise.
➡️ Hojlund, Mount can hold head up high - solid
➡️ United looked fluent for once in possession
➡️ Dalot - sell, not good enough.
➡️ Onana - atrocious. Taibi vibes atm, sort it out!
➡️ Gala were piranha-like, smelt blood.
#MUNGAL #UCL
Honestly a tough pill to swallow that.
The United midfield actually functioned well, Mount, Hannibal as wide midfielders - it suited them, it made sense and the football was actually enjoyable.
The Dalot error for the Zaha goal epitomises everything that is wrong with him. He is just 'flimsy' and Lindelof is the same. They're too soft to play for United.
Onana's 'aura' is in the toilet. He needs to get a grip of himself because if your ball playing is in the gutter too... then he has no other attribute which is of a 'world-class' level.
Needs to stop holding himself to account and actually do something about it. Only performances count from hereonin.
➡Outcome of the game may hinge on Spurs’ midfield rotations
➡Will Ange’s narrow rest defence be exploited?
➡Raya + Havertz combination from goal kicks
➡Saka v Udogie. Solomon v White. Who can isolate the fullbacks better?
[Thread]
#ARSTOT
Spurs have been mightily impressive this season in circulating the ball during the build-up, despite not possessing top-tier ball progressors.
To compensating for this, they heavily rely on the off-the-ball movement. While maintaining a 2-1-2 structure, their players constantly swap positions to carve out spaces within their framework.
We’ve seen what happens they struggle to move the ball like in the first half against United, so it’s imperative they nail this part of the tactical battle.
Spurs adopt an extremely compact shape in their defensive positioning when not in possession. This leaves them exposed to attacks from the flanks.
Arsenal usually keep their wingers stationed wide, which presents an opportunity for them to exploit in attacking transitions.
➡️ Rather have Obama in goal than Onana
➡️ 5-4-1 shape off ball yet Sane walks past 3 players
➡️ Musiala sends Casemiro almost into retirement
➡️ Reguilon and Rash = good attacking chemistry, poor defensive chemistry
➡️ Kane v Hojlund
#MUFC #FCBayern
So United started well. Generally proactive but dropping back into a 5-4-1 or 4-1-4-1 shape to frustrate Bayern with Casemiro floating between cb/cdm.
Whilst Sane was having moments, none of it was really coming off and Kane looked isolated. ETH's gameplan seemed to be working.
Then came the first goal. Rashford with some pitiful defending against Sane, allowing him to cut in and then Eriksen comes in as cover but makes a feeble challenge and then to put the icing on the cake... a horror handling show by Onana. 1-0 Bayern and a smash and grab goal.
NUFC - Last season, we were among the rare few to say they'd feel liberated by the Carabao Cup concluding, whether loss or not, and that Willock & Isak would provide them with a second wind for the tiring Joelinton & Wilson to ensure a top 4 finish. It's worrying that this is September, not February, but the need for changes is clear. Suggestions:
A) When your attack loses trust in the defence, the final ball is often forced, and vice versa. When the defence knows that the attack is too brawny, they'll not defend in tandem as a unit. Livramento needed to provide recovery pace in defence & thrust in attack to take the pressure off both sides of the pitch, no more Matty - who is a target for the opposition to pin their wingers on. Burn as LCB & Targeted LB is a recipe for relegtion.
#NUFC #NewcastleUnited
B) Midfield rotation: Last season, the constant norm was Guimarães & the 2 slots were rotated between 3 players. Now it seems that Howe is sticking to a settled 3 - a bad idea, especially given the game style they go for - very taxing. With the UCL too, this needs to change. We did say that Tonali alone won't fix the midfield.
C) While Trippier can't overlap like he once could, he can defend better since the coaching of Simeone & has more composure in the middle third connecting with his midfield; move Gordon onto the RW as Almiron has blown his load ever since the middle of last season & needs the overlap. Gordon is a solo running machine from both flanks.
Many young players become memes despite their overwhelming talent being quite obvious but it just seems nothing is going for them and they are on the verge of being written off…
Probably the best example of zero to hero is the rise of Gareth ‘Fail’ into Gareth Bale.
[Thread]
I watched a young Bale feature for Saints vs WBA at the Hawthorns and was instantly bewitched. Magical left foot, so cultured… felt like an alien, a left back who just didn’t fit the mould of a British full back. I remember signing him on football manager that night 😂
Having joined Tottenham as a gangly 17-year old, there were expectations aplenty placed upon his young shoulders and they certainly weighed him down in his early years. Patience is so important in bringing through young players, they need to feel like they can make mistakes…