JUVENTUS VS CHELSEA: TACTICAL ANALYSIS THREAD: TUCHEL OUTCLASSED?
Chelsea went with their favored 3-4-2-1 whereas Allegri went with his classic 4-4-2 in the UCL. Tuchel had switched back to a 3-4-2-1 with two inside forwards rather than the 3-5-2 that led to the loss against City.
Chelsea built up in their usual 3-2 shape with their wingbacks high and wide. Both inside forwards occupied the half spaces with the goal being to either reach them or the wingbacks. Chelsea have always caused overloads on the side to find the extra man but were unable to do so.
Allegri's 4-4-2: The 4-4-2 perfectly counters the use oe wingbacks as the fullback or wide mf can be tasked to mark them while the other covers the half spaces. As seen in the image the narrow 4-4-2 blocked all passes into halfspaces or to the wingbacks. Control.
Allegri also implemented a high press similar to Manchester City at the weekend which saw CFC struggle. The trigger was the outer cb's and then used the touchline + matched them in numbers. Chelsea could not build out from the back anymore. Chelsea start to go long on goalkicks.
Can't find the wingbacks nor the halfspace?: Chelsea needed rotations to manipulate the Juventus lines yet the only rotation was alonso and Ziyech higher up the pitch. They can learn a thing or two from City's half space occupation + rotation to drag players out.
Federico Chiesa, a perfect counter attacking threat. Chiesa being a world class outlet that can play on both feet meant that Juve can afford having deeper wide midfielders. They rely on playing a long ball to Chiesa to get them out. He also always needs 1/2 chances max to score.
The chess match started in the 2nd half and almost everytime Tuchel changed something in shape or personnel, Allegri would do the same. Tuchel switched to a 3 man midfield to forma a 3v2 + brought on Chilwell to make runs in behind. Allegri switched to a 5-3-2.
Chelsea even swithced to get more deep crosses just like their goal against Zenit. Allegri switched to a 5-4-1 to have both wide midfielders press the rcb and lcb to block any deep cross from coming in. Small tweaks, big difference.
Allegri's mid block that pressed at times was the perfect way to counter Thomas Tuchel's team that relies on finding the wingback after passes deeper. Allegri then made in game changes that saw his side match Tuchel whilst posing a massive counter attacking threat. Grande Mister!
PSG, one of the best teams I've seen this season, the fluidity, rotations, they had it all. Meanwhile, LFC's defensive approach didn't really work until a small tweak in the second half.
Let's talk tactics:
PSG were predominantly in a 3-2-5 in possession with Mendes forming a back 3 and Vitinha/Neves as the double pivot.
They had a player high and wide on each side, with 3 players between the lines.
LFC defended in a 4-2-4 shape, something we've seen a lot of this season.
We saw lots of rotations within that structure, take this simple example, Joao Neves drops deep to receive from the CB, Fabian Ruiz notices the space and moves into that vacated space, and Dembele can also be seen in the left half space dropping as a false 9.
MANCHESTER CITY VS SPURS TACTICAL ANALYSIS MINI THREAD:
As usual, City dominated and controlled the ball. But conte had a plan that centered around the world class, Harry Kane. This short thread will be going through some key aspects of the match! Enjoy!
City lined up in their usual 4-3-3 with the wingers on their natural sides and Bernardo as the false 9. Cancelo on the left to create overloads with Walker staying central.
Spurs lined up in a 5-4-1 which transformed into a 3-4-3 whenever they had possession of the ball.
Conte's classic buildup:
Conte went with the buildup structure he used at Chelsea with a 3-2 shape, both wingbacks slightly deeper with an emphasis on baiting the City high press and finding the striker who dropped deep. The overload + movements made it a safe and smart approach.
Lineups: Arsenal went with a 4-2-3-1 as opposed to the 4-3-3 in their last couple of games, using the return of midfielder Granit Xhaka from suspension. Spurs remained with their 4-3-3 that they lost 3-0 with against Chelsea.
In possession arsenal went with a 3-2 buildup shape, both odegaard and smith rowe were roaming around the half spaces attracting the spurs rcm and lcm, opening up time and space for the double pivot of Arsenal. Tomiyasu inverted with Tierney pushing high and wide.
BRENTFORD VS LIVERPOOL: BRENTFORD ANALYSIS THREAD:
Brentford tend to use the 3-5-2 which has been their shape all season. Really well balanced team that presses high, can also block space in a solid and compact 5-3-2 shape.
In possession: 2-1 buildup shape, mostly aim at overloading first phase however their technical quality is not at the level of top teams meaning LFC can exploit them with their superb pressing, expect LFC to score off of a turnover.