Aspect Analysis: Argentina’s flexible attacking dynamics vs. Poland #POLARG [THREAD]
The Argentinians formed somewhat of a 3-2-5/3-1-6 structure in possession, which was highly interchangeable.
A key mechanism for Argentina’s progression and chance creation was the vertical rotation between Messi and De Paul. Messi regularly moved deeper, with De Paul advancing to fill the right half-space. This either allowed Messi to create from deep or De Paul to receive higher up.
From this deeper position, Messi continuously made diagonal switches to the left side to find the overlapping Acuna creating a 2v1 situation and getting in behind with a dynamical advantage. Moreover, pinning Poland’s right fullback was key to open the left wing for Acuna.
MacAllister was another important asset in Argentina’s offensive play. Constantly positioning himself in a pocket in between the lines either allowing himself to receive or creating space for someone else by pinning Poland’s defenders.
Furthermore, Argentina’s right side could regularly rotate with De Paul moving deeper and Molina advancing. This interchange presented a dilemma for Poland and continuously created an overload out wide.
Additionally, Alvarez’s off-the-ball movements were vital as well. The Argentinian looked to exploit spaces in behind on the blind-side, make double movements to create space for himself or pin players through decoy movements.
Argentina’s first goal was a prime example, where they used some of their key attacking patterns: progressing through the overload on the right side, Alvarez opening the cutback and MacAllister netting in after a clever movement.
With the introduction of Paredes, Argentina slightly changed their shape to a 2-3-5, creating a more stable rest-defence and improving the ability to counterpress directly after losing the ball.
Conclusion:
Argentina dominated Poland with their amazing attacking play and had their best game of the tournament so far. If they can keep this level or even improve, there’s no limit for this team.
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Scene Analysis:
I watched #ARSBHA yesterday and wanted to quickly break down two brilliant sequences, which demonstrate how the Gunners exploited Brighton’s man-oriented defensive approach.
[THREAD]
Rice just received the ball from White on the right wing, where Arsenal has a 4v4 situation with everyone being marked. The Englishman plays on to Saka with Odegaard providing an underlap.
With Lallana joining in to make it a 3v2 and no real dynamics established, Saka decides to recycle possession and plays back to White. The RB then passes on to Rice, who nicely created some distance from Gilmour with a quick double movement and eventually plays it back to Saliba.
Aspect Analysis: How Man City pulled Man United apart – a masterclass in progression and chance creation #MUNMCI [THREAD]
This thread breaks down City’s mechanisms to advance through the thirds and eventually generate chances in the derby.
United’s 4-2-3-1 defensive setup against City’s 3-2-2-3:
- Hojlund on Dias or shadowing a 6
- wingers pressing the halfbacks or tucking in on a 6 if needed
- McTominay shifting between double pivot
- double pivot marking 10s or pushing up on a 6 if needed
This usually led to a nominal 5v4 (or even 6 with Ederson) overload in their build-up structure (blue marked) and/or a 4v3 overload in the midfield (green marked).
Aspect Analysis: The last time Newcastle faced Brighton #BHANEW [THREAD]
Newcastle plays against Brighton this weekend. As a little preview, let’s look back on their previous encounter in the PL last season and how the Magpies dominated with their intensity out of possession.
To begin with, Newcastle pressed incredibly high and looked to disturb Brighton’s deep build-up with extreme aggressiveness. The Magpies used some sort of a 3-2-2-3 shape with a narrow front three and wide 8s against the Seagulls’ 4-2-4 structure. footballxplained.de/brighton-build…
The main aim was to guide Brighton towards their right side with Almiron or Wilson initiating the press, using a curved run to keep Dunk in their cover-shadow.
Match Analysis: ManUtd – Leicester #MUNLEI [THREAD]
How Leicester started off strong in the first half and why Ten Hag’s slight adaptations enabled the Red Devils to dominate the second 45 minutes.
The Foxes regularly found Castagne out wide freely from the build-up with a clipped ball and kept on exploiting ManUtd’s left side in the first 25 minutes.
Moreover, the Red Devils struggled to create anything meaningful in possession against Leicester’s 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 hybrid mid-block. The Foxes looked to control the centre by simply using man-orientations and were threatening on transitions.
Team Analysis: Arsenal’s various attacking mechanisms [THREAD]
The Gunners are flying under Mikel #Arteta this season, currently ranking 1st in the Premier League. A key component of their success are the different chance creation methods, which will be analysed in this thread.
Dynamical space occupation and rotations:
Rather than simply occupying spaces, the forwards aim to dynamically arrive at specific areas, making them harder to mark. Furthermore, the Gunners would at times purposefully leave spaces unoccupied to then move into them quickly.
Moreover, they use different kinds of rotations, which can cause a dilemma for the opposition and might end up in the creation of a free man or the generation of space.
Aspect Analysis: How Emery’s 6-2-2 nullified Tottenham #TOTAVL [THREAD]
2023 started with a surprising result as Aston Villa beat the Spurs by 2-0. Unai Emery’s team showcased a brilliant but unorthodox defensive performance, which kept Tottenham’s offensive efforts quiet.
Emery opted for a back six out of possession with both wingers nearly constantly staying deep besides the fullbacks. Therefore, Aston Villa had one man more in the last line (6v5), meaning there wasn’t an unmarked player, and they weren’t prone to switches.
Nevertheless, let’s have a deeper look on what made this setup so successful by breaking down each player’s task. The strikers first and foremast aimed to shut down Spurs’ double pivot. At times, they could press a centre back or track deep.