Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
PositionalPlay Profile picture
@pstionalplay
May 18, 2023 • 9 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
City might have used the same structure in possession and the exact same lineup of 1st leg, but with totally different intention; destroying their opponent.

All of us had talked about how cautious Pep was in the 1stleg. We had all looked for that extra man coming from behind… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Position is a communicative element in football, and City players are masters of this language. In that sense, De Bruyne is the reference for all teammates. His movement tells his teammates what they want to do in attacking third, while his dynamism (lateral mobility) makes the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImage
Switch plays to use +1s or advantageous 1v1s at far field, one of Pep’s trademark plays, were again extremely useful yesterday. ImageImage
The first goal was the perfect combination of all these principles. It was beautiful, it was Guardiola’s football in a nutshell. ImageImage
We also saw an aggressive and smart high press. I have been hearing the term, “the perfect press”, commonly these days. There is no perfect pressing structure to use against every team. You press according to how your opponent builds up, how they attack.
City learned from the first game, saw how Real Madrid overload, progress and attack using left-side channels. Yesterday’s pressing structure was clearly to prevent this. Akanji was between Rodrygo and Carvajal, evaluating the situation to either jump on Carvajal or returning back… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
This approach made it very hard for Madrid to overload at left flank and connect Vini, Benzema, and Modric. And when the trio was disconnected, Madrid couldn’t hold possession and progress the ball. Eventually, the 2nd goal came from a turnover with this press forcing Madrid to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… ImageImageImage
The first half of yesterday’s game could be the best team performance I witnessed in the recent years, one of the top performances in the history of proactive, short-passing, combination football. Everything, from build-up to creation, high-press to transitions, was just perfect… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Screenshots were edited with Once Video Analyser PRO - @11OnceSport #OncePRO

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with PositionalPlay

PositionalPlay Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @pstionalplay

PositionalPlay Profile picture
Oct 9, 2023
Few observations on Arsenal–City game, but before going deeper, I should tell I understand the frustration of people not enjoying the game. Tbh although I am obsessed with Guardiola’s Arteta’s brand of football, enjoy following their teams, I also didn’t enjoy the game a lot.
I think the main reason why the game was less enjoyable is that both coaches were fine with 0-0. City wanted to control the game, and Arsenal mostly wanted to close the space, both to minimize the risk.

Anyways, let’s go into a bit details:
Pep started the game from almost where he left off last time against Arsenal. He continued emphasizing the central overloads. He just preferred more players during build-up and reduced the tempo further, which makes sense when they didn’t have Rodri.
Image
Image
Read 21 tweets
PositionalPlay Profile picture
Jun 14, 2023
Here are my threads, articles, and videos related to Man City and their rise in the second half of the season:

1) Haaland's role and intro to 3-2-2-3:
2) vs Everton (3-2-2-3 struggles against back 5):

3) vs Wolves (Opponents started to challenge. A fine attempt to stop 3-2-2-3 with a back 4, but not good enough):

Read 22 tweets
PositionalPlay Profile picture
Jun 11, 2023
Guardiola’s structure in possession was certainly not overthinking. To overcome 5-3-2, you must create these overloads and City’s structure provided advantages over Inter’s structure on the paper, but implementation was a bit below City’s average. Image
Even after winning CL, Guardiola slightly complained about how they couldn’t use the space at/around Stones’ zone. Against City’s 3-1-5-1, Inter’s 5-3-2 mid/high press was a bit risky. We saw Dzeko was located at the center and Lautaro was at the left side at the first line.
The placement of 2nd line players was interesting. Calhanoglu was between Rodri and Stones, but mostly on Rodri, Brozovic was on no 10, Barella was between KdB and Ake, but mostly on Ake. Image
Read 15 tweets
PositionalPlay Profile picture
Jun 10, 2023
Just watched the game again. I am considering to work on it further and write something longer, but just a few notes:
1-City's high press in 1H was very good but they got really tired towards the end of the game.
2-Inter's press was surprisingly risky. As City overloaded left side, a huge space opened at right inner corridor but City couldn't switch the ball there effectively.
3-Using KdB deeper at left half space and Gundogan at 10 was a mistake. They switched around min 25. If KdB could've played a bit longer as no 10, City could've scored much sooner.
Read 6 tweets
PositionalPlay Profile picture
Jun 10, 2023
The line-up was a bit confusing but structures were almost the expected structure for City both in and out of possession.
The only thing I am surprised regarding structure is that City are using 3-1 at deep build-up, but it looks like it is to bait wide CM and create space for no 8 behind him. I still have some question marks with the personnel selection though.
Firstly, starting Gundo as no 10, KdB at left half space didn't work well. Maybe if City could've built more from RHS, it would've been a strong option at switch plays, but they couldn't (or didn't) specifically try that.
Read 8 tweets
PositionalPlay Profile picture
May 17, 2023
Few thoughts on City vs Madrid:
- First game, Guardiola preferred to have a style that resulted in a low variance/no surprise result. It was very rare that one of the players from the back 5 joined City attacks. This left 5 City attackers between 6 Madrid defenders, so Madrid… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
- In the press conference, Guardiola admitted that they will play their regular home game, meaning we will see more overloads. Considering Ake’s absence and Akanji’s limited offensive contribution at left flank, these overloads will mostly come from City’s right wing; either… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
- If Madrid starts with a similar lineup with the first game, then they may have problems against these overloads. Vini is an important counter attack threat for sure; however, this rest attack threat also leaves Madrid one man less when they wait at low block.
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(