Bolstering the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Christian Pulisic, Jadon Sancho, Julian Weigl and Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund were one of the most exciting teams to watch during the 2018/19 season. They forced games to be constantly played on the transition through their attacking football always played on the front foot, and they used fast attacks…

Attacking with a front five is becoming more and more common in modern football. This is largely because it is paramount to positional play. Positional play is predicated on the occupation of specific spaces and zones, and attacking with a front five facilitates occupation of the five vertical corridors associated with positional play (two wide…

After 10 years of waiting, Rangers put an end to Celtic’s domestic dominance by winning the Scottish Premiership this season. Their 55th title, which is the most of any club in the world, was a much-awaited one as it marks the end of an arduous decade for the club. The club wrapped up the title…

A qualitative superiority refers to a situation, where instances of numerical equality are in real terms not equal. It can be used holistically as a complex way to describe the ‘better team on paper’ or is something more individualised within games, which is where I feel it has more analytic use.   Using the principle…

In the rain in Spain, Chelsea gave a brilliant account of themselves in a game where they did more than enough to win and may come to rue their chances. In a zone of Madrid under construction: Valdebebas, literally a stone’s throw away from Madrid airport, I’m not sure many would have predicted a Champions…

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta were trailblazers in Serie A with regards to their commitment to achieving wide overloads through using advanced centre backs, featuring drifting forwards and dropping midfielders; however, this season particularly has seen Inter adopt some of the methods used by Atalanta and improve on them through automatising and greater player quality. This…

José Mourinho’s style of play has, and will always, come under scrutiny. Ever since he graced English football, his defensive, rigid, villain-like philosophies have always raised eyebrows. That situation is no different now with Tottenham Hotspur. It is always important to remember the incredible success Mourinho has had during his career, but this season, his tactics…

It has been 19 years since Sporting were crowned champions of Portuguese football. That 2001-02 team, led by a 42-goal season from Mário Jardel and managed by László Bölöni, are now a mere relic of history, as Benfica and Porto have gone on to dominate the Primeira for the next two decades. However, that may…

Man-orientation is relatively common when pressing, but not in consolidated defensive play. However, it can appear via a mix of man-orientation and zonal marking, depending on the location of the ball. For example, a defensive backline may become man-oriented against an opposition front line when the ball is being progressed forward, with the aim of…

Thomas Tuchel uses the methods of positional play to achieve this optimal possession positioning,  which @la_notice_ details here: What is Positional Play? – Breaking The Lines. The crucial element to take away however is the use of vertical corridors to dictate positioning whereby the wide centre backs when possession is central sit in their respective…