Tottenham Hotspur released an 11v11 training game on June 5th that can provide useful information for the upcoming game against Manchester United.   Most notably, the side wearing the home shirt used asymmetric full backs, creating a 3-2 build-up structure and an outlet on the right flank thus suggesting continued use of the strategy by…

With La Liga resuming this week, relegation-threatened Mallorca took on league leaders Barcelona at the Son Moix stadium.  Barcelona needed to win to maintain their charge for a third consecutive league title, and they did it in a dashing manner by romping to a 4-0 victory.   Barcelona’s Possession Structure   Barcelona’s 4-3-3 morphed into…

On Sunday, Real Madrid met Eibar at Real Madrid’s training facility – Valdebebas at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano stadium with a capacity of 6,000 instead of the 13 times bigger Santiago Bernabéu, currently closed for renovation. But it wasn’t to matter, since the game was played behind closed doors.   It was the first of…

Earlier this month, Liverpool fans celebrated the 15th anniversary of their famous Champions League victory in Istanbul. The Reds trailed AC Milan 3-0 at the break, but three quick goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso brought them back to level terms, where the trophy was eventually won on penalties.   This tactical…

Wait, what?   Everyone thought the same thing, didn’t they? When Marcelo Bielsa, THAT Marcelo Bielsa, was announced as the manager of Leeds United, who were predicted to finish 11th in the Championship that season and were only just recovering from the typically tumultuous tenure of Garry Monk.   Photo: Sportsfile / Getty   Then,…

The concept behind wide target men is simple yet extraordinarily effective, both as a tactical tool for an individual match as well as a fundamental cog through the duration of a season. The most prominent and effective use of this was Mario Mandžukić under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus.   My hypothesis behind the wide target…

To wrap up Matchday 29 in the Bundesliga, Champions League hopefuls RB Leipzig visited Cologne at an empty RheinEnergieStadion. The hosts were looking to pick up their first win in the league since the restart, whilst Leipzig were aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in the league to 10 games. The pressure was firmly on…

Borussia Mönchengladbach have enjoyed a thoroughly productive season in the Bundesliga, surpassing all expectations that supporters had when Marco Rose took over as manager last summer. After defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 in December, Die Fohlen topped the Bundesliga, albeit temporarily. Since then, performances have generally been consistent, and Gladbach have been strong challengers for the…

Nearly three years after joining Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee, Neymar remains an enigma for Barcelona. The Brazilian has leveed several lawsuits against the Catalan club due to unpaid wages, and yet Barça can’t seem to get their minds off him. Whether Barcelona could actually afford to sign him is one question —…

When Hansi-Dieter Flick was appointed as Bayern Munich’s interim manager in November, there was a widely hheld view that he was merely warming the seat for a higher calibre coach going into this summer, with Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri potentially waiting in the wings. Fast forward six months, Flick is the first Bayern manager…