After for the first time in two months last weekend, the Bundesliga resumed play for Matchday 27. In the earlier kick-off, Bayern Munich’s nearest title challengers Borussia Dortmund continued their scintillating form with a hard fought 2-0 away win at Europa League hopefuls Wolfsburg.   Thus, it was up to Bayern to maintain their four-point…

With the Bundesliga resuming this week after a two month break, RB Leipzig took upon Freiburg at the Red Bull Arena. Both sides lined up in a 3-4-3 formation, but Leipzig’s shape on the ball kept changing throughout the game.   Leipzig came into the game as favourites and had to win the game to…

In this piece, I will discuss the advantages and pitfalls of a man-oriented back three, but to start, I should clarify what is meant by the phrase “man-oriented.” Rarely is full man-marking seen in the modern game because of its susceptibility to being dragged out of position by the opponents’s movement. Man-oriented back threes are…

The 3-2 build-up structure entails having a consistent back three with two players ahead. This typically manifests itself either in a 3-4-3, where the three centre-backs and two midfielders ahead form the shape, or in a 4-2-3-1 where one full-back adapts his positioning to create the back three, while the double-pivot forms the midfield two. …

After a two month-long break due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Bundesliga has finally returned. On Saturday, Dortmund defeated Schalke 4-0 to go within one point off Bayern Munich in second place. On Sunday, Union Berlin welcomed Bayern Munich for Matchday 26. Bayern had to win to maintain their four-point lead with eight league games…

Over the years, Barcelona’s traditional Tiki-Taka brand of football has disappeared, much to the dismay of the Blaugrana faithful. However, after just twelve games in charge, Quique Setién has gained instant popularity at the Camp Nou by making Barcelona an attractive side to watch again. This article will look into why this could be the…

Before the COVID-19 outbreak caused Europe’s major leagues to halt their seasons, Paris Saint-Germain led Ligue 1 with a commanding 12-point lead over André Villas-Boas’s Marseille. On April 30th, they would be crowned champions of Ligue 1 for the seventh time in eight seasons.   The Parisians being top of the French first tier has become…

Before the 2019/20 season was suspended, football fans around the world had the luxury of following one of the most interesting editions of La Liga in the past years.   Not only was there a nail-biting title race between Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the European spots were also being tightly contested between several teams.…

On May 12, 2019, Liverpool missed out on the Premier League title by one point to Manchester City.   They accumulated 97 points, a total which in any other season (aside from 2018/19 or 2017/18) would be more than sufficient to win the title, but toppling over a Pep Guardiola dynasty is never an easy…

German football has often emulated German culture. There is a priority on the system, on fluidity and smoothness, on the collective mattering above all else. In a country that brought the term “expressionism” to the fore in 1920’s cinema, there is a distinct lack of expression allowed in German football. The team comes first so…