alexander_yaremenko

Tactical PL & UCL analysis | Predictions & insights | DM for collabs

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Konaté is clearly Madrid’s main signing of the summer right now. Ibu gives the team incredible defensive security and excellent front-foot interventions in midfield, something Real Madrid lacked last season. The third goal came exactly from his ball recovery near the opposition box.

Sometimes it even feels like, with this version of Konaté, Madrid do not really need Tchouaméni as a holding midfielder in matches against mid-table or lower-level opponents.

[Omar 🇦🇪 @RmcfOmar]

Ibrahima Konate vs Real Sociedad

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

The potential of a Barcola, Wirtz, and Isak trio looks absolutely incredible. And if Liverpool add Rayan on the right flank in January, this could become one of the strongest attacking lines in Europe.

Wirtz and Isak both manoeuvre brilliantly between the lines. Barcola provides width on the left, opens up for Florian’s penetrating passes, then either shoots himself or plays the ball into Isak inside the box.

Isak can drop deeper to work as a false nine, provide assists, and still attack the box against low blocks.

Ekitiké can come on to make runs in behind, especially onto passes from Wirtz. That would give the German two targets for balls behind the defensive line, plus one more creative partner, since Barcola has excellent expected-assist metrics.

Muñoz / Rayan (?) / Ngumoha would get isolation situations on the right flank and provide dribbling plus assists from that side.

[CounterPressers @CounterPressers]

The Premier League is home to some of the most outrageous techno-physical talents on the planet.

Bradley Barcola will arrive as one of the highest quality technicians; his game is perfect to translate to England. Look at how in control he is at such speeds…

[The Game Changer English @TGC_english]

Chelsea In-Possession vs Fulham

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

There has been a lot of talk about Anthony Gordon’s excellent La Liga debut, and rightly so - he made some fantastic runs in behind. But also pay attention to the player who created that space for him: Dani Olmo.

After coming off the bench, it was Olmo who played as a kind of number 9/10, dragging Elche’s right-sided centre-back towards him and opening the space for Gordon’s runs.

After the substitutions in the 65th minute, Barcelona essentially switched to a 4-2-4-0 attacking shape, with Raphinha, Fermín, and Olmo all acting as false nines, number tens, call them whatever you want. But it worked brilliantly.

[🕊️ @MagicalXavi]

Anthony Gordon vs Elche

2 assists on debut.

[Premier League Panel @PremLeaguePanel]

Squad/transfer analysis of the Premier League's big 6 https://t.co/3i16LAEgz8

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Konsa’s move to Arsenal would be another signing of a versatile defender. He is very strong in aerial duels, has excellent recovery speed, and is press-resistant.

But he does not regularly progress the ball through passing or carrying the way Timber does, and he can still make costly mistakes from time to time.

Still, Arsenal would be completing their defensive depth with a top-level defender in case Mosquera or White gets injured. That means Arsenal would have a very strong chance of becoming the best defensive team in the Premier League again.

[Лайк! 🔻 @_Ventfull_]

Konsa Vs City

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

In the second half, Raphinha started playing as an inverted winger, and Barcelona became much more successful at creating danger through the centre.

There was much more creativity and verticality in their play thanks to better occupation of the zone between the lines.

Raphinha is far more useful in situations from the left half-space, when he has plenty of freedom and a centre-forward next to him to occupy the centre-backs, as Hamza did in the second half.

He is also good as a false nine, but in my view, he is not quite as effective in combinations in that role.

[Ankur @AnkurMessi_]

They all thought Gordon was going to bench Raphinha?😭

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Enzo Fernández is exactly the level and profile of player Xabi Alonso lacked so badly at Real Madrid.

The Argentine adapted instantly to Alonso’s demands and produced a fantastic performance as a deep-lying playmaker.

Need to speed the game up? Easy through diagonals and vertical passes in behind. Need to slow it down? No problem, a pause on the ball and a safe sideways pass in Chelsea’s sometimes overly vertical football yesterday.

If Chelsea keep Enzo, the Blues will have the strongest midfields in the Premier League.

[La Perla @Perla_Londres]

📹🇦🇷 Enzo Fernández vs Real Sociedad

Amistoso - Capitán y pivote - 33' de juego

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

In the 46th minute of Arsenal vs Como, Ødegaard and Guimarães came on at the same time.

Until the 62nd minute, they played alongside the lightweight, creative Myles Lewis-Skelly and Fábio Vieira in midfield, and it produced fantastic combination-based, creative football with a lot of original decisions.

That quartet constantly rotated positions, combined brilliantly, and consistently created danger. It looked very similar to Wenger’s best tiki-taka, the kind of football that once made so many people fall in love with Arsenal.

Arsenal totally dominated. Bruno and Ødegaard linked up superbly.

However, Arteta made substitutions, and we saw the usual Arsenal from last season, with the direct and reliable Calafiori, Merino, and Madueke. With them on the pitch, the team immediately lost its unpredictability.

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Arda Güler has looked absolutely incredible in preseason. He helps Madrid progress the ball effectively from their own half under pressure, especially when Trent is not on the pitch.

Against low blocks, he is also very effective in combinations, quick switches of play to the flank, and penetrating passes in behind. He makes a lot of intelligent decisions.

Ideally, against mid-low and low defensive blocks, Trent can accelerate attacks with diagonals from deep, while Arda provides creativity between the lines.

Mourinho is giving him complete freedom.

It is something like the Xabi Alonso–Özil partnership under Mourinho at Real Madrid in the early 2010s, although of course that comparison is still a bit of a stretch for now.

[• @ArdaRMA15]

Arda Güler vs Ferencvaros.

9.0 FotMob Rating 🌟

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Marco Palestra makes a lot of excellent runs in behind, but he clearly needs to improve his finishing

[jakub @cfcjakub_]

Marco Palestra vs Juventus

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Bruno Guimarães is a player with a huge range of top-level qualities.

He presses at a very high level, wins tackles, makes interceptions, can beat opponents on the wrong foot, play through pressure with elite passing, and unlock low blocks with penetrating passes and crosses.

That is without even mentioning his excellent long-range shooting.

He is one of the most underrated number eights in Europe and has clearly outgrown Newcastle.

[DailyAFC @DailyAFC]

Bruno Guimaraes 🇧🇷 💫

🎥 @imzftbi

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Ibrahim Mbaye has genuinely elite explosive acceleration with the ball, as well as the ability to play on both flanks.

However, his end product is still very inconsistent, both in terms of finishing and final passes. Iraola’s task would be to develop his game in the final third, similar to what happened with Semenyo.

If Mbaye fulfils his potential, he could genuinely become a superstar.

[🎴 @sbzcomps]

9 MINUTES OF IBRAHIM MBAYE 🇸🇳🧨

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Trent was absolutely fantastic yesterday against Fiorentina.

Mourinho gave him the role of a deep-lying playmaker, so he stayed in a deeper position and delivered gorgeous diagonal passes in the buildup, in progression, and even in the final stages of attacks.

That can be hugely useful against both high and low defensive blocks.

The only question is his availability.

[🫵🏽 @idoxvi]

Trent Alexander Arnold vs Fiorentina

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

The first half between Chelsea and Tottenham mainly showed that both teams lack a deep-lying playmaker who can regularly and successfully deliver the ball from deeper areas into the zone between the lines.

For Chelsea, there was only one situation where Roméo Lavia, almost losing the ball, managed to dribble away from three opponents, carry the ball forward, and that move eventually led to the goal. Apart from that, their buildup under pressure mostly relied on long passes.

Tottenham only started reaching Chelsea’s half and creating combinations in midfield after Chelsea lowered their pressing intensity.

On the positive side, Chelsea pressed in a very organised way during the first 30–35 minutes.

[Gradient Sports @Gradient_Sports]

A look at the highest-graded Premier League players whilst passing under pressure this season.

This is calculated using our player grading system (not completion %), manually grading the execution of every pass when a player is under pressure on a scale from -2 to +2. 📊

A pressured pass can come from a direct player pressure or a lane pressure, in both instances there is a maximum distance for these to be assigned, but both types need to be with intensity and movement towards the ball, a defender just standing still will not count as a pressured pass.

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Carlos Baleba is a potential top-level midfielder, with elite ball-carrying, strong dribbling progression, the ability to find and create quick combinations in midfield, as well as high-quality side-on tackling and aggressive interceptions.

However, last season he suffered a major drop-off in performance levels due to injury, his failed move to Manchester United, and family problems. Because of that, he often looked physically below his best and played with real inconsistency.

Baleba could potentially create an ideal balance alongside two playmakers, Tielemans and Bruno.

[🏮 @tomi_xix]

Baleba vs Chelsea

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

As for the rumours around Akliouche and Liverpool, yes, he could be a good option for combining with Frimpong, who likes making runs along the touchline. Akliouche is a left-footed half-space attacking midfielder / forward rather than a natural right winger.

However, he could clearly duplicate Wirtz’s movement between the lines, because they are very similar in style and in the way they influence the game.

Both operate across the attacking line between the lines, like carrying the ball through dribbling and playing line-breaking passes into the box. Neither of them regularly makes runs in behind defenders.

[alexander_yaremenko @Alex__Yaremenko]

Swapping Chalobah for Lacroix makes sense if Chelsea are moving to a back three next season.

Lacroix is not always convincing when defending face-to-face and can be beaten 1v1. However, over distance, his huge recovery speed often allows him to catch the opponent and win the ball back.

In a back three, this weakness can be hidden more easily through cover from his teammates. In a back four, one lost 1v1 duel inside the box can be far too costly.

João Pedro

Morgan Rogers Palmer

Barco/Chavarría Enzo — Caicedo Palestra/Gusto

Colwill — Lacroix — Fofana/James

Sánchez