🚨 THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL WAS DECIDED BY VERY NARROW MARGINS
The match went to penalties, but very small adjustments, decisions, and details could have made Arsenal champions.
🧵 Full tactical analysis below ⬇️.
Bang on.
Truth is that the majority of clubs outside of the big leagues don’t even have dedicated recruitment teams.
You’ll probably find a lot more detailed work on here than in some actual football conversations, but a lot of it can be irrelevant to coaches and SDs.
Nicely executed counter-movements will be a fruitful method for the Socceroos to manipulate defensive structures and create space in behind for the likes of Toure to attack.
Great passage of how the Socceroos trigger the Mexico press to stretch their shape before finding Leckie between the lines to create the conditions to generate a false transition and attack the retreating backline.
Quality passage by the USMNT, as Robinson drops to create space for Pepi to attack the channel. Pepi then draws two defenders and smartly recognises that Pulisic has drifted into the vacated space before finding Dest, who’d rotated with Reyna, to score. A tidy, well-worked goal.
Coventry ace Jack Rudoni’s movement is always a standout under Lampard. So good at getting free between the lines, darting in behind and arriving in the box with perfect timing. It’ll be fascinating to see how he fares in the Premier League.
Getting the press right, but the quality of the opponent breaks it.
These are the instances where Arteta was referring to with "what they are able to do with the ball, with individual actions, I haven't seen it."
Tonight!
USMNT, Champions League final, 3-4-3, and more. @MadisonCrews7 riding shotgun. Vamos!
📻 @929TheGame (10-11pm)
📺 92.9 YouTube (10pm-?)
📱 @Audacy Off the Woodwork podcast after the show signs off
Wrote up another article for @football360au on Cristian Volpato and why I think he should start for the Socceroos.
Read it here: https://t.co/4E5SO3uXGL
William Saliba is an interesting case study of why added context is needed with traditional metrics. His quality is evident to the eye, but his 'win rates' as a centre-back tell a misleading story.
Among CBs to meet the 20% threshold of total challenges in the Premier League this season, this is where he ranks:
50/50 Duel Win % - 59th/61
Aerial Duel Win % - 45th/61
Tackle Win % - 53rd/58
Saliba also ranks last among CBs in block attempts per 30 minutes out of possession (0.64) and 49th among 51 CBs in clearances per 90 (2.44).
Much of this is by design. Saliba's win rates are modest because his positioning means he rarely finds himself in a situation where he needs to contest for the ball in the first place. It is precisely here that the depth of our data set allows us to identify what makes him so effective, and why defensive volume does not necessarily correlate with defensive success.
His Positioning Grade of 92.1 ranks 1st among all Premier League players, and his 0.47 positional mistakes per 30 minutes out of possession ranks 1st among centre-backs by a considerable margin.
Pair that with a 74.3 Passing Grade and an 85.3 Ball Control Grade, and the full picture of Saliba begins to emerge: composed on the ball and the most effective positional defender in Europe's top five leagues.
#AFC
Good Arsenal gameplan, inevitably more cautious (especially after going ahead early) and they largely defended excellently. But also they just weren’t not technically good enough in attack, especially after the subs, to offer any real goal threat. ⬇️
https://t.co/KdPKjmdIli
Atlanta Soccer Tonight takeover starts at 2pm. First of 50 straight days on @929TheGame talking ⚽️.
We'll get you ready for #USMNT vs Senegal (which you can listen to right here on the 📻), talk World Cup storylines, check in on #ATLUTD, and more.
Arteta spoke at the beginning of the season about the good parts of their game that they wanted to maintain (defensive organisation, defensive transition, set plays) and those they wanted to improve (attacking organisation and attacking transitions).
I’d argue they’ve improved the phases that they wanted to maintain and maintained the phases they wanted to improve.
It’s now about quality at the top end. There is only so far a game model can take you. They need the game changers at the top end to become serial winners.
And testament to Arteta for putting the club in a position without these game changers. Find the left winger, the centre forward and the ten to maintain success (easier said than done)