Data Analysis: The numbers and tactics behind Europe’s best defensive teams
Each manager, player and fan has their preferred pressing system. Some love the aggression of a good high press, others like the versatility of a mid-block, while still others prefer the security of a low-block. This data analysis is designed to look past preference and identify which teams in UEFA's top five leagues have been [...]
Michael Carrick
Michael Carrick Tactics & Style Of Play At Middlesbrough 2022/2023 – Tactical Analysis
Drifting across to pick up a pass from Daley Blind, Michael Carrick demanded the ball into space just outside the final third. The Dutchman answered his beckoning call, tapping the ball inside to the then-34-year-old with so much room to operate in. Before the ball reached his feet, Carrick scanned the picture ahead of him [...]
Samuel Iling-Junior: Juventus’ teenage winger
Juventus are one of the greatest teams in European history and are currently the record holders for Serie A titles, winning the competition a total of 36 times since the club’s first league victory back in 1905. It was in the 1970s when the Old Lady really started its upward trajectory on the continent though, [...]
Muhammed Cham Saračević: Clermont’s Austrian midfielder
Following a first-ever Ligue 1 campaign in their history in which they finished 17th, avoiding relegation and the relegation playoff, Clermont Foot saw several key players leave in the summer, including frontman Mohamed Bayo and right-back Akim Zedadka who both departed for Lille, centre-back Cédric Hountondji who joined Angers, and midfielder Salis Abdul Samed who [...]
Barcelona Femení: How they are coping without Alexia Putellas
Whilst the men’s game has been on a month-long break to allow for the FIFA World Cup to take place, the women’s game has kept going throughout, with a lot of excitement over how things are shaping up both domestically and in the Women’s Champions League. However, despite all of the positivity over the increased [...]
Analysis
In late 2017, only four years after Neymar’s departure to Barcelona, Rodrygo made his professional debut for Santos. Not long after, Florentino Pérez came knocking into the Vila Belmiro to sign the young star for Real Madrid. Rodrygo was proof that lightning, at least in Santos, can strike multiple times in the same place. Throughout [...]
EFL Championship 2022/23: The numbers behind Burnely’s impressive season so far
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Vincent Kompany was announced as the manager of Burnley in the summer of 2022. For a team that has consistently been in the Premier League and progressed gradually during that period, the appointment, rightly, was doubted, after getting relegated and wanting to get back to the top flight [...]
Bundesliga 2022/23: Youssoufa Moukoko’s season so far
Borussia Dortmund signed Youssoufa Moukoko for their youth academy in 2016. Moukoko was just 12 years old then. The Forward has now become a regular with the Dortmund first team after being promoted to the first team couple of years back. Moukoko, who recently turned 18, has had an excellent journey up until this point [...]
Alexandre Lacazette
Ligue 1 2022/23: Alexandre Lacazette’s season so far
After a difficult last season at Arsenal, Alexandre Lacazette returned to Lyon in the summer of 2022. Lacazette really struggled for game time under Mikel Arteta in 2021/22 but has started every league game for Lyon this season. Not just that, the Frenchman has managed to find the back of the net nine times this [...]
Data Analysis
Ademola Lookman Scout Report At Atalanta 2022/2023 – Data Analysis
15 match weeks into the 2022/23 Serie A season, there is a surprising name at the top end of the goalscoring charts. Ademola Lookman, the 25-year-old former Leicester and Fulham forward, has seven goals to his name after permanently moving to Atalanta from RB Leipzig. He is only behind Victor Osimhen and Marko Arnautović. The [...]
Analysis
The Comeback Of Ousmane Dembélé At Barcelona 2022/2023 – Scout Report
Ousmane Dembélé was almost on the brink of leaving Barcelona in January 2022. However, 10 months later, he is one of the best performers at the Catalan club. Dembélé, still only 25 years old, signed an extension with Barcelona in the summer after being convinced by Xavi’s project. The visualisation below shows where Ousmane Dembélé [...]
Premier League 2022/23: Rodrigo Bentancur’s impact at Spurs
Of all the signings Spurs made in recent years, there are not many players who’ve made as much of an impact as Rodrigo Bentancur has. The 25-year-old midfielder just signed from Juventus in January 2022 but it feels almost as if the Uruguayan has been at the North London club for ages. Bentancur has almost [...]
Analysis
Xabi Alonso Tactics At Bayer Leverkusen 2022/2023
Bayer Leverkusen made a surprising move by naming Xabi Alonso as their new manager. Alonso had accomplished much more than the typical footballer could during his playing career. The midfielder was the beating heart of every squad that he played for. The Bundesliga often provides opportunities for young managers to advance, which is why [...]
Amadou Dante: Is the Sturm Graz starlet ready for the next step?
In 2019, Amadou Dante moved from Yeelen Olympique to SK Sturm Graz, and the Malian then spent the 2019/20 season at TSV Hartberg. Back again, he blossomed into one of the best full-backs in the league — in 2020 Sturm extended the 21-year-old's contract until 2024. Now, the club could lose him. According to reports, [...]
Samuel Lino: Has the Valencia loanee become Atlético Madrid’s hope?
This season, Atlético Madrid have not provided the performance to match the supporters’ expectations. In La Liga, they sit 13 points behind the league leaders Barcelona; their title hopes are almost gone. In the UEFA Champions League, Diego Simeone’s side had a very disappointing campaign because they finished at the bottom of Group B, below [...]
Liverpool: The numbers behind this season’s shortcomings
If you’re a Liverpool fan, you’ll be bitterly disappointed with how your team have started the 2022/23 Premier League season. After 14 matches played, the reds sit in 6th place, 7 points outside of the top four and 15 points behind leaders Arsenal. Kopites are in unison in hoping for a turnaround after the FIFA [...]
Player Analysis
Enzo Le Fée Scouting Report At Lorient FC: One Of The Brightest Young Talents In Ligue 1
The French football production line never sleeps and never stops. The World Cup is upon us and it’s equally impressive and scary to look at the seemingly endless talent pool of their players. So many that have made the squad are either soon-to-be elite or already deep in that category. Players like Real Madrid’s Eduardo [...]
S.K. Beveren: Analysing their strong start under Wim de Decker
The last few years have been something of a roller coaster for S.K. Beveren. After nine straight seasons in the top flight of Belgian football, the club were relegated from the Belgian First Division A to the formerly named 1B Pro League at the end of the 2020/21 season after losing to RFC Seraing in [...]
Alexander Bah: How the Benfica right-back earned his World Cup call up
Alexander Bah arrived at Benfica this past summer after an impressive 18 months at Slavia Prague in both league and European competitions, where he played a key role in their progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League against Feyenoord, as well as a title-winning league campaign. The 24-year-old right-back for Denmark earned [...]
Angelica Soffia: How has the Italian fullback settled in at AC Milan?
Angelica Soffia is an international Italian player who is 22 years old and plays for Milan at the moment. She started her career at Verona from 2016 to 2018 before moving to Roma where she stayed until 2022 and improved a lot as a player. This last summer, she joined the Rossonere to help them [...]
Igor Gomes: Why the Sao Paulo’s ‘New Kaka’ is linked to the Premier League
Igor Gomes’ career has been on an upward trajectory since 2020 when he began regularly starting for São Paulo. Then, at 21 years of age, Igor was already known from the youth categories of his team and the national team, as several fans and people around the world of football had recognized similarities between his [...]
FC Goa: A possible come back season
After making it to the semi-finals for four consecutive seasons in the Indian Super League, the 2021/22 season was a disappointment to the fans of FC Goa, which more or less is the reason why there are high expectations for Goa to pull off a comeback in the current season. In this tactical analysis piece, [...]