How Pumas could end their nine year wait – data analysis

It’s been nine long years since Pumas last won a Mexican title. In that time ‘Los Pumas’ have had 11 new managers and zero trophies to show for it. When former Real Madrid man Míchel left, a few eyebrows were raised at the appointment of the inexperienced Andrés Lillini.

However, 10 games into the season, they have their best chance at a league title in years. With Liga MX’s playoff structure, Pumas haven’t been this close since they finished first in the 2015/16 season. However, losing out in the playoff final meant the wait had to continue. Los Pumas currently sit top of the league, without losing a game. 

This data analysis will use data to examine how Pumas have put themselves in such a strong position. Statistics will be used in the analysis to compare Pumas to other Liga MX sides to evaluate where they are most dominant. 

The system

Lillini has adopted a traditional 4-4-2 starting formation, where he aims to get his two wingers very close to the two strikers. The two strikers, usually Juan Ignacio Dinenno and Carlos González, play very narrow and allow their pacey wingers to get around them for support. Both have enjoyed lightning starts to the season, with Dinenno bagging six, whilst González has also scored four. As the wingers push on and almost create a front four, the full-backs then progress to create a flat four midfield. Lillini often chops and changes his full-backs, using four different pairings in the last five games.

The pictures above show their most frequent starting eleven this season, along with their general shape and most frequent passing routes. Those with a darker line indicate a more frequent passing route. As mentioned earlier, we can see how narrow the two strikers are, almost playing on top of each other. The most noticeable feature here is the low number of passing routes into the two strikers. One would assume, that when playing two up front, a lot of play would go through here. However, Lillini has his men approach the game a lot differently. The analysis shows that the Pumas centre-backs often move the ball out wide to their full-backs, rather than progress the ball into the central midfielders.