RFC Liège have a rich and storied history in Belgian football. The club was founded in 1892 and became the first-ever Belgian champion in 1896, with the club having a long period as one of the best sides in Belgian football. They also competed in European competitions in the 1980s, facing the likes of Juventus, Benfica, and Werder Bremen. However, they have recently fallen on hard times, dropping all the way to the 4th division of Belgian football as recently as 2011.
Now, under the guidance of former Belgian international Gaëtan Englebert, a former RFC Liège player who was born in the city, the club achieved promotion from the Belgian First Division 1 last season, finishing 2nd and allowing them to participate in the Challenger Pro League. They have now proceeded to have a great start to the season in the second division, with the club sitting in 4th, 3 points off 1st place. This tactical analysis and scout report will look at some tactics employed by Englerbert and how they have allowed them to find themselves in their position after just achieving promotion.
Looking to utilise the entire width of the pitch in attack
When it comes to how RFC Liège look to attack, a lot of their goalscoring chances this season have originated from transitional moments, with the Belgian side only averaging around 43% possession in their matches in the Challenger Pro League so far this season. They look to be dangerous in transition by looking to use the full width of the pitch to their advantage, to overload these wide areas and play into the runs of the fullbacks or wide midfielders in Engleberts preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. This then results in plenty of services from wide areas by RFC Liège, with this a common way for them to create goalscoring chances.
The data viz graphic above shows the progressive passes from RFC Liège this season, highlighting this tendency for the Belgian side to prioritise playing the ball into the wide channels to create chances going forward. As we can see from the graphic, the pink arrows indicate progressive passes into the penalty area, most of which are played from either a long ball from deep or a cross after driving towards the endline.
It is common to see the strong side midfielder in the double pivot rotate out into the wide channel, looking to create an overload or create a combination play with the advancing fullback and the wide midfielder on this side. This also paints the picture of why there is a high concentration of progressive passes in the zone between the wide channel and the centre of the park; the movement of the defensive midfielder into this wide area contributes to creating width.
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