Ligue 1 2019/20: Rennes vs Marseille – tactical analysis

Ligue 1 got back to business this past Friday evening as their three-week mid-season winter break came to an end. A compelling clash between Ligue 1’s second and third-placed teams announced the return of France’s top tier, as Rennes hosted Marseille. 

Second-placed Marseille will be delighted to have come away from Friday’s game with all three points. They’ve now managed to stretch their lead over third-placed Rennes to eight points, with the caveat of having played one more game than Les Rouge et Noir.  Furthermore, Marseille now sit just five points behind league leaders PSG, having also played one game more. 

The tactics deployed by both sides in this fixture provided a lot of talking points in this game. In this tactical analysis piece, we will analyse the major tactical decisions which influenced this game and which resulted in André Villas-Boas’ Marseille side leaving Roazhon Park with all three points. 

Lineups and formations

The home side started this game in a 4-4-1-1 shape. Their midfield and defensive lines generally remained quite close together in the first half. However, in the second half, Rennes pressed much higher. This resulted in a much higher defensive line and much more space between these two lines.  

In addition to that, Rennes also committed more men forward, both in attack and defence, as this game unfolded. This resulted in slight alterations in shape throughout this game, particularly in attack.