UEFA Champions League 2019/20: Inter vs Dortmund

Group F is arguably the toughest group in this years UEFA Champions League competition. With Barcelona starting strongly, the chance of qualification has effectively been reduced to one spot which is being fought over by two European heavyweights. Matchday three took us to the San Siro where a rejuvenated Inter Milan played host to an ever-energetic Dortmund side.

Inter, who have seen their fortunes change since the enigmatic Antonio Conte put his name on the office door, put on a tactical masterclass on the night and cruised to a deserved 2-0 victory. This vital win over their German opponents puts Inter right back in the hunt for the hotly contested qualifying spots.

In this tactical analysis, we review Inters tactics, showing how Contes men restricted their usually free-flowing opponents. We also provide an analysis of where Dortmund made tactical errors leading to mismatches in key areas of the field.

Line-ups

The hosts started the match in their usual 3-5-2/5-3-2 system, a tactic Conte has become renowned for using because of the numerical superiority it provides in the defensive third. Diego Godín, Stefan de Vrij and Milan Škriniar started as the centre-backs. Godín and Škriniar supported their respective full-back by providing cover in the half-spaces. This restricted the opposition from penetrating their robust defensive unit. Kwadwo Asamoah and Antonio Candreva provided the width as wing-backs. They pushed high and wide when Inter had possession in order to stretch the opposition horizontally.

Roberto Gagliardini, Marcelo Brozović and Nicolò Barella made up the midfield three. They were deployed as a defensive wall to protect the centre-backs, staying narrow and moving laterally as a unit in opposition ball rotations. This helped create defensive overloads as we analyse later. Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez partnered up front. They too stayed narrow and looked to make penetrative runs in behind as Inter favoured a more direct approach.

The visitors came with a tactical gameplan of their own, starting in an unfamiliar 3-4-3 system. Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney started as the midfield pivot. They looked to build attacks by collecting the ball from their centre backs and finding passes into the attacking triumvirate of Thorgan Hazard, Jadon Sancho and Julien Brandt. As we will see later, however, this approach caused a tactical mismatch which allowed the home side to control the game and never looked flustered against the 2013 finalists.

UEFA Champions League 2019/20: Inter Milan vs Dortmund - tactical analysis tactics — Škriniar (37), Godín (2) and de Vrij (6) combined **110** times during the match.

Inter favoured defensive stability over fluid creative play. In possession they slowly built their attacks from the back, methodically playing the ball forward using short passing. The home side, however, didnt look to establish long phases of attacks in the opposition third, instead, when the timing was right, they looked to play longer, more direct passes in behind the opposition defensive line.

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