UEFA Champions League 2019/20: Inter Milan vs Slavia Prague – Tactical Analysis

Finally, Champions League football has returned to the football fans with many interesting clashes waiting for us. One of the matches that caught the eye was between Inter Milan and Slavia Prague at the Giuseppe Meazza. The Czech First Division champions travelled to Italy with high confidence, as they remain unbeaten in their domestic league with only two goals conceded.

Antonio Conte’s side had an summer overhaul, with many arrivals and departures to the Inter squad. After a good pre-season campaign, their form carried on into the season, having won the first three games of the Serie A season. This gave them a lot of momentum going into their Champions League match, but they had a difficult first half against Slavia. Things improved in the second half,  but a goal from Peter Olayinka put the Czech club in front. Inside stoppage time, substitute Nicolò Barella found his way to the goal to secure a valuable point for Inter.

This tactical analysis will provide an analysis of the draw between Inter Milan and Slavia Prague. Meanwhile, using statistics, we will point out the standout tactical points in both Inter’s tactics and Slavia’s tactics.

Lineups

Conte went for the 3-5-2 formation with no fresh injury concerns from their win against Cagliari last weekend. After making an appearance on the bench, Roberto Gagliardini was chosen to fill Matías Vecino’s place in the lineup and completed the midfield line that already consisted of Marcelo Brozović and Stefano Sensi. Alexis Sánchez and Matteo Politano were expected to lead the line alongside Romelu Lukaku but Lautaro Martínez was the eventual choice for the Italian manager.

The visitors lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation with the return of goalkeeper Ondrej Kolář and centre-back David Hovorka. Veteran striker Milan Škoda was registered as a substitute, while Lukáš Masopust led Slavia’s line. Behind him were two central midfielders in Nicolae Stanciu and Ibrahima Traoré, whilst Peter Olayinka and Josef Hušbauer provided the width.

Slavias style of play

Despite being the underdogs, Slavia didn’t show any signs of lowering their mentality. Instead, they employed a high pressing strategy in which the striker and the midfielders pushed into the opposite half. They attempted to win the ball back high up the pitch to create a counter-attack and hit Inter on a quick break.

Their man-oriented press allowed Slavia to match the opponent’s number and prevented them from winning numerical superiority. In this case, each player would be responsible for one of Inter’s players as they aimed to disrupt their build-up.