UEFA Champions League 2019/20: RB Leipzig vs Olympique Lyon – tactical analysis

In the second matchday of this year’s UEFA Champions League RB Leipzig welcomed Olympique Lyon in a tough fixture that could pave the ways for both teams in the advance of the competition. On the paper, both teams were pretty even when it comes to their rosters, but the away team has shown great discipline and got better of the opponent sticking to their tactics.

Julian Nagelsmann’s men have struggled to find the way to beat the opposition’s dense defensive block and got out of ideas which lead them straight into losing important points at the start of the group phase.

This tactical analysis will show you hos Sylvinho’s team managed to secure away win by the result of 2:0 keeping the field narrow for the hosts and using their high-positioned defensive line against them.

Lineups

Both teams started the match in the 3-4-1-2 formation, but have ridden it through a lot of transformations throughout the match. The home side midfield was held by Amadou Haidara and Konrad Leimer, who provided attacking support to their main danger-guys embodied in Marcel Sabitzer, Yussuf Poulsen and Timo Werner, but didn’t get their chance to play in the way they wanted, especially after the key defender Ibrahima Konate went out because of injury.

The French representative relied on the same grounds as their rivals, controlling the situation in the midfield with Thiago Mendes, Lucas Toussart and Houssem Aouar as the main protagonists of their density. Joachim Andersen was the one to hold their defence in readiness, and their main attacking forces were Memphis Depay and Martin Terrier who were playing as a duo on top of the lineup.