UEFA Champions League 2019/20: Slavia Prague vs Borussia Dortmund – tactical analysis

The second matchday in the UEFA Champions League group stages served up an intriguing game in one of the competition’s toughest groups. Slavia Prague came into this game after the disappointment of conceding late to draw away to Inter Milan. Borussia Dortmund will be similarly disappointed in their draw against Barcelona. That was a game where they had the chances to win and establish a strong grip on the group. So both sides entered the game level on points with Slavia looking for an upset in front of their home support.

This tactical analysis will examine Dortmund’s 2-0 win against Slavia. It was a fairly competitive and exciting contest, therefore, this analysis will look at the tactics of both sides.

Lineups

Slavia manager Jindřich Trpišovský sent out the hosts in a 4-1-4-1 shape but it would also look like a 4-2-3-1. Ondřej Kolář would be their goalkeeper for this clash. Vladimír Coufal and Jan Bořil were the fullbacks while Ondřej Kúdela and David Hovorka were the partnership in central defence. Tomáš Souček was joined by Petr Ševčík in the double-pivot. Nicole Stanciu was in attacking midfield while the wingers were Lukáš Masopust and Peter Olayinka. Leading the line was Stanislav Tecl.

Lucien Favre set Dortmund up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Roman Bürki would be in goal with a backline in front of him made up of Łukasz Piszczek, Manuel Akanji, Mats Hummels and Raphaël Guerreiro. Thomas Delaney and Axel Witsel were the double-pivot in midfield. Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt, and Achraf Hakimi were the three behind Marco Reus, who was playing as a false nine.