UEFA Champions League 2019/20 Play-off: LASK vs Club Brugge – tactical analysis

As the Champions League group stage edges closer to us, the last twelve names headed out to the field to battle for the last six spots in the stage. While the league path had decided three clubs that would continue their journey, Club Brugge and LASK Linz faced off each other in the second leg of the league path play-off round.

With a 1-0 win advantage that they secured in the first leg, Club Brugge would want to at least maintain that scoreline. It should have been enough to help them qualify for the group stage. On the other side, LASK had become the second Austrian club to participate in the stage alongside Salzburg. But luck wasn’t on their side in their trip to Belgium, two goals from Hans Vanaken and Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis eventually sealed the tie for Brugge.

This tactical analysis will provide an analysis of Club Brugge’s 2-1 victory over LASK Linz. Meanwhile, using statistics, we will point out what went wrong in LASK’s tactics against Brugge’s tactics.

Lineups

Philippe Clement made two changes to his 4-1-2-3 lineup. Former Málaga defender Federico Ricca came in as a left-back to replace Eduard Sobol. Krépin Diatta also received the nod from the gaffer to fill in for Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis’ in the right-winger spot. Hans Vanaken maintained his tight connection with the club’s captain Ruud Vormer as they played as two central midfielders. It was a tight battle against Simon Mignolet and Ethan Horváth for the goalkeeping spot but the 2018/19 Champions League winner was chosen eventually.

On the opposite side, Valérien Ismaël only made one change to the side that welcomed the Belgian side to their home ground. Dominik Frieser entered the starting lineup to occupy the left-winger spot for Salzburg loanee Samuel Tetteh. Completing the front line alongside him were João Klauss and Thomas Goiginger. At the back, veteran Emanuel Pogatetz paired up with captain Gernot Trauner and Philipp Wiesinger to screen in front of Alexander Schlager’s goal.

Club Brugges style of play

When Club Brugge were in possession, they tended to focus on building their attacks from the backline. Usually, centre-backs Matej Mitrović and Simon Deli stretched out wide and allowed defensive midfielder Mats Rits to split them and position himself centrally. Along with Mignolet, they created passing triangles inside their defensive third and focused on circulating the ball up the pitch.

Against LASK’s high pressure, this method prevented them from losing possession right inside their half. Furthermore, as the opposition usually pressed with three strikers up front, they would lose the numerical superiority and were forced to push another player up. It also meant that there were gaps being created at least inside the middle third for both Vanaken and Vormer to capitalise.