UEFA Champions League 2019/20: RB Leipzig vs Tottenham- tactical analysis

RB Leipzig took on Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday evening, with RB Leipzig looking to maintain their control of the tie following a 1-0 win in London previously. The game had not only been highlighted as a game between the two sides but between the two managers in Julian Nagelsmann and José Mourinho. In the end, it was Nagelsmanns side who came out on top, despite both sides playing very similar structures in the game. However, although the structures were similar, there were significant parallels between the sides in terms of tactics and ability in certain phases of play, and it was these parallels which allowed Leipzig to dominate the game and effectively end the tie after 30 minutes. In this tactical analysis, I will discuss the key problems Tottenham had in the game, as well as these differences in quality between the two sides in the same phases of play.

Lineups

As mentioned, both sides lined up using the same system, with both employing a 3-4-3. Tottenhams lack of forward options was clear to show both from the team sheet and in the game itself, and Dele Alli was extremely poor in the game, arguably like most of the Tottenham side.

Tottenhams (bad) man-orientated pressing

Following an extremely passive first leg, Tottenham opted to be much more aggressive in their pressing and matched Leipzig man for man. We can see their ideal pressing scheme below, which focuses on getting tight to the opposition and forcing longer passes. The matching of formations makes this a fairly basic scheme, and players simply have to press their opposite, with clear instructions early on to remain tight and force long passes.

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