UEFA Champions League 2020/21: Atletico Madrid vs RB Salzburg – tactical analysis

After the draw of the UEFA Champions League was announced, some mouth-watering groups were formed for football fans to look forward to. One of those groups was group A. It was seen as the group of death by many due to the presence of Bayern München, Atletico Madrid, RB Salzburg, and Lokomotiv Moskow all filling up the four available spots.

After a first-round that didn’t disappoint, the second round promised to be an interesting one as well as Atletico Madrid took on RB Salzburg. Both teams slipped up in the first round, so the two were eager to reaffirm themselves in this intriguing battle.

This tactical analysis will look to analyse both teams tactics. This analysis will also give an insight into the strategies both coaches implemented in order to win the game.

Line-ups and formations

Diego Simeone lined his side up in his favoured 4-4-2 formation and made three changes from their La Liga encounter against Real Betis. Renan Lodi replaced Mario Hermoso at left-back, whilst Lucas had to make way for Hector Herrera. Thomas Lemar was left out for this game so as to reunite Luis Suárez with João Félix up top.

Jesse March chose the 4-2-3-1 formation and was a bit more radical as he made five changes from their win against Rapid Wien. Patson Daka, Enock Mwepu, Andreas Ulmer, Zlatko Junuzović, and Maximilian Wöber all came into the starting XI for this Champions League game.

Atletico’s good start

Atletico Madrid have the better players on paper. As a consequence, they took the initiative by trying to break down RB Salzburg’s block. But Salzburg didn’t make it easy for Atleti. In order to prevent any danger from the home side, March’s men fell back into a medium block. From here they waited for one of Atletico’s centre-backs to penetrate with the ball to start an aggressive press to the side of the field.

Once this happ