The most exciting group in the UEFA Champions League this season got back underway on Tuesday night, as Borussia Monchengladbach hosted Inter in game five of Group B. Both sides were looking for vital wins, as a win for Gladbach would take them through the group while Inter were just looking for a win to stay in the competition. The reverse fixture saw the sides draw 2-2 in Milan, and the game was a similarly entertaining affair on this occasion, with Inter Milan claiming a vital 3-2 away win. The match was a fairly even one, with both sides fluid build-up structures looking to break down one anothers defensive systems. In the end, it was Inters fluid build-up system which performed the best, and despite Marco Roses adjustments in the game, Gladbach were unable to progress the ball consistently past Inters press. In this tactical analysis, I will examine the pressing structures and fluid build-up systems used by both teams, showing how Inters defensive and offensive tactics got the better of Gladbach.
Lineups
A depleted looking Borussia Monchengladbach lined up in a 4-2-3-1, with this system changing often throughout the match due to their fluid build-up. Inter went with a familiar 5-3-2, with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez starting up front.
Inters defensive structure
Inter lined up in a 5-3-2 and pressed in the same way. The general aim behind the press was for the central midfielders to press the full-backs, with the wing-back often remaining pinned deeper by a Gladbach winger. The two far central midfielders would tuck across to cover the centre and half-space, while the widest centre back zonal man-oriented around the half-space, and so would press outwards if a player dropped into this area. They werent man-oriented, as it didnt seem to matter who occupied this zone.
Gladbachs fluid build-up was prepared for, and so if Gladbach dropped a central midfielder to form a back three, the central midfielder would still push forward and press the back line.
