Matchday two of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League is complete, and it was a whirlwind of action and surprises.
Our tactical analysis shares the best formations and plays from Champions League week two, delving into what worked and what didn’t.
This is part two of a series on the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League — if you missed matchday one, check out that analysis here (linked on the word ‘analysis’).
Let’s start off with a look at Leverkusen’s 1-0 win over AC Milan.
Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 AC Milan
Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 goal in the 51st minute arose from a ball-side overload, typical of their possession-based play.
Only Victor Boniface occupies the far-side center-back and full-back.
Florian Wirtz, positioned near the opponent’s box in the right half-space, with his back to goal, pulls the nearest defenders towards him, dragging them out of the penalty area.
As a result, Alejandro Grimaldo, playing as the left-back, attacks the space behind the defence.
A through ball splits all nine defenders, and after a cut-back to Boniface, the goal is scored.
Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City
Manchester City dominates Bratislava, pushing the opponent deep into their own half.
The pass leading to the 0-1 goal comes after a back pass under pressure to John Stones, the last man in the build-up.
Due to this back pass, options must be created for Stones to avoid losing further ground and prevent the opponent from setting up a potential pressing situation.
City manage to temporarily create a 5v1 or 5v3 overload in the space between the lines, centrally in front of the goal.
As a result, Stones can easily bypass the first defensive line, allowing City to attack the next line with a numerical advantage.
This sequence eventually leads to the 0-1 for the Sky Blues.
Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic
Celtic’s high pressing is played through, particularly in the 11th minute.
Borussia Dortmund, with four attackers holding a high line against the opponent’s defence, play a high ball to target man, Serhou Guirassy.
He passes to Julian Brandt, who is positioned slightly deeper, allowing Dortmund to advance in a 4v4 situation.
With the pace of Karim Adeyemi and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, they attack the space behind the defence with deep runs.
Adeyemi scores the 2-1 after receiving a through ball from Brandt.
FC Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys
Three of FC Barcelona’s five goals are scored from set pieces.
The 4-0 in the 51st minute follows a corner.
Young Boys defend zonally, with two players guarding the near post and man-marking the Barcelona attacker positioned there.
All other Barcelona attackers are marked man-to-man.
Barcelona manipulate the man-marking by having multiple players make runs toward the near post.
After a short run, Iñigo Martínez separates from the group, moving away from his marker to the far post, where he receives the corner in the free space and lays it across.
Lewandowski finishes the layoff to make it 4-0.
Aston Villa 1-0 FC Bayern
Bayern Munich press as usual with man-orientation across the entire pitch to dominate the opponent and prevent them from getting into their rhythm.
Aston Villa are prepared for this.
In a 4-2-4 formation, Villa uses the full width and depth of the field to maximize space in potential 1v1 situations.
With Morgan Rogers frequently dropping deep, Kim Min-jae is pulled out of the defensive line.
As a result, the goalkeeper plays to Ollie Watkins, finding himself in an isolated 1v1 situation with plenty of space against Bayern’s last outfield player, Dayot Upamecano.
The more such situations arise, the higher the likelihood of defensive errors.
In this instance, Watkins lets the ball run, and Upamecano can only stop him with a foul.
He receives a yellow card in the 21st minute, making future 1v1 situations even more challenging.
Benfica 4-0 Atlético Madrid
Under their new coach, Benfica focus on playing as simply as possible.
They don’t dominate the game but manage to create dangerous opportunities through quick and straightforward transitions.
The early goal in the 13th-minute works in their favour, as Atlético can no longer sit back in their deep 5-2-3 defensive pressing for the entire match.
With Atlético in possession more often, Benfica finds more chances to counterattack.
In the 13th minute, Benfica’s hybrid pressing works effectively; zonal but opponent-oriented, it creates an overload on the ball side.
After winning the ball, they quickly play a deep pass and finish to make it 1-0.
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna
In the 75th minute, Liverpool double their lead through Mohamed Salah to make it 2-0.
By allowing Salah to cut inside on his stronger left foot in a 1v1 situation, Liverpool manages to stretch Bologna’s otherwise well-structured defence, opening up the path to the centre.
Trent Alexander-Arnold overlaps, dragging Bologna’s defensive midfielder deeper.
Dominik Szoboszlai also pulls his marker further back.
A particularly nice tactical detail is Salah’s pass feint.
By faking a pass to the overlapping Trent, Salah forces the Bologna defender to shift his body position, turning him with his front to Trent and leaving him unable to prevent Salah’s shot.
RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus
To exert pressure while being a goal down and a player short, Juventus must shift ball-oriented in their pressing.
The close proximity to the ball carrier creates significant coverage shadows, allowing them to balance the numbers around the ball.
By dropping deeper, Dušan Vlahović takes away Leipzig’s back-pass options, enabling him to win the ball.
This sequence ultimately leads to Juventus’ equaliser at 2-2.
Conclusion
We’ve highlighted some highly impressive plays from match week 2 of the UEFA Champions League.
This scout report shares insight for fans and coaches alike on what’s worked well so far in terms of tactics in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, what to watch out for as the tournament progresses, and current tactical trends at the elite level.
