Tactical Analysis

Manchester City welcomed Chelsea in Gameweek 20 of the 2025/2026 Premier League season. The affair ended in a 1-1 draw as Tijjani Reijnders’ 42nd-minute strike was equalised by Enzo Fernández at 90’+4. This was Chelsea’s first outing after head coach Enzo Maresca’s dismissal, which rendered it a crucial fixture to bolster...

The Derbi Barceloní has been a very emotional game for many years, delivering many highlights and scandals, such as Espanyol fans running onto the pitch to stop Barcelona from celebrating their league title a couple of years back. While the emotional value was always there, the game was rather insignificant...

There are a bunch of teams in La Liga that struggle with scoring goals this season. Eight teams are currently sitting at below one goal per game, and especially in the relegation battle, pretty much all of the teams heavily struggle with creating opportunities for themselves. One of those teams...

Chelsea has recently announced their decision to part ways with the Italian head coach, Enzo Maresca, following reported tension between the management and the head coach. The decision comes at a surprising time and raises many questions about Chelsea’s future, short-term objectives, and results. Taking such crucial decisions at a...

Arsenal continued their winning streak by defeating Aston Villa in Gameweek 19 of the 2025/2026 Premier League season. With this victory at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners have held onto top spot in the table. From Aston Villa’s perspective, this result brought their winning run to an end. However, their...

Atalanta faced Inter Milan recently at the New Balance Arena for the 17th fixture of Serie A, and the game ended with an extremely important win for the Nerazzurri. Although Atalanta put on a convincing overall performance and came very close to scoring the equalising and winning goals, they failed...

Barcelona’s 2025/2026 campaign has been significantly disrupted by a serious setback in defence following Andreas Christensen’s knee injury. In late December 2025, the club confirmed that the Danish centre-back suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during a training session, resulting in an...

Chelsea were defeated by Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 18 of the 2025/2026 Premier League season. It was a game of two halves, where Chelsea controlled the first 45 minutes, having a lion’s share of ball possession (71%). They had 10 shots compared to none from their opponents, out...

Arsenal secured the top spot in the Premier League after defeating Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 18 of the 2025/2026 season. The Gunners hosted Brighton at the Emirates Stadium, aiming to get back quickly to the top of the table, especially after the win of their direct competitor, when...

Reece James was getting shouts of being the best right-back in the world a few years ago, but numerous hamstring injuries slowed his consistent game time. Now that he is getting back to speed and playing 26 games this season and 1739 minutes so far, some speculate he is getting...

Arsenal faced Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup quarter-final, and the Gunners qualified for the semi-finals by winning the penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw in regular time. Arsenal looked more dangerous in front of goal throughout the match but were not clinical enough, which prevented them from winning in...

It may be tough to cast your mind back to the chaotic summer transfer window, but the moves that Premier League clubs desperately pushed for now look very different in the context of the season. It was the summer of hotly tipped and hotly chased strikers. If you take a...

Niclas Füllkrug has recently been linked with teams like AC Milan, Werder Bremen, Augsburg, and Wolfsburg, as the German striker's talent makes him sought after by numerous clubs despite being 32 years old. Milan, in particular, is rumoured to have already started talks with West Ham United over a loan...

Barcelona defeated Villarreal 2-0 in Gameweek 17 of the 2025/2026 edition of LaLiga at Estadio de la Ceramica. With goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, the Catalans went four points clear of Real Madrid. The visitors had most of the ball, having 79% possession. Although missing Pedri was a concern...

Aston Villa hosted Manchester United at Villa Park and were able to beat the Red Devils with a 2-1 final score. Aston Villa continue to climb the Premier League standings thanks to this win, now holding third place with 36 points, only three points behind the top team. Unai Emery's team are...

Liverpool’s 2025/2026 season has begun in stark contrast to pre-season expectations. Rather than establishing early control and consistency under Arne Slot, performances have been inconsistent, with rhythm, attacking cohesion, and efficiency fluctuating throughout the opening fixtures. This instability has extended beyond the team structure; even Mohamed Salah, long Liverpool’s most...

For some time now, the name Patricio Pacífico has been circulating by word of mouth among Uruguayan football fans. Developed at Defensor Sporting, the left-footed centre-back had previously stood out in Uruguay’s youth national teams as one of the most promising players of the 2006 generation. Identified as part of...

The Bundesliga title race is rather dull, if we are being honest; Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany are already running away with the title. Behind FC Bayern, there is a vast power struggle about who is number two in German football at the moment. The three key players in this...

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to kick off on 21st December 2025 in Morocco, running until 18 January 2026, and promises a thrilling spectacle of African football. This edition of Africa’s premier international tournament features 24 national sides competing across multiple cities and world-class stadiums throughout...

In modern football analysis, set-pieces are often framed as marginal gains and supplementary opportunities rather than primary attacking mechanisms.  Espanyol under Manolo González challenge this assumption.  Throughout the 2025/2026 season, corners have emerged not as occasional advantages but as a central component of their attacking identity. RCD Espanyol de Barcelona...