You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
The extent to which teams in the Champions League play short to build from the back is highlighted by a study in the report of more than 400 goal kicks from the knockout stage. It found that almost two-thirds of them (65%) were taken short – that is, within their own defensive third. Playing the first pass short was more successful than going long, with those kicks played beyond the penalty box but within the defensive third the most productive, with a 53% success rate for advancing the ball into the opposition half. An analysis of goalkeepers, meanwhile, reveals that in the five seasons since the rule change which allows players to receive goal kicks inside their own box, the percentage of goal kicks played short to a team-mate inside the box has doubled from 24% in 2019/20 to 48% in 2023/24.
Don’t expect to see too many wingers hugging the touchline this season. The trend for inverted wingers began long ago and so too the decline in crosses slung over from near the corner flag. Indeed, according to UEFA’s performance analysts, the most effective type of crosses are now cutbacks – balls driven low from inside the penalty box, close to the goalline. In an analysis of crossing in the 2023/24 knockout stage, these led to a shot almost two-fifths of the time (38%) – a higher success rate than any other kind of open-play delivery.
“Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” Gary Lineker’s famous old quote is gradually losing its force as football evolves. For a start, the Germans no longer always win, as EURO 2024 underlined for us. Moreover, you can now have over 30 players playing an important part in a match which can go on for at least 100 minutes, if we include added time. Hence it will be no surprise in the coming season if substitutes continue to have a significant say in shaping the outcome of matches. Last season there was a notable rise in matches decided by goals in the last 15 minutes – 24 compared to ten in 2022/23 – and in 17 of those matches, a substitute produced the winning strike.
During EURO 2024 there was a tendency for teams to build play through midfield in a 3-2-2-3 shape, known as a box midfield. Manchester City caught the eye for doing just the same during April’s Champions League quarter-final home leg against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola lined up his team in a 3-2-2-3 formation against Carlo Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 (or 4-2-2-2), with centre-back Manuel Akanji stepping into midfield alongside Rodri. Further ahead, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne operated as a line of two behind the Madrid central midfield duo of Eduardo Camavinga and Toni Kroos, and when they pulled one of that pair out of position, either Rodri or Akanji could move up as a spare man attacking the final third behind the Spanish side’s midfield line.
As the report says: “Akanji stepped into midfield and formed a double pivot with Rodri, pulling Vinícius Júnior and Bellingham deeper. Meanwhile Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva were constantly searching for space behind Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga. On occasions, Akanji moved higher up, becoming a spare man which caused problems for Madrid.” We can safely predict this trend will continue.
You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
The extent to which teams in the Champions League play short to build from the back is highlighted by a study in the report of more than 400 goal kicks from the knockout stage. It found that almost two-thirds of them (65%) were taken short – that is, within their own defensive third. Playing the first pass short was more successful than going long, with those kicks played beyond the penalty box but within the defensive third the most productive, with a 53% success rate for advancing the ball into the opposition half. An analysis of goalkeepers, meanwhile, reveals that in the five seasons since the rule change which allows players to receive goal kicks inside their own box, the percentage of goal kicks played short to a team-mate inside the box has doubled from 24% in 2019/20 to 48% in 2023/24.
Don’t expect to see too many wingers hugging the touchline this season. The trend for inverted wingers began long ago and so too the decline in crosses slung over from near the corner flag. Indeed, according to UEFA’s performance analysts, the most effective type of crosses are now cutbacks – balls driven low from inside the penalty box, close to the goalline. In an analysis of crossing in the 2023/24 knockout stage, these led to a shot almost two-fifths of the time (38%) – a higher success rate than any other kind of open-play delivery.
“Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” Gary Lineker’s famous old quote is gradually losing its force as football evolves. For a start, the Germans no longer always win, as EURO 2024 underlined for us. Moreover, you can now have over 30 players playing an important part in a match which can go on for at least 100 minutes, if we include added time. Hence it will be no surprise in the coming season if substitutes continue to have a significant say in shaping the outcome of matches. Last season there was a notable rise in matches decided by goals in the last 15 minutes – 24 compared to ten in 2022/23 – and in 17 of those matches, a substitute produced the winning strike.
During EURO 2024 there was a tendency for teams to build play through midfield in a 3-2-2-3 shape, known as a box midfield. Manchester City caught the eye for doing just the same during April’s Champions League quarter-final home leg against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola lined up his team in a 3-2-2-3 formation against Carlo Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 (or 4-2-2-2), with centre-back Manuel Akanji stepping into midfield alongside Rodri. Further ahead, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne operated as a line of two behind the Madrid central midfield duo of Eduardo Camavinga and Toni Kroos, and when they pulled one of that pair out of position, either Rodri or Akanji could move up as a spare man attacking the final third behind the Spanish side’s midfield line.
As the report says: “Akanji stepped into midfield and formed a double pivot with Rodri, pulling Vinícius Júnior and Bellingham deeper. Meanwhile Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva were constantly searching for space behind Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga. On occasions, Akanji moved higher up, becoming a spare man which caused problems for Madrid.” We can safely predict this trend will continue.
You’ve seen how the data is gathered in the previous feature in these pages; here now are just some of the ways it is used to develop insights into the game. Which tactical trends and patterns of play will come to the fore in 2024/25? And what should we, as fans, look out for? Here at Champions Journal, we have sought clues as to what to expect via a sneak preview of UEFA’s official technical reports on the 2023/24 Champions League and this summer’s EURO 2024 final tournament. With insights and analysis from a technical observer panel made up of experienced coaches and ex-players, these reports highlight current tendencies in elite football of which we can expect to see more in the months ahead.
Access the reports at uefatechnicalreports.com
One of the main tactical talking points during EURO 2024 was the significance of runs in behind. Just think, for example, of the impact of England substitute Ollie Watkins, with his run and added-time strike in the semi-final against the Netherlands. In the Champions League, runs in behind are no less significant. Borussia Dortmund almost provided a prime example in last season’s final when Karim Adeyemi raced clear on to Mats Hummels’ through pass beyond Real Madrid’s high defensive line but failed to apply the finishing touch. The biggest threat to a team defending in a mid-block is usually from opposition runners breaking into space behind and, as UEFA’s experts observed, it is often attacking midfielders – Jude Bellingham, for example – or wingers who produce these key runs.
Of course, there is nothing like raw electric pace to penetrate a defence, as Adeyemi – who recorded the fastest sprint in last season’s Champions League when he hit 37.6km/h in the final – can vouch. Another speedster to look out for this term will be Vinícius Júnior, the player who recorded the highest average number of sprints in 2023/24 with 32. As identified in the UEFA report, on top of his trademark surges from the left, he developed a greater central threat last season – witness his first goal in the semi-final at Bayern München – and this shift could well continue given the arrival at Madrid of the left-leaning Kylian Mbappé.
One-v-one duels are no longer applicable just to tussles between wingers and full-backs; defenders at leading clubs playing front-foot football rarely have the luxury to just sit deep. A consequence of teams committing numbers forward to press high up the pitch is that their defenders are often left to defend player-to-player at the back. One of the questions defenders must answer in such scenarios is how to respond when the man they are marking drops deep: do they follow him all the way? If not, think of the damage he can do with space to play in. Technical observer Ole Gunnar Solskjær says in the Champions League report: “The defender is being asked the question ‘What am I going to do?’ because you’re afraid of that space behind you. But more and more teams say, ‘Go with him’ and trust the defenders to deal with the one-against-one situation.”
