Saturday, 21.12.2024
@tompayneftbl
After going 2-0 up through a trademark Robben goal, momentum shifted in Turin as Juventus pulled back two goals to get a draw in the Champions League first leg clash. For the first 60 minutes Bayern exercised great control through strong play in possession and an effective man-oriented press yet as the rhythm changed and Juve improved, they displayed less stability both with and without the ball.
Champions League football has returned! The biggest clash of this week saw Chelsea come up against PSG for the third consecutive season. Laurent Blanc’s side came out with a win after dominating for almost the full 90 minutes as their centrally-oriented attacking strategy worked well against Chelsea’s weak defence.
Arsenal played hosts to Leicester in a match which highlighted the superiority of team-tactical strengths over individual abilities. Leicester are one of the strategically strongest teams in England this year through their stable defending and great transition game whilst Arsenal’s structuring issues again were on show. It took a dismissal for the control of the game to shift as Wenger’s side took advantage of their numerical superiority after Simpson saw a second yellow.
After overcoming Schalke at home, Mainz moved up into the top 5 in the Bundesliga, (albeit temporarily) ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg.
Over the past 3 seasons, PSG have come to dominate the French first division and have now all-but secured their 4th consecutive title for 2016. Supported by the riches of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi who bought the club in 2011, the Paris side have assembled a squad filled with excellent players. Over time, this technically-strong side has been molded into a strong possession-based system by Laurent Blanc after Ancelotti’s counter-attacking focus.
Tuchel’s Dortmund progressed in the DFB Pokal after they overcame Stuttgart with a slightly rotated squad as Durm came into the side at LW and Matthias Ginter took on the 6 position in place of the rested Weigl. Stuttgart used an interesting asymmetrical shape which shifted between formations situationally.
Barcelona hosted Atlético in a clash between two elite sides at the top of the Spanish first division. Although the outcome was inevitably influenced by the two red cards, some important changes from both managers were also key in what was an interesting match-up.
After numerous failed rumours of incoming players at Dortmund, Tuchel’s side went into the 2nd match-day of the Rückrunde with a rotated squad which showed their limitations as they struggled against Ingolstadt.
Martin Schmidt’s Mainz edged Gladbach in quite a close 1-0 win which highlighted the attacking issues that Schubert’s side is faced with.
Juventus recorded their 11th consecutive league win after Paulo Dybala scored the only goal against a Roma side who showed issues both with and without the ball.
