Sunday, 09.03.2025
Kilmarnock inflicted Celtic’s second defeat in as many months at Rugby Park on Saturday. Having only taken over in October, Steve Clarke has already defeated both Rangers and Brendan Rodgers’ side at home, as well as securing respectable draws in Glasgow. Just as significant is the manner in which his team have achieved such success, showing a level of organisation rarely seen in Scotland.
A match-up of the second and third place teams in La Liga, in the form of Simeone’s Atletico Madrid and Marcelino’s Valencia. In a hotly contested match, Atletico showed why they are the top defensive side in Europe at the moment, holding Valencia to 0 shots on goal for the whole match.
Touted going into the fixture as unusual opponents, Guardiola’s Manchester City were drawn away to promotion candidates Cardiff City for the 4th Round of the FA Cup. The Bluebirds, managed by Neil Warnock, tried to nullify the Citizen’s threats by utilizing a stricter form of man-marking in defense. Posing a different test than what they usually face in the league and Europe, this piece explores how Manchester City overcame Cardiff’s marking.
Under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have become a dominant force domestically and a serious contender for the Champions League title. We break down what has led to their current success, what makes them special, and why they seem almost unbeatable.
This might be it for the La Liga title race. After yet another Barcelona win at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the Blaugrana can enjoy a comfortable lead, while some Blancos call for the head of coach Zinédine Zidane who thought man-marking Barça’s key players was the best strategy.
In the span of two weeks, Dynamo Kyiv managed to secure a couple of their most impressive wins in their club history. Through being drawn against FC Barcelona in the Group Stages of the 1997/98 Champions League, some of Europe’s managerial titans were able to square off. Valeriy Lobanovskiy would be matched against Louis van Gaal. In the matches, Dynamo were too much for Barcelona thanks to their well-designed strategy, despite having inferior talent.
Manchester is Blue. Pep Guardiola’s team continue their quest to the Premier League title with a key win in the 175th playing of the Manchester Derby. After the match, City extend their unbeaten streak to 16 games, drawing only once in the league in that time and setting a new record of winning 14 consecutive matches. City also have an 11 point gap over their crosstown rivals. Manchester United remain in second place, but this result makes their quest for the league title a difficult task.
For the first time, Spielverlagerung had the opportunity to interview a current Bundesliga head coach. Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco talks about the tactical evolvement of his players and how he involves them in his tactical planning.
Dortmund’s struggles under Peter Bosz continued Tuesday evening after conceding two second half goals to Tottenham, officially eliminating them from the Round of 16. For the North London club, this result clinched the top spot of Group H, having already earned a spot into the knockout rounds prior to kickoff. The result also prevented BVB from getting their first win in this year’s Champions League campaign.
For much of the early stages of this season I have been unable to write for various reasons. During that time there were a number of interesting games and impressive performances. In this series I will analyse aspects of some of these matches.
