Borussia Dortmund – Porto 2:0
FC Porto didn’t even try to intimidate Borussia Dortmund, when both teams met on Thursday evening. A 2-0 win gives BVB a great going-in position for the second match next week at the Estádio do Dragão.
Paris Saint-Germain – Chelsea 2:1
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.
What has happened to Porto?
As FC Porto released a statement on January 8, 2016, announcing that they were relieving Julen Lopetegui of his duties, it took them only a few words to make a bad season even worse.
Arsenal – Leicester City 2:1
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.
Mainz – Schalke 2:1
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.
Team Analysis: Paris Saint-Germain
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.
VfB Stuttgart – Borussia Dortmund 1:3
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.
Hertha BSC – Borussia Dortmund 0:0
In what was a highly interesting match from an analytical standpoint, Hertha BSC held Borussia Dortmund to a 0-0 draw. The Berlin side put a serious challenge in front of Thomas Tuchel’s team.
Barcelona – Atlético Madrid 2:1
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.
Borussia Dortmund – FC Ingolstadt 2:0
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.