Benfica vs Juventus: Tactical preview

Next Thursday Benfica and Juventus will be fighting for one of the two places in the Europa League final. In fact, it will probably be one of the best dress rehearsals UEFA could have possibly wanted, since the stadiums of these two teams are the venues for the Champions League and Europa League finals in a few weeks' time.

While the Portuguese team have just clinched the title last Sunday with a 2-0 win against Olhanense at the Estádio da Luz, the Italians have not been too shabby either, with an eight-point cushion over second-placed Roma, with four games to go. In fact, the only doubt in the Serie A seems to be whether the Biaconeri will get past the 100-point mark.

Any duel between these two teams is always interesting, but the current one becomes even more so as both seem to be going through one of the best periods in their history - Benfica winning the Portuguese league for the second time in 5 years and consistently progressing to the later stages of European competition and Juventus virtually steamrolling domestic opposition while they find their way back to the top of European club competitions. Let us try to break down what will probably be the crucial tactical aspects of the upcoming contest.

• The importance of being Pirlo

Ever since Massimilliano Allegri deemed him surplus to the team's requirements back in 2011 (and allowed the player to move to Turin on a free transfer), Andrea Pirlo has become the beacon that has guided the reigning champions to their rebirth after the dark years that followed the Caliopoli, with captain Gianluigi Buffon going as far as to call it the business of the century.

In fact, it is impossible to dissect this Juventus side without talking about the seemingly perennial Italian regista - or "l'architteto", as his team-mates in Italian colours dub him. His pin-point passing and extraordinary (both direct and indirect) free kicks often constitute the secret to pick harder locks (as was the case against Genoa, Lyon and Fiorentina).

However, he is not exactly one the hardest working players while defending (nor could he possibly be as he closes in on his 35th birthday), which sometimes leaves his back three (or five, depending on the situation) too exposed. Even though Pogba and Vidal - who will probably be replaced by Marchisio - do their best to help out while defending, the two midfielders who sit in front of the Italian wizard (and winegrower) are often found further up the pitch and often unable to provide the necessary coverage when transitioning into defence.

With Benfica's Nico Gaitán enjoying his best season ever and dictating play from the left but drifting into the pockets of space vacated by Rodrigo or Lima, and Markovic at his best whenever he has the ability to dribble at speed, the area around Pirlo might just be the place to buzz around in order to take full advantage of the 34-year-old physical vulnerabilities.

Pogba and Vidal have been critical to Juventus' recent domestic success and partly to the difficulties they have found in the Champions League over the past couple of seasons. Their late runs into the penalty box, while extremely dangerous for their opponents, sometimes backfire spectacularly by exposing Pirlo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli's lack of speed, particularly on the turn - something that this more composed Benfica side will certainly be all too happy to exploit.

• Three at the back: blessing or curse

At the 2012 World Cup, there were those who wondered if the 3x5x2 formation was the ideal remedy for tiki-taka. It seemed to be able to contain the world's most dominant force - Spain - and their possession-based brand of football. In this particular contest, however, it seems tailor-made for Benfica's style, usually founded upon quick transitioning principles at breakneck speed. If the Eagles manage to stave off Llorente, Tévez & co. they are bound to find happiness on the counter.

Another feature of the three-man defence is the ability to adapt whenever opposing teams manage to stifle Pirlo in midfield (usually easier said than done). Whenever Pirlo is not available, Bonucci calls the shots from his central position at the back, usually looking for the wingers Lichtsteiner and Asamoah so they can build-up play via individual duels and purposeful runs behind the other team's last line of defenders, and usually the time when either Pogba or Vidal drift towards the wings to create overloads.

The fact that none of Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci or Pirlo are particularly quick will probably render them vulnerable to Benfica's breaks and force them to stretch out to contain the Portuguese champions' several threats. The three-man arrangement may suffer quite a bit with the prospect of Lima and Rodrigo constantly switching positions and dragging their markers away from the penalty box - something with which the Juventus defence clearly struggle - so that Gaitán or Markovic, for instance, may find several opportunities for one of their specialties: the 1v1.

• Under heavy attack

The sheer physicality of Juventus players (but especially their midfielders and forwards) might just be one of the things that puts Benfica on their back foot, a style with which the Portuguese are not all that familiar. Carlos Tévez and Fernando Llorente have indeed struck a great partnership, with the Spaniard acting as a lynchpin for the team's attacks thanks to his ability to hold the ball up and link up play. The Argentinean forward, on the other hand, is best known for his scurrying around, looking for the right time and place to provide a killer pass or a purposeful nutmeg. The physical and mental efforts that the pair will demand from Benfica players is not similar to the challenges the Eagles have faced so far and will most certainly prove a stern test for Luisão & co.

Neat, central combination play is unlikely to surface as far as Juventus are concerned, the wings being their natural habitat to build up play. Still, it is their ability to pry their way open down the centre via Llorente and Tévez that often manages to tear down difficult walls, combined with their knack for taking full advantage of attacking set pieces, whether it be expertly delivered by Pirlo towards Chiellini and Pogba or Pirlo's diversified direct free kicks. Luisão, Garay and Fejsa will surely have their hands full and will be critical countenance Juventus' physical assaults.

Champions League - the chalkboards

Another week, another set of wonderful displays and exciting, close-fought contests in the Champions League. Let's take a look at some of the most significant chalkboards.

• 1. Borussia Dortmund vs Málaga

While Málaga creating less chances in the first leg, they managed to create them in more dangerous areas.

The pressure exerted by Málaga's forwards kept Gündogan from being as decisive as he had been in the first leg.

Borussia Dortmund's final push meant they managed to get the same number of chances as the first leg.

Oddly enough, Málaga actually made less interceptions than in the first leg,
undoubtedly due to their forwards' impressive work rate.
Notice how the Spaniards made a lot less interceptions in the centre-back area.

• 2. Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain

Barcelona's passing in their attacking third before and after Messi coming on.

Barcelona's chances before and after Messi coming on. Not a huge difference in numbers.

Barcelona's interceptions before and after Messi coming on.
Oddly enough, this was the area where Barcelona improved most dramatically.

Ibrahimovic put in a circumspect yet decisive all-round display against his former employers.

A comparison between the overall contribution provided by Verratti (first leg) and Beckham (second leg).
The Italian midfielder was instrumental for Paris Saint-Germain's solid display.

Chances created throughout both legs. Paris Saint-Germain actually managed to look more dangerous in Camp Nou,
with several chances created down the middle.

• 3. Bayern Munich vs Juventus

In an unexpectedly one-sided contest, Bayern were far superior to Juventus,
which translated in their almost identical number of shots home and away (albeit more dangerous in the first leg).

Bayern were even more proactive and successful as far as their defensive approach was concerned.
Once again, notice far up many of their interceptions took place, preventing Juventus from threatening their back line.

• 4. Galatasaray vs Real Madrid

Facing an uphill battle, Galatasaray chose to take the game to Real Madrid, despite their early goal.
In the second leg, Galatasaray defended higher up the field, as it's easily noticeable in the first chalkboard.

Real Madrid's three-goal cushion, in turn, allowed them to work less hard defensively further upfield.

Champions League - the chalkboards

This week's matches for the Champions League quarter-finals offered wonderful, action-packed matches. Below you will find a few interesting chalkboards.

Mandzukic was critical to Bayern's constant pressing and his work rate cannot be overstated.

Borussia Dortmund have only themselves to blame for not emerging victors from this match.
In the second half, Jürgen Klopp's team were more incisive in their pressing and took control.

Bayern Munich's unrelenting pressing brought out the technical limitations of Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini.
Notice how most of the interceptions and tackles are not made in central-defence areas.

David Beckham was the surprise Carlo Ancelotti decided to spring on Barcelona.
Even though the English midfielder was not to blame for anything, his contribution was rather limited.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a quiet match, by his standards, but still managed to grab an all too important goal.

World Class Coaching

The analysis of the latest match between Milan and Juventus can now be found at the fine World Class Coaching blog, at http://www.worldclasscoaching.com/blog. Please feel free to comment, suggest or disagree at will.

Udinese (almost) fail to show up

Starting lineups

Pundits (unlike myself) are often criticized for giving their opinions according to the result, and not according to what they think the game offers at that particular moment in time. The match that pit Juventus against Udinese was supposed to present two title contenders - but unfortunately only one of them showed up (for most of time, that is). In fact, the match seemed to go against what would be expected by most - myself included.

These two teams had met a little over a month ago, but this time Juve were without Pepe and Marchisio (replaced with Giaccherini and Quagliarella) and Udinese weren't able to call upon Asamoah and Pizni). Just like the match in December, Antonio Conte chose to mirror the system of Udinese, going with what can broadly be described as a 3x5x2, where as Francesco Guidolin had to reshuffle all of his midfield, which would prove decisive for the final outcome.

In the second minute, the bianconeri were already performing one of their trademark moves. If we compare the first clip with the first goal against Roma (second clip), we will be able to see several similarities. Even though the players finishing the moves are not starting out from the same position on the field, the principle is the same: a quick run on the weak side of the ball in order to take advantage of numerical inferiority or equality.

Udinese started out by assuming a clearly counter-attacking stance, keeping a low defensive line and choosing to be up in numbers. Pasquale's fielding on the left wing was surely intentional, since Guidolin will have wanted someone to mark Lichsteiner a bit closer. With Asamoah and Pinzi absent, Udinese found themselves with no out-ball and no one to act as a pivot, a role that Pinzi plays so well. This meant that, unlike the match in December, there was hardly anyone to take the ball up to Di Natale or Abdi, which in turn meant that Juve just kept on piling up the pressure. Armero, playing out of his natural position, tried to deputise as the exit man, but often seemed to forget that his job wasn't just motoring up the field.

As seen here, Udinese's midfield was constantly left exposed due to Armero's venturing forward. 

It is still strange to notice, particularly in a league as tactically aware as the Italian, how much time Andrea Pirlo is allowed on the ball. He was able to dictate the tempo and re-start the moves after Udinese throwing the ball forward, in a desperate attempt to relieve the pressure. Actually, Abdi did not exert any sort of pressure upon Pirlo (even though he seemed to have tried at first), and he even started going backwards, possibly trying to help his porous midfield. Therefore, it was no surprise that he didn't make it back on the second half - his replacement, Floro Flores, was a bit more incisive.

When Juventus scored towards the end of the first half, there was some curiosity as to what their plan B would be, given that they had been so hesitant. Oddly enough, just when everyone Juve had the game in the bag (and so it seemed to yours truly), they suddenly dozed off and let Udinese back in the game with wayward passes that mostly Isla intercepted, using those interceptions to counter-attack. Di Natale shot for the first time on 52 minutes and, only two minutes later, Floro Flores scored. Even though the goal came apparently out of Juve's own mistakes, Udinese seemed to be right where they wanted. Feeling the game was getting out of hand, Conte replaced Quagliarella (such an improvement on that particular position, when compared to the out-of-place Pepe).

Once again, Udinese's goal meant nothing and they ended up conceding precisely when it seemed that Juventus would play into their hands. After that, it was one-way traffic and the team from Udine showed that they never wanted anything more than a draw.

I would just like to point out two issues. The first one has to do with Matri. Almost unnoticeably, he managed to have 50 touches (Di Natale had 27, as a reference), from which he mustered 3 key passes, 5 shots (3 of which on target) and 2 goals. It doesn't get much better than that for a forward. The second issue relates to Giaccherini. Not only is he an avid scorer (he scores 1 goal every 5 games, on average), but he also has a tendency to find spaces to run into, opening spaces for himself and others to score. Definitely a player on the rise.