James Rodríguez' decisive contribution

The importance of the contribution from James Rodríguez in the latest meeting between Benfica and FC Porto can now be found on CoachingAdvancedPlayers.com.

Breakaway 101

The last couple of weeks have been awash with examples of counter-attack plays. Below you can find two alternatives routes for goal.

Example #1: The "Me (and him, granted) against the world" option

FC Porto's Colombian winger James Rodríguez is still young (20 years-old), but during the past year has been proving how good he can be (and how much better he may turn out to be). In a potentially title-deciding match between Benfica and FC Porto, he came on as a substitute on 58 minutes when his team were trailing 2-1 and was decisive for FC Porto’s victory, scoring a goal and providing an accurate assist for the late winner.

1st moment: Fernando, FC Porto holding midfielder, wins the ball back with James’ help. As you can see in the picture below, they both have loads of space to run into.

2nd moment: In fact, they were able to win the ball back 60 yards from Benfica's goal and push forward at ease - they weren't up against any opponent until Luisão (in red) came out to meet them, near the box. Noticing the space behind Luisão, James played a simple one-two with Fernando (who had accompanied James in his run upfield). 

3rd moment: With that simple one-two, James outplayed Luisão, picked up the ball a few yards farther up and unleashed an unstoppable effort into the goal. The score was level again. 

Example #2: The team effort 

The last match between Arsenal and Tottenham started at lightning strike pace. Tottenham's third-minute goal was textbook breakaway play - in a collective effort that should be praised. 

1st moment: Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker (blue circle) makes an interception, passes the ball to Gareth Bale (first dotted yellow line) and immediately starts sprinting. When the ball gets to Bale, Adebayor moves to the left to meet Bale's pass (second dotted yellow line), dragging the defender out of position. Notice how Saha (green circle), the player who would eventually score the goal, is all alone. 

2nd moment: Walker (blue circle) continues his movement and drags the second centre-back with him, leaving acres of space for Saha (green circle) to run into.  

3rd moment: Walker (blue circle) finishes his run knowing his job is done: When the second Arsenal centre-back notices how much space there is left behind him, it's already too late and Adebayor has already passed the ball to Saha (green circle). A few seconds later, Tottenham were in front.

Both these cases are a perfect example of how to make the most of a quick transition from defence to attack, showing how important it is never to lose your team's balance, even - or especially - when the ball is yours.

When in Rome

Starting lineups

In a standoffish match, Sporting managed to grab a 1-0 victory that could prove absolutely decisive in one week's time. Sporting manager Ricardo Sá Pinto was clearly humble enough to learn from FC Porto's mistakes in the last round against the same opponent and chose a very different approach from Vítor Pereira.

In fact, Sá Pinto went with a somewhat unusual (for Portuguese teams, that is) lopsided 4x4x2 (see image below), mirroring to perfection the expected City's lineup. Carriço and Schaars were in charge of patrolling the area in front of their back four and, even though Capel and Izmailov both completed a line of four, the Russian was much narrower, most likely predicting David Silva's tendency to drift inward. Schaars was instructed to sit a bit further up from Carriço, so that they would be better spread out on the field.

Manchester City were roughly their usual selves in away matches. With Clichy deputising for Micah Richards as right-back, Milner as a sort of right-winger and Silva on the left, City were compelled to go down the central route, crashing against the well-drilled Sporting defence.

Instead of playing the match as if both teams were equal, the Lions started carefully, wary of leaving their defensive line exposed (like FC Porto did on both games). Faced with an English team with Italian DNA, Sá Pinto was happy to play the underdog and give the control of the match to City, hoping that Sporting would outpace them in quick breakaways. With Izmailov helping out defensively in the middle of the park, almost every intercepted ball quickly found João Pereira's path, particularly because - it's a well-known fact - David Silva is not keen on tracking back as soon as possible.

City were slow and seemed to think that things would naturally fall into place, shifting the ball from side to side, waiting for Silva to do his usual thing. Van Wolfswinkel and Matías Fernández, in turn, worked very hard trying to keep City's centre-midfielders busy by reducing their passing options. After 25 minutes, Sporting became less cautious and fearful and tried to take the game back to City, namely by shooting from long range.

The first half came to its end and both teams seemed more afraid of conceding a goal than willing to score one. Xandão scored a wonderful back-heel quickly into the second half and it looked like the game had to open up. Even though Sporting were a bit too eager to take their cues from the crowd in the minutes that followed, they managed to maintain their emotional control and resisted the temptation to ride the wave, sticking to their game plan instead.

While Mancini replaced Dzeko (another uninspiring display from the Bosnian) with Balotelli, Sá Pinto tried to make sure that Sporting would not concede what might prove to a crucial away goal to City by bringing on Pereirinha and Renato Neto for Izmailov and Matías, respectively. The message was clear to everyone: the result was perfect and their one-goal advantage was to remain intact. Balotelli was in fact the only Citizen able to cause problems for Sporting (chiefly the short-tempered João Pereira) and City came very close to the equalizer in the final stages of the game, including a header from Balotelli that hit the crossbar.

In conclusion, Sporting manager acknowledged the differences between the two teams and managed to convince his players that they had to work very hard and be willing to see less of the ball, if they were to succeed. His Italian approach worked to perfection and Mancini is once again reminded of his own shortcomings when it comes to European competitions, even if Sporting can count themselves fortunate.

Individually, I would like to highlight Matías Fernández's work rate and presence, since he was the main link between defence and attack, providing the team's first out-ball, but I would also like to praise the ill-regarded Anderson Polga. While Xandão showed once again that he can be a valuable asset to the squad, the Brazilian world champion showed that he still is a very good player when the defensive line is not constantly caught off-guard.

A one-sided tale

Yesterday's match between Benfica and Zenit St. Petersburg was all too familiar. Just like it had happened against FC Porto during the group stage, the Russian team didn't seem to want the ball at all, meaning it was a one way-street all along. Even when they found themselves trailing and opened up, they couldn't muster more than one shot on goal. Therefore, the report for this match will try to shed some light on Benfica - the team that actually wanted to play football - and just a pinch about Zenit. Here are five things we have learnt.

1. Unlike the match vs FC Porto, Benfica coach Jorge Jesus allowed Witsel to play  further up. While it left Javi García somewhat outnumbered in the midfield battle, it allowed the Eagles to exert pressure in more advanced areas while defending and to create overloads on the wings while attacking. It's no coincidence that Benfica spent the whole first half harassing Zenit's left wing.
2. Maxi Pereira is an unsung hero. Never mind the decisive goal he scored last night. The Uruguayan is capable of going back and forth for the whole match, overlap his winger, shoot on goal and still be on the right place to make a defensive interception a few seconds later. He is definitely Benfica's little engine that could.
3. Nélson Oliveira is clearly the man for the job. While taking notes about the game during the first half, I was scribbling something like "Why not Nélson Oliveira for Rodrigo?". Now, it's not my intention to act all prescient, but the Portuguese forward showed last U-20 World Championship that he can singlehandedly inflict damage on any defence. Even though he is not as technically gifted as Rodrigo, he is much more combative and intense, which was just what Benfica needed, especially when all eyes were on Cardozo.
4. Jorge Jesus seems to have finally understood the need to shut up shop some times. After scoring the first goal, the team didn't seem eager to go for the second and third and fourth, all the while opening up spaces behind them. If anything, they went perhaps too far back, but controlling the game is an essential aspect, particularly in the Champions League. The fact that Matic came one for Gaitán was proof that the Portuguese manager is capable of learning from his mistakes.
5. Despite the many Russian players in their squad, Zenit is clearly an Italian team. Luciano Spalletti managed to instil the classic Italian values on to his team, taking us all back to the nineties, where catenaccio was king. The only problem about that approach is that, after finding yourself trailing on aggregate, you're left with a team that was planned and selected for the draw. As many a manager find sooner than later, changing your team's chip during a match is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever get.

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.

Hold steady

In line with recent developments, I am proud to announce that the latest installment of this Website can be found in the excellent PortuGOAL.net, in the following address: http://www.portugoal.net/index.php/more-liga-sagres-news/31786-benfica-porto-tactical-breakdown. Any comments you might have will be most welcome.

Champions in the making?

Starting lineups

Friday's matchup between Benfica and FC Porto was announced as a potential title decider. With the teams level on points, the final score wouldn't necessarily mean mathematical certainty about the eventual Portuguese champion, but it would definitely make a dent on the losing team's aspirations. Both coaches weren't exactly inspirational in their press conferences and therefore a cagey match was expected.

• 1. The first 20 minutes

FC Porto surprised their opponent by not sitting back, soaking pressure and taking advantage of Benfica's high line, rather exerting pressure up front, with Janko with clear instructions to occupy Luisão's area, Lucho told to mark Javi García (or Garay, depending on who brought the ball forward) and Moutinho with an eye on Witsel, should he drop back to get the ball. Vítor Pereira was no doubt trying to choke Benfica's build-up play by placing his midfield between their usual two banks of five.

Benfica finding it hard to get the ball out from the back

Benfica were clearly not expecting this attitude from their opponent, making a lot of wayward passes in their build-up, where they usually are very good. However, the thing that really got the game going and opened it up was Hulk's goal, after just 7 minutes. FC Porto became even more confident and Benfica seemed a bit overwhelmed by it all. For the first 20 minutes, the Dragons were almost perfect in stopping the ball even getting to Aimar - and the fact that neither winger dropped back to get the ball out didn't help either. 

With Witsel instructed to get side by side with Javi García and Aimar not helping defensively, FC Porto's triangle-shaped midfield were able to bypass their two banks of four, with loads of space between them. 

Benfica's two banks of four, leaving too much space for Lucho and Moutinho to operate in

To make matters worse for Benfica, Djalma was excellent both in dragging Maxi Pereira out of the wing and into the middle (which meant Maxi didn't know whether he should follow him or hold his ground), and in helping out defensively, so the visitors' midfield wouldn't be overrun.

• 2. 20 - 63 minutes

20 minutes into the match, the home team started balancing things out. Witsel pushed forward and left Javi García's side, meaning that he could finally be the link between defence and attack, but it also meant that he was able to pressure FC Porto in their own build-up, winning the ball back closer to FC Porto's goal. The Dragons, in turn, dropped back, possibly with an eye on Hulk's speed in behind the Eagles' defence.

Fernando spent most of the first half getting close to Nolito (who got the nod ahead of Bruno César), trying to stop him from turning to goal and therefore helping out Maicon not to lose his balance. However, after the initial period, Nolito managed to either turn or get the ball out of his area and into Aimar, who usually had more space to get into, since Fernando was busy elsewhere.

It was no surprise that Benfica levelled the score on 41 minutes - particularly because FC Porto have seemed too soft on set pieces throughout the whole season. It was more of a surprise to see Benfica getting one goal up in a set piece they have been doing all season long - apparently, the away team's scouting department has a few things to sort out. FC Porto's plan for the second half (drop back and look for the breakaway, as seen in the picture below) had to be reviewed.

FC Porto's defensive shape at the start of the second half: a clear, expectant 4x1x4x1

Vítor Pereira immediately turned to James Rodríguez, but, in a decision that had everything to potentially cost him his job, replaced Rolando with the Colombian, meaning that Maicon would step in as left centre-back and Djalma as the improvised right-back. As previewed elsewhere, Benfica couldn't control the match and the team started breaking in two sides of five, leaving the midfield area wide open. In fact, it was precisely because of that that James and Fernando were able to win the ball back 65 yards from Benfica's goal and run upfield at ease - they weren't up against any opponent until Luisão came out, near the box. It was the 63rd minute - the score was level again.

• 3. 63 - 90 minutes

FC Porto's second goal was clearly a punch in the gut for the Lisbon team and the team started to collapse both physically and mentally. Spaces opened up and it was certainly no surprise that shortly afterwards Hulk found space to run into behind Emerson, which gave way to the latter's ejection. Jesus' option to go with Gaitán as left-back meant Hulk and Djalma were up against Gaitán and Nolito - not exactly the two best defenders in the world. As expected, the away team were suddenly awash with space to run into. 

With an extra man, FC Porto were intelligent in moving the ball from side to side, trying to tire Benfica out. By the time the match was drawing to its end, Vítor Pereira took another huge gamble by replacing João Moutinho with Kléber, telling the team loud and clear that he wanted to win the match. The away team would score the winning goal with James' free kick to Maicon's head seconds later.

• Conclusion

FC Porto were perhaps a bit fortunate in getting the win, but their initial plan to pressure Benfica really turned the game on its head. Benfica showed their usual strengths, but were also predictably weak in the aspect that most aficionados know by now: as the game goes on, the team tend to break in two and leave their back four exposed (with no one around but Javi García to help out).