From heaven to hell and back

A couple of weeks ago, Benfica had just lost first place to FC Porto in the Portuguese championship, the outcome of their Chamipons League tie was uncertain and their manager Jorge Jesus basically had to go. As things stand today, the Eagles may well be Portuguese Champions, win the League Cup and have the opportunity to fight Chelsea for a place in the Champions League semi-finals. Things surely change fast, when it comes to football, don't they?

Yesterday's League Cup match between Benfica and FC Porto was an interesting event, far from what both managers tried to make us think - something that neither team really wanted to win. The match was all too similar to the latest league fixture and therefore the analysis will tackle more specific issues.


Benfica

• 1. There's logic in chaos. Remember Maxi Pereira's goal against Zenit? Now take a look at Benfica's positioning for last night's first goal and see if you can spot the differences. Once again, Witsel (pink), Bruno César (yellow) and Maxi Pereira (green) pressure and overload their opponent's left side.

• 2. Benfica still defensively vulnerable through the middle. If the Eagles want to be successful against powerhouses such as Chelsea, it's mandatory that they can exert better control over their adversary. Yesterday, we often saw the mere presence of Javi and Witsel a bit further up in the centre, which makes it very easy to overrun them.

• 3. Benfica excel in set pieces. Even though it's a bit hard to understand why exactly other teams don't seem to be aware of it, Benfica keep on being prolific from set pieces. Last night was just another example (there were three other shots that hit the woodwork), just like the previous match between these two teams or the Zenit match.

Luisão (yellow) at the far post, freeing up Javi García (blue)

Luisão (yellow) offers the screening to free up Javi García (blue). Déjà vu, anyone?

• 4. Benfica showed once again they are capable of adapting within the match. After being beaten for Mangala's goal, Jorge Jesus changed the distribution of Benfica's typical zonal marking approach.

Benfica's typical zonal marking, with no coverage in front of their line. Mangala would score.

Benfica adapted their zonal marking shape for the second half.
FC Porto would not create another scoring chance from set pieces.

FC Porto

• 1. The left wing is still an express way for opponents. Despite his transfer fee, Alex Sandro proved he is still too green for these heights and that he is no substitute for Álvaro Pereira (for now, at least). In turn, Álvaro Pereira proved once again that his defensive contribution can be sketchy (to say the least), at times. Even with João Moutinho helping down that wing, the Eagles kept ramming FC Porto's left side.

• 2. FC Porto hurt their rival's open wound. Aware that Benfica were vulnerable defending set pieces, the Dragons didn't hesitate. Mangala's goal from Moutinho's free kick certainly  had  nothing to do with chance. The ball was sent to the exact same spot as James' free kick for Maicon's head.

FC Porto scored from an all too familiar free kick

• 3. FC Porto were better at controlling the game. With Defour, Moutinho and Lucho, FC Porto were capable of dictating the tempo of the game and provide better defensive coverage for their back four. Unlike Benfica, where Javi García is often left stranded, FC Porto are better at defending the centre of the park.

FC Porto always tried to make sure they were up in numbers in defensive situations.

• 4. Your opponent will charge down the right? Then motor down that side yourselves. Despite having Hulk against Capdevila (an odd option for this particular match), FC Porto tried to exploit Maxi Pereira's surges upfield and the lack of protection from Bruno César. Lucho, usually defending more to the right, would often drift to the left to overload that side.

Maxi Pereira, Javi García and Witsel are all drawn to their right side. Notice how little protection these players have.

After a simple one-two move, FC Porto's three players break free, once again

Conclusion

All in all, it was an interesting, even match. Even though this was a lesser competition, neither team wanted to lose and give away the upper hand for the league (which was what really was at stake, here). FC Porto were better in open play (tiring out in the second half), but Benfica was just irresistible from set pieces.

Manchester City-Sporting

The report on the match between Manchester City and Sporting is now available on PortuGOAL.net.

What would Barcelona be without Messi? Check out Bilbao

Starting lineups

Athletic Bilbao's triumph over Manchester United was nothing short of a fairy tale. With no Messi and a coach that arrived less than a year ago, a team traditionally used to long balls aiming at their target man was able to radically change their style of play thanks to the manager's attention to detail and ability to sell his ideas. The Spaniards' display against Man Utd on both legs made it plain to see that it is indeed possible to play positive football, even if you don't have Xavi, Messi and Iniesta.

United had an almost impossible task on their hands and turned to experience to try to beat the odds - Giggs, Park, Ferdinand and Rooney all got the nod. Faced with an uphill battle, the red devils tried to take it to Athletic Bilbao and exert pressure in advanced areas of the field.

United tried to stifle Bilbao, at first

Nevertheless, United are not used to this sort of strategy and Bilbao seemed more than confident about how to best bypass it. It was however an incredibly open match and both teams seemed to want to provide an goal-fest. Marcelo Bielsa's team could have just waited it out, but their DNA doesn't allow it, apparently.

Just like it had been the case during the first leg, Bilbao was almost man-marking Manchester United out of the game, confident in their coordination, speed and intensity - starting with the excellent (former midfielder) Javi Martínez marking Wayne Rooney everywhere he went. Giggs looked lost for most of the match (Sir Alex Ferguson has yet to realise that his team rarely win important matches with Giggs in central midfield) as he wasn't sure if he was supposed to drop back and help out or stay up and try to overload his opponent.

Bilbao were pretty much man-marking their opponents

Carrick was heroic in his holding role, but he was essentially alone. Park and Cleverley often exchanged positions, but both failed to help the Englishman in his efforts to stop their energetic rival. Bilbao's midfield provided enough of a challenge, but Javi Martínez's surges forward were just more than United could handle. The first goal of the game came on Patrice Evra's side - his defensive positioning is becoming more and more questionable. As in Dirk Kuyt's goal in the match against Liverpool, Evra seemed to forget to close the space between him and the centre-back and Llorente had no mercy. United's dream was all but over.

From then on, there was virtually nothing left but to watch Bielsa's perfectly-drilled side in their magnificent pressing - the coordination and solidarity are impressive - and triangle-shaped combinations, creating scoring chance after scoring chance. In the end, the result was more than flattering for United, considering the numerous clear-cut chances Bilbao had to get a historical win.

The man on the ball always had at least two passing options

After easily getting out from the back, Bilbao get ready to create yet another chance

Another example of how to bypass your opponent

Two perfect triangles

In a time where player power is king, it's almost impossible to believe that a coach can change a team so set in their ways in such radical fashion. Bilbao are living what seems to be an unforgettable season and their showdown against Barcelona for the Copa del Rey's final should be wonderful to watch. In conclusion, I would like to add how reassuring it is to see Iturraspe and Javi Martínez leading and instructing their team mates - perfectly aware of their ideal positioning and always ready to lend a hand, if necessary.

Sporting near tragedy after a perfect first half

Starting lineups

Both Manchester teams had one last opportunity to make it to the next round. City's task seemed less daunting, but Mancini wanted no compromise, choosing a rather different side for the second leg. Instead of the more defensive-minded De Jong and Barry, the Italian coach went with Pizarro and Touré in the middle and Johnson instead of Milner. It seemed Mancini had learnt enough about his opponent in the away match and tried to counter with his own strategy.

Pizarro's presence meant City could coordinate their attacks from behind, instead of relying on David Silva.  If there's one thing Pizarro excels at, it's shuffling the ball from one side to another and spraying diagonal balls to the flanks. In fact, that seemed City's route of choice - Pizarro (or Yaya Touré) would move the ball around and then try to connect with Johnson on the right wing. With Micah Richards also trying to push forward and Yaya Touré on the same side, there was enough space for Sporting to break away.

As for Sporting, the picture below is a perfect example of their strategy - in fact, it wasn't that much different from the first match. The Lions had a good start, with clearly defined pressure zones and a tendency to exploit the space behind Richards. However, that strategy wasn't necessarily the most useful here - since Pizarro was running the show in an area that Sporting wasn't prepared to reach.

Sporting in a classic 4x4x2, with Izmailov tucked in

One of the key aspects of every opponent that goes up against City is how to defuse David Silva's threat. Sporting manager Ricardo Sá Pinto chose once again to use Izmailov narrower than Capel, but this time the Russian midfielder was almost man-marking the Spanish wizard. By doing that, Kolarov was able to motor down the right wing, which meant Carriço was dragged on to that side, to make sure that the Portuguese team always had 2v1 situations.

Izmailov often came narrower than Carriço and Schaars, following Silva

Conversely, it meant that Sporting found it easy to overload Kolarov down that flank, since Silva was not eager to track back and there was no De Jong or Barry for the defensive work. On the other wing, Capel showed once again that he may never fulfil his potential, since his movement and decision-making are strangely similar to a winger from the '90s.

Sporting's two goals came from City's oddly bad defensive positioning. The first one was a wonderfully taken free kick by Matías Fernández, as a result of a desperate tackle from Balotelli on Insúa in the space behind Yaya Touré (once again). The second was even stranger, since it was a dead ball some 60 yards from goal. Polga made a long pass to the right wing and Savic's decision to go for the aerial duel wasn't as awkward as the team's decision to provide absolutely no cover for the second ball. Sporting were two goals up by half-time - and deservedly so.

Savic goes for a late aerial duel with unbelievably poor coverage from his team.
Notice how far his team mates are

Mancini replaced Johnson with De Jong for the second half, going for something of a 4x2x3x1, with Pizarro and De Jong in the middle. The Italian seemed to finally realise that it was pointless to insist on the wings, where it was obvious Sporting always had the numerical advantage there. City's first goal was a logical follow-up to that reasoning, with Balotelli creating indecision on who should mark whom and opening up space. Sporting's classic 4x4x2 was easy to bypass through the centre and once City realised that, the floodgates opened up.

As if that wasn't enough, the removal of both Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Matías meant that Sporting had no out-ball and that City was able to pile on the pressure. The Lions were tiring out and Renato Neto's foolish penalty didn't help things. The Portuguese ended the match in unnecessarily desperate fashion, forced to last-ditch efforts to try to avoid what would be a tragic and overall unfair outcome.

Pereirinha and Izmailov's performance should be highlighted. The former was his usual self: sensible, solid and level-headed. The latter was a true hero and it's not every day you see a player of his calibre going to such lengths for the sake of the team.

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.