Match analysis: Juventus – Real Madrid

By Michail Tsokaktsidis

Juventus defeated Real Madrid with 2-1 in the first leg of the Champions

League semifinal. This result proved that Allegri’s side not only has been the

best Italian team for the last five years but also has become one of the best

clubs in Europe.

FORMATIONS

1st Half: Taking advantage of the numbers up in midfield

Juventus: Massimiano Allegri started with 4-3-1-2 which together with 3-5-2,

are the formations used by Juve during this season. Pirlo was in the base of

the rhombus shape in midfield, while Marchisio was on the right and Sturaro

on the left (as Pogba was unavailable). Vidal was on top behind Morata and

Tevez.

During the attacking phase the main tactical aims of the home side were two:

a) the building up with quick vertical passes in order to take advantage of

Morata and Tevez in the 2 v 2 situation against Varane and Pepe. In order for

this aim to be obtained, Juventus midfielders used either passes behind the

back of the defenders,

or passed the ball straight to the forwards and then moved quickly forward

(mainly Vidal, Sturaro and Marchisio) to provide support and use combination

play, b) when the immediate vertical pass wasn’t possible to be obtained they

tried to control the tempo by passing around with patience, searching for the

right moment to use one of the two attacking ways that were mentioned in the

first aim.

During the positive transition the main aim for Juve was again to play

immediately a vertical pass. This was done in the beginning of the match with

the pass from Marchisio towards Vidal.

In order to obtain this, the Italian team tried to take advantage of the numbers

up situation in midfield, where there was a 3 + 1 v 2 situation (Pirlo, Marchisio,

Sturaro and Vidal vs Kroos and Ramos), while the width was created by

Lichtsteiner and Evra or by Sturaro and Marchisio from time to time.

Pirlo used to take up positions between Ronaldo and Bale in order to receive

behind them. In case he was free of marking, he could easily make a vertical

pass by exploiting the numbers up in midfield.

When Kroos or Ramos moved to put him under pressure, Pirlo’s next move

depended on how Isco and James reacted. So for example in the case that

Isco converged towards the inside to mark the right midfielder (in the picture

below it’s Vidal) the right wing back (Lichtsteiner) was left free of marking. At

the same time the other central midfielder of Real, (Ramos) was placed

between two opponents. In case that Isco shifted towards the right wing back,

the right midfielder was left free and could easily receive and turn.

In case that either Isco or James moved to close Pirlo down and Ramos

together with Kroos stayed near the right and left midfielder of Juve the extra

man for the home side was the attacking midfielder Vidal. If either Kroos or

Ramos stayed near Vidal and the respective side midfielder (Isco or James),

shifted towards the inside, the player who stayed free was the wing back or

the side midfielder (as it appears on the picture Tevez has moved into side

midfielder’s position while Marchisio and Lichtsteiner provided width).

Finally when Pirlo dropped back between the central defenders to create 3 v 2

and start the build up from the back, Vidal dropped also back to provide an

extra passing option by creating a 3 v 2 or a 5 v 4 in midfield (Lichtsteiner,

Evra, Sturaro, Marchisio and Vidal vs Ramos, Kroos, James and Isco).

This tactical approach enabled Juve to dominate during the first 15-20’, and

create 3-4 scoring chances. Juventus could dominate even under heavy

pressure from Real (especially after 1-0). Juventus players tried with

confidence to build up from the back and break through the opposition’s

pressing by using vertical passes. This kind of building up left many Real

players (in some cases six) out of defensive positions.

Morata’s attempt to send the ball over Casillas after Bonucci’s long pass in 7th

minute was characteristic.

Another one characteristic movement during Juve’s attacking phase, was

when Tevez dropped back between the lines to get free of marking and

receive behind the midfielders. After receiving he tried to attack through the

centre by obtaining a vertical pass.

During the defensive phase Juve defended mainly within the middle third.

They retained the 4-3-1-2 formation and tried to maintain cohesion and

numbers up in midfield when the ball was in the centre.

The players retained the rhombus shape even when the ball was near the

side lines.

When Real moved the ball quickly from the one side to the other in order to

exploit their advantage near the side line (as it is shown in the formations

diagram), the side midfielders of Juve Marchisio and Sturaro shifted quickly to

provide support to the wing backs Lichtsteiner Evra and avoid a 1 v 2

situation. In these cases, as Pirlo shifted also towards the strong side, Vidal

dropped between Pirlo and the weak side’s side midfielder to fill the gap and

retain cohesion in midfield. This made the formation look like 4-4-2.

From time to time Juve pressed high up the field. In these cases they were

focused on putting pressure on specific players such as Pepe and Carvajal.

This resulted Sturaro’s interception and Tevez’s shooting on goal in 18th

minute.

Juve during the defensive phase performed excellently as individuals as well

as in groups. The players applied pressure, provided cover and had very good

positioning.

They also applied double marking and created numbers up.

However when they made their first mistake, Real managed to score the

equalizer. Specifically Chiellini moved to put pressure on Carvajal near the

side line, while at the same time Evra didn’t manage to provide cover on time.

The ball was moved to James behind Chiellini and Bonucci shifted to put him

under pressure. However this reaction left Ronaldo free of marking as

Lichtsteiner stayed with Bale.

VIDEO

Real Madrid: Carlo Ancelotti started with 4-4-2. As Modric and Benzema were

unavailable, Bale was upfront together with Ronaldo. However this didn’t

enable Real to have the fluidity they used to have in previous matches (when

the formation was changed to 4-3-3 during the attacking phase). In midfield,

Ramos was next to Kroos, as against Atletico, while Isco and James were the

side midfielders. The only difference, as it was mentioned, was Bale’s

positioning near Ronaldo replacing Hernandez, while on the left Marcelo was

brought in instead of Coentrao.

During the defensive phase Real started by applying pressing within the

middle third. Bale and Ronaldo were placed 10-15m above the half way line,

but as time went by they pressed higher.

Real applied pressing with little intensity and the players’ movements lacked

synchronization. This helped Juve dominate and score. The picture below

shows that despite the fact that 8 Real players are behind the ball, there is

poor positioning by Varane and Marcelo as well as lack of pressure on the ball

carrier Marchisio.

As it was shown on the formation diagram, Real had numbers up near the

side lines and they tried to take advantage of it after the 20th minute. From the

beginning Real’s intention was to play passes behind the defenders in order

to exploit the speed of the two forwards, but Juventus defenders reacted well.

The only danger for Juve came in 23rd minute after Isco’s pass towards

Ronaldo, but the last one missed the chance.

After the first 20 minutes Real moved the ball from side to side in order to

unbalance Juventus and score. The first goal came after combination play

near the side line but the most characteristic attacking play was when James’

header hit the post.

2nd Half: Scoring during positive transition and switching to 5-

3-2 helped Juve win

The same situations took place in the 2nd half until 57th minute, when Juve

won a penalty kick after a successful positive transition in a 2 v 2 situation.

Scoring the second gave Juve players more confidence and extra boost

especially during defensive phase.

Ancelotti brought in Hernandez replacing Isco, and switched to 4-3-3, with

Bale on the right, Ronaldo on the left and Hernandez on top. Immediately

after this, Real missed a scoring chance with Ronaldo. Allegri’s reaction was

Barzagli’s coming in, in the place of Sturaro. The formation was changed to 5-

3-2, with the aim of effective defending.

From this time and on Juve got stronger in the centre and despite the fact that

Real had possession, they couldn’t create scoring chances.

Ronaldo and Bale were blocked as they had to deal with two players near the

side line and there was always support from the inside by Juve midfielders.

Furthermore Juve was excellent during defending against crosses.

As regards the attacking phase the home side had the same aims mentioned

before. The 5-3-2 helped them retain possession by moving the ball around

(through taking advantage of Evra’s and Lichtsteiner positioning) and they

missed a chance to score the third with Llorente in 87th minute during positive

transition.

Conclusion: The match showed that Juventus was prepared better both

tactically and mentally than Real. They exploited their advantages against

Ancelotti’s team and after the first leg they increased their chances in

reaching the Champions League final.