Real Madrid 2-1 Juventus: Tactical Analysis

Another amazing Champions League game night was graced by another amazing fixture between two giants of the continent, as Juventus visited the Santiago Bernabeu to play Real Madrid. This was an important game for the Old Lady, as they had drawn their opening 2 fixtures, and a negative result here could make the rest of the group hard work. Real Madrid, on the other hand, had a very different start. 10 goals in their first 2 games and all 6 points, Real came into this game in hot form, looking to probably seal progression.

Real Madrid started the game in a sort of 4-3-3 formation. Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos and Marcelo began the game as the 4. In midfield, Khedira and Illara were the duo that were sitting in midfield, with Modric, playing a drifting role. Up front, Ronaldo started at home, on the left, Benzema in the middle, and Di Maria on the right.

Juventus started in a formation that they don’t usually use, the 4-3-3. The team usually lines up with 3 at the back, but Bonucci was left out this time, and Barzagli and Chiellini formed the central defensive partnership. Ogbonna began at left back, and Caceres at right back. The midfield trio remained the same, Pirlo, Pogba and Vidal. Marchisio was pushed up the pitch to occupy the right hand side of attack, while Tevez handled the left, and Llorente the middle.

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Modric Role

Usually, Real opt for a 4-2-3-1, with someone like Isco playing as the middle component of the 3. Modric too, has taken up that role at times, though one wouldn’t call it his natural position. Today however, Ancelotti gave Modric the license to drift around the pitch. The Croatian play-maker added a lot of vertical movement across the park, generally staying close to the ball, and on or close to the same horizontal line as the ball. The aim was to utilise the play-making of Modric across the pitch, and the Juve midfield trio meant that anyone trying to operate in the non-existent ‘hole’ could be neutralised. It was also a necessity to try and drag the Juve midfielders out of position. The diminutive medio had by far the highest number of touches of the ball from anyone on his team, with 118.

Juventus Drawing Real Out

Conte came in with a counter attacking game plan. His aim was to use the wide areas to attack, and in order to do so effectively, they needed to draw the Los Blancos out of their half. They did this by using two main tactics. Firstly, there was hardly any pressure on the ball from Juventus, especially in the Real Madrid half. The pressure came of course, but only when the ball entered the Juventus half of the field.

Juventus Tackles.
via squawka.com

Another move we saw from Juventus throughout the game was their pattern from goal kicks. every time they won one, they were insistent on passing out to defenders and playing out from the back. Of course, the aim was to bring the Real front men forward, and increase the gap between the forwards and the midfield, opening space for Pirlo to operate in. There were quite a few long passes also played to exploit the space created as a result of the Real pressing.