UEFA Champions League: 3 key tactical battles of Round of 16 fixtures
Manchester City vs Barcelona – one of the biggest tactical battles of the season×Proofread Champions League football is here. There is a lot of excitement, there are new teams in the Round of 16 this season and more important than all, Arsenal, even though managed to finish behind Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, has got a weaker opponent in AS Monaco. Leaving all the trivia and nonsense behind us, let us turn our focus to the three main tactical battles that could decide the outcomes of these matches. Here goes the list:
#1 Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid - Two intensely pressing teams.
Last season’s finalists, Atletico Madrid are visiting Bayer Leverkusen, who, according to me, stand on the same ground as the Spanish Champions in terms of their playing philosophies. On paper, Atletico’s formation is 4-4-2 and Leverkusen’s 4-2-3-1. But Bayer manager, Roger Schmidt, who professes a high-intensity pressing game in the opposition half, makes sure that his team modifies to a 4-2-2-2 formation in order to set up the pressing traps. This might force Diego Simeone to change his side’s shape to 4-4-1-1 with Antoine Griezmann playing behind the striker, Mario Mandzukic.
The presence of a player between the forward and midfield line will help Atletico’s midfielders to play deep and neutralize Leverkusen’s high intesity pressing in this region. Griezmann can disrupt the balance in Bayer’s midfield by running wide and dragging along with him one of the defensive midfielders. Since, Gonzalo Castro and Lars Bender are the only players shielding Leverkusen’s defence (the wingbacks get involved in the pressing of the opposition in the midfield region), the movement of Griezmann could hold the key to unlocking the home side’s defense.