Passing sequences for Schalke and Real Madrid in the Champions League
The two teams met in the UEFA Champions League last week and I thought it would be interesting to see how many passes each team made when they had possession of the ball and if the figures varied according to where they regained possession. I analyzed the second half of the game in which Real Madrid had a 1-0 lead at halftime.
I recorded the information using a pen and paper and wrote down which third of the field where possession was regained and then the number of passes. When the other team won the ball I recorded the same information so that when the game was finished I would know where each team won the ball, the number of passes they made and where they lost it. I made a few notes along the way, such as attempt at goal, foul, throw-in or offside because a stoppage in play often meant one of the teams would have consecutive possessions. When a replay of an event was shown and then the live action appeared on the TV screen I recorded the information from that point onwards, unless I knew, for example, that possession had been regained from a goal kick because the replay was the attempt at goal that led to it.
Summary of Possession
Madrid had 68 possessions of which 50 were for five passes or less.
Schalke had 59 possessions of which 50 were for five passes or less.
Regained Possession in each third of the field
Madrid regained possession 28 times in their back third (B3rd), 21 times in their own half of midfield (OH), 16 times in the opponents half of midfield (TH) =37 times in midfield and 3 times in the final third (F3rd).
Schalke regained possession 26 times in their back third (B3rd), 18 times in their own half of midfield (OH), 9 times in the opponents half of midfield (TH), = 27 times in midfield and 6 times in the final third (F3rd).
Final 3rd entries from inside Own Half
Madrid regained possession in their own half 49 times (B3rd 28 + OHMF 21) and of these, lost possession in the Final 3rd 20 times and scored 1 goal. (B3rd = 10 times, 3 from 6+ passes and 7 from <5 passes) (OH = 11 times, 4 from 6+ passes and 7 from <5 passes), which is a 43% success rate in reaching the final third from inside Madrid’s own half.
Schalke regained possession in their own half 44 times (B3rd 26 + OHMF 18) and of these, lost possession in the Final 3rd 13 times with 1 attempt goal. (B3rd = 5 times, 2 from 6+ passes and 3 from <5 passes) (OH = 8 times, 3 from 6+ passes and 5 from <5 passes), which is an 18% success rate in reaching the final third from inside Schalke’s own half.
Possessions – 6 passes or more.
Madrid had 18 possessions with 6 passes or more without an attempt at goal, 10 possessions of between 6-9 passes and 8 possessions with 10 passes or more, the longest was 24 passes.
Schalke had 9 possessions with 6 passes or more with 1 attempt at goal, 5 possessions of between 6-9 passes and 4 possessions with 10 passes or more, the longest was 12 passes.
Attempts at Goal
Madrid had 3 attempts at goal, 2 from Set Plays and one in Open Play, which produced the goal. The goal came from a regained passion in Madrid’s own half of midfield and a sequence of 5 passes.
Schalke had 3 attempts at goal all in Open Play, one from regained possession in Schalke’s own half of midfield and two from the opponent’s half of midfield (TH), one of which hit the cross bar.
What can we learn from this?
First of all the information can be used to compare the two teams in this match for all of the categories that have been listed, e.g. Final 3rd entries from inside Own Half. That may need to be clarified because losing the ball in the Final 3rd may be the result of playing the ball behind the opposing defense from the midfield area, which is a different situation to having possession in the Final 3rd and then losing it.
It is noticeable that Madrid lost 43% of possessions regained inside it’s own half in the Final 3rd, compared with Schalke’s 18%. Were Madrid very good in this respect and were Schalke poor? It may reflect the difference in attempts to play the ball behind the opposition and/or the team’s ability to keep the ball. The point is that some statistics from match analysis need to be used with the game in mind, that’s why visual analysis is so useful.
If more analysis is done on the same teams it would be possible to build a performance profile and an expectancy of what each team might produce in the immediate future. Analysis can highlight problems that need to be addressed or show where improvements have been made over time as a result of the coaching process.
Benchmarks from teams at the top level can provide a performance guideline of what might be deemed to be good, average or poor. If you analyze your team and develop a performance profile and you get similar results to Real Madrid you might consider that you are doing quite well at your level of play.
Football is a highly predictable game in that the vast majority of goals are scored from inside 23 meters from goal and mostly inside the penalty area, so unless you can get the ball and some of your players within that distance on a regular basis you will not win many matches. How your players arrive there is another matter. The evidence of the high number of goals scored with less than 5 passes also suggests that getting there quickly (within 23 meters of goal) is a sound tactic.
The recording sheet is attached and for more blogs and information about match analysis go to my website, www.thefootballcentre.com.au
