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It’s everyone’s favorite time of year, for a lot of the world the leaves are changing, the holidays are right around the corner, and best of all the Champions league is back. There’s nothing like the best of the best fighting for a title. The wins, the losses, the upsets, and the predicted all come together to form a tournament like no other. The epic highs and lows of champions league football all start with the group stages. Twelve match days spread over a few months to determine who moves on. The sixth match day has officially come and gone, with the midpoint finally being upon us it only makes sense to see who’s leading and succeeding and who can’t seem to get it together.
Bayern Munich
Group A is far from the most competitive group this season so it’s no surprise seeing Bayern in the groups first place position. The club's aggressive offense and history of domination makes them seem a super power. Bayern has opted to run a 4-2-3-1 formation but interestingly they seem to be struggling with the main point of the formation. A 4-2-3-1, or everyones favorite new trend, lends itself very nicely to an overloaded midfield in the form of boxes created by midfielders and surrounding players. In the early stages of their game against Copenhagen, the club seemed unwilling to have players move off lines let alone rotate positions. This didn’t present any major issue for the Germans as they went on to win 2-1. In the three games so far played Bayern spent most of the game in the other teams half with some aggressive and impressive attacking, however this strong attacking left them weak in defense at some points. This was seen most recently against Galatasary who caught an early hole in defense and scored first. The holes left occasionally left in their defense can and are quickly capitalized on by the opposition teams leaving Bayern in a deficit they can’t always make up. Overall the clubs performance has been nothing short of the usual but their interesting take on a popular formation and strong attacking could prove to be their Achilles heel in this tough battle for the championship.
Galatasaray
Group A may not have a very intense first place fight but the race for second has been a tight one the current winner is Galatasary the club has had a bit of a rough go of it this season but they have made some impressive adaptations. The club has proven themselves to be a team that can adapt to their opposition. Against Man City having their forewords come deeper back allowed them to take advantage of a high City defense and gain the upper hand in the match. The Turkish club plays a 4-2-3-1 and operates semi successfully with it. In their game against Manchester United they were able to utilize weaknesses the club has with grouping to get the final score to be 3-2. While the club is offensively intelligent their defense needs loads of work. The club is yet to have a clean sheet in the tournament with multiple goals routinely being scored against them. Offense can get a lead but defense is what keeps it a lead. The Turkish club has put up a fair fight but ultimately in a league of the best making it to the round of 16 will be difficult for them. If they find themselves out of the group stages I don’t foresee them going very far.
Arsenal
Group B’s first place position is currently occupied by Premier league side Arsenal. The club who ran into some issues in the beginning of their season seem to have found their footing recently. Unfortunately for Arsenal they were unable to find their flow before their game against Lens. Arsenal plays a 4-3-3 formation which typically gives them a midfield advantage or at the very least an equal midfield however in their fixture against Lens the club found themselves wildly over powered and well defended leading to their loss. While the club held extremely high possession rates they failed to create productive chances or find a move around the French teams defense. Arsenal players seemed to fail to find a cohesive flow, something crucial to their core playing style, at times it seemed the players were hardly aware of where each other were. The 67% possession rate combined with the loss summarizes a lot of what one needs to know about Arsenal's current Champions league run. Arsenal redeemed itself against Sevilla leading early and showing their ability to work through defense and dominate the midfield. While the team was in a rough patch they still have a strong strategy and while they likely won’t finish first the round of 16 is definitely in their sights.
Lens
Moving down to group B the competition for first heats up a bit. French side Lens had control of the table but lost it after a disappointing tie to PSV. The club has an excellent goalkeeper and runs a 3-4-2-1 giving them a solid base for both the midfield and defense. The benefits of this formation were on full display in the club's game against Arsenal where their ability to overpower in the midfield combined with their ability to quickly drop back to defense gave them a 2-1 win. The club diverts from the now widely popular positional play and frankly every modern strategy in not focusing on possession. Against Arsenal the club had a 33% possession rate yet still managed the win. Rather than have the ball themselves the club makes certain the opposition can’t get anywhere with it. Their maneuverability and aggression is incredible however this low possession rate leaves them in a vulnerable possession when having to deal with more aggressive offenses later down the line. This relaxed play style is what killed the club against PSV. Their lack of possession left them vulnerable to an early goal and while the club did manage to equalize they didn’t have the offensive strength to take what should have been an easy win. Lens performance in the champions league has been a solid one so far with a flexible and extremely effective defensive midfield yet the club plays a big risk game with their low possession rates.
Real Madrid
Leading group C is last year's disappointing performance on all fronts. Real Madrid is definitely hungry to prove they still have a place at the top of the footballing world. At the forefront of this comeback tour is star boy Jude Bellingham who has done absolute wonders for the club. In their first Champions League game this season the club found themselves tied 0-0 with very little time on the clock until Belligham made a game winning goal. The club seems to recognise the benefit coming from their newest signing as the formation they’ve been running is a 3-4-1-2 this play on the popular formation provides a perfect pocket for the young star to operate in giving him a strong midfield presence while still keeping goal scoring opportunities open. This adaptation has allowed the club to play to its strengths. Surprisingly there are other players besides Bellingham in Real Madrid's squad. Beyond their star boy the club has an incredibly adaptive defense. Against Napoli defenders were quick to work out Napoli’s strategy and overload defense to take away their much needed passing lanes. The defense struggled a bit more against Napoli but still managed the win. For all their good the club still has their share of struggles, similar to most women in hetrosexual relationships, the club has a hard time finishing. In both matches players like Rordrygo and Vinicius Jr. have struggled to find those needed goals; the two have begun to redeem themselves as Vinicius scored a needed goal against Napoli. Real Madrid is getting the ball in the position but needs some work in the execution. After last year it would be easy to write Madrid out of real competition but the top form the club has recently found themselves in makes them a real threat.
Napoli
Group C’s number two is the recently resurrected Italian club of Napoli. The club which has been molly whopping teams in Serie A is now taking the whopping on the road. The club runs a 4-3-3 wide formation and at times has a tiki taka like style of passing. The 4-3-3 naturally opens up a lot of passing lanes in the midfield which many teams have recently taken advantage of; however Napoli’s advantage doesn’t come from the lanes themselves but rather from the way they use them. In the early minutes of the match against Real Madrid, Napoli used quick one touch passes to move the ball up the field and create some incredible scoring chances while this one touch passing died off as the game continued it proved extremely effective while the club used it. Later on the club shifted to a more personal possession focus however this change correlated with a drop off in scoring opportunities. Napoli has an incredible strategy not widely used anymore, which makes it harder to defend against, right under their nose. Overall the teams return to the Champions League appears to be headed in the right direction even if they can only manage a second place group finish.
Real Sociedad
Group D, a group full of clubs unlikely to be winners, is currently being led by La Liga side Real Sociedad. The club runs a 4-4-2 format which has a pretty heavy commitment to defense. While this strategy makes sense against power house clubs, Sociedad isn’t facing any real giants this season. That being said a defense forward strategy can help wear down the other team and lead to opposition mistakes. The 4-4-2 is incredible against the now common 4-2-3-1 but no one in group D plays this as a primary formation. That being said with it being a relatively uncompetitive group the team could just be practicing the strategy for later use. While the club plays a defense forward strategy their point of difference in group stage games seems to be their offense. The extremely aggressive attacking has helped the club rarely need the well packed defense, in their game against Salzburg the team dominated offensively with a total of 15 shots, five on target, and two resulting in goals. This compared to Salzburg’s 11 shots only 1 of which was on target. These stats summarize Real Sociedad’s strategy perfectly: they can push for chances and most importantly deny the other team any real hope. Against Benfica the club struggled to create as many scoring chances but still managed to keep themselves afloat.
Inter Milan
Group D’s second place is held by a team who last season made it all the way to the final only to get destroyed by a treble bound City. The club plays an extremely unique 3-5-2 to create probably the most overloaded midfield in history. While their PTSD from the final they played last year is on full display in their formation they seem to suffer from the same struggle as your mom without me, that is finishing. Inter Milan have really amped up their game offensively with 21 total shots in their game against Benficia however the final score was an unimpressive 1-0. Playing against stronger clubs highlights the clubs weaknesses. In their first Champions League game this season, against Real Sociedad, the club managed only a tie with far less impressive offense stats. The club managed a win against Salzburg by scoring an early goal but only narrowly held onto the lead after a penalty in the 67th minute. Ultimately the overloaded midfield seems to act as a stronger barrier to the clubs success than to opposition teams and there’s far more effective strategies.
Atletico Madrid
If group D is uncompetitive group E is the bottom of the barrel, the only fish floating to the top of this barrel was Atletico Madrid until they tied against Celtic. While they’ve floated to the top their interesting strategy means they likely won’t stay too long in the Champions league. In their first fixture the team decided on a 5-3-2 formation which put a heavy emphasis on the club's backline. This strategy failed massively as opposing team Lazio managed 19 shots with 9 on target. By the miracle of Atletico Madrid’s goalie Lazio only managed one goal. After the first disaster class the club changed up their strategy to a 3-5-2 formation against Feyenoord who plays a 4-3-3. In theory this a great counter as it pre overloads the midfield, in practice it’s a miracle they won that game. The defensive and strategic failures of the club led to 17 shots with 7 being on target from the opposing team. For what they lack in defending and strategic knowledge the club makes up for in an incredible finishing ability. In the same game the Madrid team had 7 shots with three on target which correlated to 3 total goals. The theme of disappointing strategy culminating in the club tying against Celtic who were and continue to be quite underwhelming. Atletico, who should have easily won the game, found themselves down at halftime and while I’ll give Celtic some credit for warming through the defense’s they don’t deserve too much because the defenses were not top form. If the club can get better at creating real chances they mark themselves as a real threat but based on their unlucky ever changing strategies the club has a lot of work to do.
Lazio
Group E’s new second place is Italian Lazio who have managed some impressive moves. In their first Champions League game against Atletico Madrid the club walked away with a tie and some incredible stats in possession, passing, and shots on target. This early threat seemed to fall off against the much weaker Celtic in their second match. The team went from having a commanding offensive presence to a 44% possession rate with 9 shots only 3 being on target this compared to opposing side Celtic who had 11 shots with 4 being on target. This drop off in attacking threat didn’t impact the final score too much as Lazio still walked away with the win. The club runs a 4-3-3 and plays a classic Italian wide game and this largely works with the club having solid passing rates. The club's stronger performance against bigger and better clubs originally suggested the Celtic game was more careless fluke than an actual representation of the clubs ability. That was until they lost 3-1 to Feyenoord, Lazio still maintained heavy possession and attacking rates but failed to create productive chances against their opponent. All that being said in the tournament for the best of the best Lazio shouldn’t be careless unless they want to be going home.
PSG
The group of death’s first place is none other than the chronic losers of the Champions League, French side PSG. The club started the tournament with an ounce of hope as they beat Dortmund 2-0 yet that hope quickly faded as they lost their next game 1-4. The club’s formation switched between games going from a 4-3-3 against Dortmund to a 4-2-3-1 against Newcastle. On paper this shift makes sense as it’s simply the club adapting to their opposing team. In practice however a 4-2-3-1 takes teams on average at least half a season to get a handle on so just throwing the team into a formation that requires high levels of practice probably isn’t the best idea. The team held a 74% possession rate yet only managed 2 shots on target. The club stood no chance offensively or defensively as players had to adapt mid game. Throughout the game players seemed unable to move around each other or even be aware of where they were on field let alone create productive chances. PSG has never been the greatest with strategies and unfortunately for the club they’re attempt to adapt is what is going to lose them yet another Champions League.
Newcastle
The group of death’s first place is none other than the chronic losers of the Champions League, French side PSG. The club started the tournament with an ounce of hope as they beat Dortmund 2-0 yet that hope quickly faded as they lost their next game 1-4. The club’s formation switched between games going from a 4-3-3 against Dortmund to a 4-2-3-1 against Newcastle. On paper this shift makes sense as it’s simply the club adapting to their opposing team. In practice however a 4-2-3-1 takes teams on average at least half a season to get a handle on so just throwing the team into a formation that requires high levels of practice probably isn’t the best idea. The team held a 74% possession rate yet only managed 2 shots on target. The club stood no chance offensively or defensively as players had to adapt mid game. Throughout the game players seemed unable to move around each other or even be aware of where they were on field let alone create productive chances. PSG has never been the greatest with strategies and unfortunately for the club they’re attempt to adapt is what is going to lose them yet another Champions League.
Newcastle
Group F, a group full of tough matchups, has a second place of Premier League side Newcastle. After a couple of rough decades in the premier league, and a check from Saudi Arabia, the club has presented a real threat to established order. The club who plays a 4-3-3 formation were largely underwhelming in their first game against Milan with a 0-0 draw. Their second game against PSG was the opposite of boring. An absolute molly whopping 4-1 sent PSG flying down the table. Shockingly looking at only stats many wouldn’t guess Newcastle would have such a productive result. With a 26% possession rate and only 245 total passes, compared to PSG’s 664 passes, Newcastle was scoring practically every time they had the ball. The club has traded in a possession heavy long game for quick attacking that when it works works wonders. Having a 4-3-3 naturally helps them overload the midfield and with a series of strategic passes the club pushes a forward past the opposing teams defenders. The club also uses its non possession based tactic in defense as well. Newcastle defenders stick to attackers like white on rice leading to opposing team’s having much fewer shots on target despite higher possession rates. The caveat to all of these benefits is that the strategy actually works which has been pretty hit or miss. Against Dortmund the club missed losing 0-1 and only kept second on goal difference. The club did maintain some solid form and thankfully for them the group stages are a marathon.
Manchester City
To no one's shock last year's treble winners are at the top of group G. The club who is running their OG 4-2-3-1 formation faced no real challenge in their first match. The club played against Crvena Zvezda who truly stood no chance against the Premier League giant. City did win by two points but let an early opposition goal slip past a pattern they repeated in their second game against Leipzig. This early opposition goal isn’t as out of character for the club as it may seem. Having an offense pushed as hard as Manchester City’s can leave teams with gaps in defending. The general idea behind a club having aggressive attacking is only in part to score, the other benefit comes from the fact that the opposition now has a lot further to go. City who plays a high position, having 76% possession against Crvena and 69% against Leipzig, rarely have to worry about the opposition even getting the ball. This combined with their high levels of success last season seem to have given the team a false sense of security. The imaginary security blanket combined with the loss of crucial players like Gunduan have left the club in a precarious situation. Against Young Boy’s the club allowed an equalizer in the 52nd minute slip by and while they were able to take back a win the club still should find a solution as this loose back line will only cause more issues as time goes on. None the less the club still seems to continue excelling and will present a real threat this year.
Leipzig
Group G’s second place is none other than German club RB Leipzig. The club has made a solid impression in their group stage matches with them beating Young Boys 3-1 in their first match. In their first match the club played a 4-4-2 formation and seemed very comfortable with their midfielders creating solid passing lanes. These lanes combined with the advantage given by having players ready and available to fall back made the team look like a real threat. The main advantages of the comfortable formation were seemingly forgotten and washed away by the club in their game against Manchester City. Against their groups most dominant form the club started out with an unfamiliar 4-2-3-1 throughout the game the players seemed to fall back into the 4-4-2, these moments created some of the best for the club in the whole game. The choice to switch to a formation your opposition knows inside and out is an extremely unique one and ultimately failed for the club as they lost 3-1. Leipzig has some solid young talent but the club desperately needs a strategy face lift.
Barcelona
Group H is led by Catalan legends Barcelona, the club who originally faced some struggles at the start of the La Liga season came in strong in their first Champions League match. In their first match against Antwerp the club was absolutely dominant winning 5-0 the team moved as a unit passing, scoring, and defending were all incredible and for the first time in the season the clubs strategy was looking up. Barcelona play a 4-3-3 which caters very nicely to the clubs working positional play strategy. This new and improved barca didn’t last long as their next match against Porto was almost a disaster. The club once again played their 4-3-3 but they seemed out of sorts. They had lower pass completion and possession and while Porto is a better team the club wasn’t just struggling against opposition players they were struggling with internal passing lanes and failing to create chances. For all the struggle that went into this game the club still managed a win and will almost certainly make it out of the groups stages. In their match against Shakhtar the club's secret weapon was on full display. Many were worried the team's massive amount of injuries would hold them back but the squad, now primarily youngsters, managed to play impressively synchronously, Barca academy players can and do readily fill in holes in the squad and they do it smoothly as they’ve been playing a similar style throughout the academy.
Porto
Group H’s second place is unsurprisingly Primeira Liga club Porto. In their first match Porto beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 while running a 4-2-3-1 this left the club a bit more susceptible on defense. The club changed formations against the stronger Barcelona switching to a 4-4-2 to have a stronger defense focus, this formation change did work very well for the team as they held off Barcelona for almost the whole game. This new formation didn’t come without cost however as the club was very limited in scoring chances managing only 5 shots on target with no goals. Even though they had a focus on defense the club did manage to make themselves known offensively. Ultimately the club presents a threat especially if they clean up a few aspects which they did against Antwerp.
