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Sporting’s Rúben Amorim is now set to take on one of, if not the, hardest coaching jobs in world football at Manchester United. In what was his final act under the lights of the José Alvalade, Amorim faced none other than the leader of his new side’s dominant Manchester rival – Pep Guardiola. For much of the first half, it was City that looked to be in control of most phases.
However, there were ominous cracks early in that match that faded from focus until the beginning of the second period. Mistakes made by City that were masked by outlandish possession figures that included some missed scoring opportunities. Let’s take a look at what those were, how they were created, and how five minutes ultimately decided the outcome of the match using the XPS Video Analyzer.
Sporting utilized Amorim’s trademark 3-4-2-1, or 5-2-3 within a low-block. It’s a system that the Portuguese manager has used during his entire tenure in Lisbon, with some tweaks here and there depending on personnel. As you can see in the image below, this concept really aimed to congestion central areas, but provide the likes of Pedro Gonçalves and Francisco Trincão with enough freedom of movement to be effective in transitions.
After Phil Foden and City were essentially gifted a goal within four minutes following an intercepted pass from Zeno Debast to Hidemasa Morita, Guardiola’s side showed some signs of transitional ineptitude in the midst of mercurial passing combinations in the final third. One such example, which Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres uncharacteristically wasted, occurred within minutes of the opening goal.
Note the amount of City players that are in front of the ball and the profile of those behind it. We see a casual ball intended for Rico Lewis that is swiftly intercepted by Gonçalves. What’s left to deal with one of the most effective transitional teams in all of Europe? Mateo Kovačić. Nothing more. A naive approach to facing somebody of Gyökeres’ profile. The Swedish forward opted to lob Ederson and saw his attempt saved.
City had found some success progressing through central areas. As can be seen in this image, Sporting often found themselves numerical overwhelmed between the lines. City’s diamond found it too easy to navigate past Sporting’s Hjulmand and Morita. However, Guardiola’s side couldn’t ultimately make proper use of this advantage.
It was the commitment to unlocking wide progression on the flanks, usually through either Geovany Quenda or Maximiliano Araújo, that fed City’s downfall. This could be seen in one of Sporting’s few moments of deep build-up from a goal-kick. The key positional struggle from City’s perspective became the deep ball reception of their two narrow attacking midfielders – Gonçalves and Trincão. Here is the former being able to receive the ball, drag Kovačić with him, and switch play to a wide open Quenda. This theme becomes incredibly relevant as we examine the crucial opening five minutes of the next half.
It’s important to note that the interval of minutes 45 to 60 saw a significant change in multiple metrics which mirror the visuals we are about to see. For example, this phase in the game was one in which Amorim’s side posted their highest passing accuracy of 93% (83% total), attacks per minute of 0.33 (0.17 total), PPDA of 12.5 (29.3 in 1st half), and it also featured City’s lowest duel winning rate of the match at 37%. So, with all of that said, let’s look at these opening possessions.
As we had just seen in the previous image, Gonçalves is taking up a similar position and dropping deep to get on the ball. Lewis and Kovačić are unsure who to deal with, but it’s all it took to set things in motion.
Gonçalves is once again able to drag Kovačić into a wider area and manages to beat the City midfielder with a clever piece of skill near the sideline. At this point, a sudden transition is underway and the City backline is reeling just seconds into the half. This sets the stage for another clinical example of dragging the opponent to clear a path. Gyökeres’s run pulls Akanji wide while Gonçalves continues to progress centrally. It’s Sporting’s left wing-back, Araújo, who continues his run through the heart of the defense. Akanji is unable to intercept as he is returning to a central position and, in the blink of an eye, City concede once more.
This next image is City’s very next possession. A reminder of Sporting’s shape and what they were too easily allowing in the first half. Still a 5-2-3 out of possession, but now closing the gaps centrally and ensuring that more of a deliberate effort was made to cut through passing lanes.
As this sequence develops, we see that Gvardiol begins to progress down the left before trying to play a ball to the middle which was often uncontested earlier in the game. Here’s the difference. The pass is slightly played behind the intended target (Foden) and Hjulmand aggressively intercedes. Just seconds after Araújo scored, City are retreating into defensive transition again.
The ball is poked away and it’s Trincão who now leads the charge. In a desperate effort to atone for his mistake, Gvardiol chases down the Portuguese forward and concedes a penalty after clumsily extending his arm into the back of Trincão. Viktor Gyökeres converts from the spot and it’s suddenly turned into complete chaos for City on the back of some lazy passing, an inefficient high-line, and precise transitional execution on the part of Sporting.
Astonishingly for a Guardiola managed team, they are dispossessed again in the ensuing play. Same problem. Self destructive passing accuracy mixed with enhanced individual defensive output from Sporting’s mid-block. A familiar concept – Gvardiol plays a ball to a well-marked teammate who is immediately met with pressure. Former Sporting player, Matheus Nunes, is dispossessed easily by Quenda and Gvardiol has allowed another run from Trincão to get behind him.
Though Sporting don’t score for the third time in less than five minutes here, the flow of play was the same. In the end, City never fully recovered from these moments and lost the match 4-1 after conceding another penalty later in the half. These are not themes exclusive to this match for City. Their increasingly poor transition defending is well documented, but was really highlighted like never before on the European stage and against the soon-to-be Manchester United manager – Rúben Amorim.
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