19 UCL Semi-Finals First Leg

SUMMARY:

This game posed an interesting tactical puzzle as the slow, methodical football of Barcelona up against the “heavy metal” football of Jurgen Klopp’s men. The first half generally played out as one would expect. Barcelona did anything within their power to keep the ball and play through Liverpool who, as expected, were defending very high up the pitch looking to break-up Barcelona’s build-up. Despite a very early chance for Rakitic, Liverpool were mostly successful in their defensive endeavors. The Catalan men appeared to be rattled in the early minutes of the game having trouble connecting passes with their usual patented crispness and accuracy. Liverpool posed their usual threat on the break with Georginio Wijnaldum playing the false 9 position with Firmino not being fit enough to start the match.

False 9

When Liverpool has the ball, Wijnaldum would drop away from the traditional number nine position and act almost as a number ten. This creates confusion for the Barcelona back line as they are unsure whether to follow him, as that would leave holes for the pace of the Liverpool wingers, or pass him onto one of the midfielders. This could allow Wijnaldum to play balls in behind defense.

First Goal (Barcelona):

Liverpool had their chances, but their former number nine broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. The ball was switched the the left side and found its way to Jordi Alba at the corner of the box. Alba played in an inch-perfect low cross to Suarez at the near-post who did very well to touch it over Alisson who made himself as big as possible.

After the goal, it was Barcelona’s turn to put Liverpool under pressure and put them on their heals. Barcelona gave the Liverpool defenders no time on the ball and they were forced to look for the longer option in behind, but it was all too predictable for the Barcelona defenders.

Second Half:

The second half was off to a quick start when Liverpool created clear opportunity through James Milner whose shot was brillianty saved by Ter Stegen. Barcelona still dominated possession in this half, as was expected, but Liverpool were creating a fair bit of chances making Ter Stegen earn his wages.

Second Goal (Barcelona):

Although Barcelona were in control, there was always the question of whether Liverpool could steal a goal at the other end to level it. Unfortunately for Liverpool, in the 74th minute Lionel Messi was having one of those nights. Messi picked up the ball just in front of the Liverpool back four and played a slicing ball into the path of Roberto in the box. The defender was able to touch it away from, but it fell to Suarez who lobbed it over Alisson. The ball struck the crossbar and Messi was there to control it and walk it into the empty net.

At 2-0 down away from home, Liverpool would have been feeling that if they could just get one goal they could go through to the finals with a 1-0 win at home in the second-leg of the semi-finals.

Third Goal (Barcelona)

In the 82nd minute, Messi was awarded a free-kick roughly 30 yards out. He unleashed an inch-curling effort over the Liverpool wall and into the top left corner.

We are all incredibly privileged witness the player that is Lionel Messi. When he is in the mood that he was in against Liverpool, he is truly unplayable and there is nothing absolutely nothing one can do to defend him. That’s truly incredible.

Liverpool created a late chance that was cleared off the line and the rebound was struck off the post by Salah. The game ended 3-0 to Barcelona.

GOALKEEPERS:

Ter Stegen

The German, in my opinion, is the best in the world at the moment. There is no other goalkeeper with as well rounded of a set of skills than Marc Andre Ter Stegen. There is not one part of Ter Stegen’s game that is inferior to other of his skills and he does everything at a very high level. In the first half, Ter Stegen didn’t have too much to do with his hands except for claiming some crosses and controlling his area which his did very well. The ‘keeper seems to be a mix of the German style of goalkeeping and the Spanish style of goalkeeping and has taken the best of both styles. We see aspects of German goalkeeping in that he is very adept at sweeping behind his defenders, he does not go to ground early and stands strongly in his set, very good positioning, and he uses the German style of the 1v1 set which has been compared to the stance of hockey goalkeepers. He has adopted aspects of the Spanish style of goalkeeping in that he has become very good at playing the ball short with his feet in tight scenarios, and he holds onto many of the shots he faces instead of parrying it away. The result is an extremely reliable and technically sound goalkeeper. In the second half, Ter Stegen was called on to make a few key saves. The first came in the 47th minute when Wijnaldum laid the ball off to Milner at the top of the box to Ter Stegen’s right. The defender was blocking the near-post allowing Ter Stegen to know the ball would be curling to his far-post. Milner did exactly that and Ter Stegen generated great power off his left leg to get his top hand the mid-height effort and touch it around the post. The second save came when Salah picked up the ball at the top of the box and took a shot low to Ter Stegen’s right headed for the bottom left corner. Ter Stegen lowered his center of gravity and pushed with his right foot to effectively slide across the grass to tip to effort around the post with his right hand. So many keepers forget that lowering your body to a low shot is crucial before diving, otherwise you will dive up before you get back down. The third save came again from Milner at the penalty spot. His one time effort from the cut-back went just to the right of Ter Stegen and he did very well to keep the ball in front of his face as he collapsed to his right to hold it.

Alisson

Frustrating game for Alisson. He did not have much to do, mostly because there was nothing he could do about the goals. He came out to claim a few crosses and played some short balls to his defenders and he did that well. Other than that, Alisson had one save of note when Coutinho curled a shot from outside the box and Alison used good footwork to his left to eventually collapse to his left on the ball. In the first goal, Alisson had no real chance other than possibly staying on his feet. This would have been a situation in my opinion to use the point blank set with one knee on the ground. However, spread himself out well and it was a fantastic finish from Suarez, so I don’t give him too much of a chance to save the effort. The second goal left him completely stranded after the lobbed ball struck the cross bar and Messi was allowed to walk the ball into the goal. The free-kick in the third goal was incredible from Messi. Alisson did everything right. As soon ass the shot was struck, he used quick footwork and jumped well to his right. Still, his 6′ 4″ frame could not reach the ball. It is not often that you see a free-kick in which the goalkeeper does absolutely everything right and it still goes in. Such was the quality of the free-kick, such is the quality of Lionel Messi.

Juventus vs. Ajax 4/16/19 UCL Quarter-Finals, Second-Leg

SUMMARY:

They said they couldn’t do it at the Bernabeu, and this time Juventus would be too tall an order, now, they couldn’t go all the way could they? Ajax seems to believe so and at this point, so do I. The game ended 1-1 in Amsterdam a week ago with many people feeling appreciative of the effort of the Ajax team, but ultimately feeling that Juventus and Ronaldo would be able to defeat them at home. This young Ajax team, however, does not play with an ounce of fear and showed up to Turin in their patented Dutch attacking 4-3-3 with every intent to display art in the form of football. The opening minutes of the match were very stop and start with neither team seeming to be able to establish themselves into a rhythm. Eventually, Juventus started to take some control of the match by pressing Ajax high up the pitch and playing them at their own game. This proved to be an effective tactic which suppressed Ajax’s quick attacks.

When Andre Onana had the ball, Dybala pressed him leaving his center-back mark open. This prompted the Juventus center-midfielder on the side closest to the ball to press the center-back left open by Dybala. The center-midfielder on the weak side would then tuck in to mark the defensive midfield pivot De Jong. This meant that there was a man open in midfield for Ajax, but he was hard to find. This is, perhaps, the reason that Allegri went with Emre Can in midfield alongside Matuidi as, in the event the open man was found, they would have the athleticism to get back into position.

This tactic led to Juventus having a lot of possession in the first quarter of the match. This possession led to a corner-kick in the 28th minute which was swung into the near-post for Ronaldo who powered home from six yars out, no chance for Onana. This did not seem to deflate the young and fearless Amsterdam side who responded with a goal of their own six minutes later. The goal came from an Ajax build-up starting with their goalkeeper in which all eleven players on the team touched the ball, Johann Cruyff would be proud. Schoene is played wide and his cross was deflected to Ziyech at the top of the box who strikes toward goal, his shot dribbles through to Donny Van de Beek 12 yards out and totally unmarked. He slots home into the bottom right corner. The half ended with Ajax still struggling with the Juve press and doing their best to find quick outlets down the wing, around the midfield blockade.

Second Half

Ajax start the half in sixth gear and are creating lots of opportunities forcing two fantastic saves from Wojciech Szczesny in the space of five minutes. Juve had chances of their own particularly one from the eighteen year old starlet Moise Kean in the 61st minute who had come on for the injuredDybala at the start of the half. By around the 63rd minute Ajax begin slicing through Juventus like warm butter. They have been keeping the ball for most of the half and begin putting it to good use creating glance after glance at goal and the Old Lady apparently on her heals. In the 67th minute this pressure lead to a corner-kick for Ajax. The ball was swung in toward De Ligt, Ajax’s 19 year old captain who power over three Juventus defenders to power it in. At this point with two away goals Juventus would need to score two and Ajax showed no signs of stopping. Although Ronaldo is always a threat and headed two chances straight at Onana, the game ended with the young Amsterdam side going through to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League. Incredible.

GOALKEEPERS:

Wojciech Szczesny: As mentioned in the review of the last game, the Polish international has had a tough road to get to where he is, but it is evident that the road has shaped a fine goalkeeper who has matured at Juventus the way wine matures in a cellar. Other than the Ajax goal, the first half was largely uneventful for the Pole having very little to do aside from playing a few short passes to his center-backs and clearing his lines. The goal left Szczensy stranded by his defender as Van de Beek was completely unmarked behind his back-line. The finish from Van de Beek was very good to slot it to Szczesny’s left and I do not think he had any chance to save it. Szczesny came up very big in the beginning of the half for Juventus and kept them in the game. The first save he made came when Van de Beek played a ball through for Ziyech to Szczesny’s left inside the box. As we saw in the first leg, Szczesny reads the shooter’s body shape and begins leaning toward where his body indicates that the ball will go. In this case, the ball is far closer to Szczesny and he reaches up a left palm to stop it from going in over his head as he leaned to his right. I am a fan of reading a striker’s body position and feel that goalkeepers are in the right to start moving once they have read it. This shows that even if the ball doesn’t go completely in the direction that a goalkeeper anticipates, as long as you are only leaning in that direction you are still able to make the save if it comes more central. The second save he made, only five minutes after the first, came from a curled effort from the top of the box from none other than Donny Van de Beek. The save was very similar to a save Szczesny made in the first leg. Szczesny pulsed his feet as the ball was being passed around the box until he saw Van de Beek pull his leg back and then set his feet. He then used one cross step from right to left before pushing off his left leg and tipping the ball over the bar with his top hand. Szczesny used his bottom hand to make the save in the first leg of the fixture which I think is an important thing to note as the position of the ball made it easier to reach with his top hand in this scenario and it does not have to be one or the other, a keeper can use both. It is also entirely possible that Szczesny is right-hand dominant and chose to use his right hand on both occasions.

ANDRE ONANA: It was a mostly quiet game for Onana. Despite the pressure that Juve applied to Ajax they only had a few clear-cut chances. Onana only had to record 3 saves that I can remember, two of which coming from Ronaldo headers that bounced before heading straight to the African ‘keeper. Juve chose to press Ajax in this match which I felt was the correct tactic as it chose Onana to kick the ball long on multiple occasions in this game, something that he did not do much of in the first leg allowing Ajax to routinely build attacks from the goalkeeper. He was able to find the open man left by the press (as discussed above) on a few occasions, but for the most part Juve forced him into creating a 50-50 ball between Tadic and the Juventus back-line. Onana made one impressive save in the first half from a Dybala volley with the outside of his foot heading for the side-netting to Onana’s left. The ‘keeper again showed how incredibly athletic he is by shuffling once to his left and springing off of his left foot to hold the mid-height volley. The save almost looked easy for him, but it was not a tame effort by any stretch of the imagination. Throughout the match, I noticed how amazingly calm Onana is in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League. He did not look even a little bit nervous as displayed in the second half when he moaned at De Ligt for clearing a ball that he called to collect with three Juventus players inside his six yard box. He has supreme confidence in himself and does not seem to be bothered by much, this is a gift of the highest quality for a goalkeeper.

Liverpool Vs. Porto 4/9/19 UCL Quarter – Finals

SUMMARY

The night at Anfield turned out to be a very dominant Liverpool performance against a Porto side who has never won against English opposition drawing three times, losing fifteen and winning none. The very early stages of the game looked promising for Porto opening the first few minutes of the game with a couple half-chances and putting Liverpool on their heals. Liverpool before long found their footing in the match and opened the scoring in the 5th minute. Porto loses the ball in midfield and James Milner plays a lovely one-touch ball to Sadio Mane on the left wing. Mane takes it down the wing and squares it to Firmino in the box who lays it off to Naby Keita whose shot toward the left corner of the goal is deflected by Oliver Torres and sent into the opposite top corner leaving Casillas helpless. The next stages of the game saw Liverpool keeping the majority of the ball and forcing Porto to look for the fruitless longer option due to the tenacious Gegen pressing of Jugen Klopp’s men. All season the defensive tactics of the Reds has been their foundation for all-out attacking football allowing Virgil van Dijk to search for the ever-present diagonal ball or for the midfielders to play balls into the channels for the pace of their wingers. Although Porto started to find escape routes through their big Malian center-forward in Moussa Marega, Liverpool struck again in the 26th minute. The goal came from a Liverpool build-up that ended with Jordan Henderson playing a slide-rule pass through the Porto defense like a knife through butter to Alexander-Arnold who squares the ball across goal to Firmino who taps in at the back post. A sophisticated attacking move that was finished by the man who provided the assist for the first goal. Despite the deficit, Porto created a few chances by using the athleticism of Marega to escape Liverpool’s press. Their biggest chances of the half came from the Malian when a chipped ball over the Liverpool back-line from Oliver Toress to Marega was fired at goal from a tight angle, but Alisson was able to get a left foot to it to deny the Porto talisman. The second chance came from an effort from a bouncing ball inside the 6-yard area which Marega turned goalward straight at Liverpool’s Brazilian goalkeeper, in truth, he should have scored. The second-half was like a possession drill for Liverpool who created a few chances one of which was a goal for Mane which was ruled offside. Again, Marega looked the most likely for Porto throughout the half, but ultimately the game was killed off by Liverpool keeping the ball and Porto struggling to get a grip on the midfield.

GOALKEEPERS

ALISSON: Although he had very little to do in the game, the Brazilian answered the call when called upon and kept the clean-sheet. Most of Alisson’s contributions came in the form of collecting crosses with no pressure using his feet which he has appeared very comfortable with using all season and wasn’t put under much pressure in this game when receiving a pass-back. His major involvement in this game came in the 30th minute when Porto broke the press with a bit of luck and Marega was played through on goal. When the shot eventually came, it came from the top right corner of Alisson’s 6-yard area and Alisson saved it with his left foot. The Brazilian made this save look very easy by stealing space when the striker took a touch and closed the angle by taking a step forward and setting in the low breakaway stance. It was a good save in the end at a point in the game that would’ve gave Porto a lot of confidence had they scored.

CASILLAS: A legend in the game having played well over 100 games in the Champion’s League, Casillas showed his experience despite conceding two goals. Casillas could do absolutely nothing about either goal as the first came from a wicked deflection and the second came from a ball across his goal that was too far to claim and tapped in by a wide- open Firmino at the back post. Casillas was only called upon to make one significant save when he was forced to get down to his right from a Mo’ Salah volley which he gathered on the second attempt with no pressure. There were two things that I noticed about Casillas in this game that struck me note-worthy. The first was controlling the space behind his back-line. In the modern day, when we think of a goalkeeper controlling the space behind their back line we think of the long strides of Manuel Neuer sprinting out of his area to clear a through-ball. However, there is another effective method that Casillas showcased brilliantly well. Casillas is always talking to his back line giving orders on their positioning and ensuring they stay together as a unit. We see this in the late stages in the second-half when we see Casillas actually push one of his defenders up into line with the rest of the line following a free kick and letting him hear about his laziness afterward. Once Casillas has his line in place, he is very good reading and mopping up any balls that are played behind the deep line which tend to fall inside the box. His positioning is what allowed him to close down the Salah chance in the 22nd minute which came from a Porto back-pass that was intercepted by Salah, but by the time he picked up his head the goal became very small eclipsed by the figure of the Spaniard. The other thing I found interesting about Casillas in this game was his distribution. The Spaniard a pillar of the game, but is not known for his distribution in particular. Casillas was forced to go long for most of the match due to the Liverpool press, but there has been a clear progression in the drive, distance, and accuracy of Casillas’ services from the beginning of his career. He was able to drive balls into center-forwards and wingers which allowed them to flick-on or bring the ball down with facility. This, in my opinion, further elevates his legendary status as he is showing that he is able and willing to adapt his game to modern times and add longevity to his career. Although he lost the game, it was an experienced performance for one of the best goalkeepers the world has ever seen.

Ajax Vs. Juventus 4/11/19 UCL Quarter-Finals

SUMMARY:

Despite the routine brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo, this was a match-up that showcased the pure class of this fairy-tale Ajax side. The first half opened with both sides seeming to be feeling the quarter-final nerves in the opening minutes and couldn’t string together a comprehensive string of passes. Juventus opened the game by startling Ajax with an early chance in the 3rd minute after a charging run from Bernardeschi through midfield who then blasted his strike over. Following this, Juventus could not seem to keep a hold of the ball and gave it away cheaply on a number of occasions. This sloppy pattern soon broke and from it spurred a young, fearless Ajax side that displayed exactly what has taken them to this stage in the biggest competition in the world. As Juventus started to keep a small bit of possession of the ball, the home side unleashed a ferocious high-press which effectively pinned Juventus in their own half with little hope of playing their way through. Due to Juventus being forced to play the long ball, Ajax was able and determined to keep a considerable amount of possession which they could immediately put to attacking use making chance after chance with the insurance policy of the press in the event that their attack broke down. The match turned into a modern-day siege, the Amsterdam side akin to the battering ram persistently banging on the castle door and the Turin side like the castle holding steadfast to the barrage. In the late stages of the first-half however, Juventus found a way to break through the press by way of the long outlet, a surging run from deep midfield, or Ajax being caught in possession. In accordance with this vulnerability, just before the half-time whistle none other than Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock. Betancur was able to dribble through the Ajax press starting a counter-attack and play a ball to Ronaldo who was occupying the center-forward position. Ronaldo then played the ball wide to Cancelo and started a powerful run from a deep position. Cancelo dinked the ball over the back line and Ronaldo was their to power the header home from 6 yards out. Cristiano had done it again. When the second-half started, the scene was set for a half of Juventus defending deep in a compact 4-4-2 formation and allow Ajax to try to break them down. This plan was promptly scrapped when in the 46th minute Neres curled one home. The attack came from Ajax playing out of the back from a goal-kick and playing a ball into the channel for Neres. Cancelo was there to intercept, but made a mess of his first-touch allowing Neres to take the ball from him, cut in onto his right foot, and stroke the ball past Szczesny. The game continued in, more or less, the same fashion as it did in the first-half and Szczesny was by far the busier of the two ‘keepers. Despite a flurry of attacks from the substitute, Douglas Costa who provided a pacey escape route for Juventus and struck a low effort against the post in the 85th minute, the game ended level in the first leg of the quarter-final in Amsterdam.

GOALKEEPERS:

ONANA: Andre Onana has emerged as one of the best young goalkeepers in the world at the moment. He is extremely sound and well-rounded as one would expect of a keeper that spent many years in La Masia and has been at a club now for almost four years with one of the best track records of producing young talent. One thing that, as always impresses me about Onana is his distribution and the ice-cold composure he has on the ball. I can only recall one instance in which Onana took only one touch in clearing the ball when receiving a back pass from his defenders which struck as unusual enough to write it down in bold letters in my game notes. There were multiple occasions in the game that the Cameroonian receive a ball inside his 6 yard area with pressure less than 10 yards away and still took a touch and found a teammate with either foot. The incredible thing is how routinely he does this. I believe that he is up in the mix with Ter Stegen when it comes to taking a first touch away from a forward and distributing to teammates. Andre Onana uses a technique when distributing mid to long range balls in which he swings at the ball quickly, but has a short follow-through and almost fades away from the ball after striking it. This appears to be a very efficient technique that not enough goalkeepers use. Another thing that impresses me about Onana is his confidence which seems to be a theme in this Ajax side. He came out to punch a ball in the first half from a corner that many goalkeepers would leave, although it was headed before him by his teammate, you could see that he was confident enough to even come for that ball and might have got their had De Ligt not headed it away. Lastly I am struck by the focus of a young goalkeeper like Onana for 90 minutes. Having had very little to do throughout the game, with the exception of the Ronaldo goal in which he had no chance due to the range and power of the effort, Onana finished the game by making a few interventions that kept Juve from earning the win. The first came from a cross from Cancelo from the right that was headed toward the far-post. Onana waits until the ball passes by all the traffic then springs off of his right foot to push it wide. This is a situation that any goalkeeper knows requires an intense amount of focus and having done virtually nothing all game, Onana pulled it off in the 88th minute. He then collected the driven cross from Douglas Costa on the other side which came from the rebound of the initial save. The second instance was another cross from Cancelo from inside the box which Onana gathered low to his right. It was a driven ball and Onana did well to hold it under pressure. Onana often takes a wide stance a considerable distance from his near post when facing a close range potentially crosser which shows his intent to control his area and his confidence in his apparent athleticism to cover his near-post.

SZCZESNY: Across the field between the sticks for Juventus, Szczesny is a contrast to Onana in that he does not possess the prowess to play out from the back which perhaps Juventus could have used when dealing with the Ajax press. This was highlighted by two stray balls early on in search of his left-back which were played out of bounds. Despite this, Szczesny has really come into his own for the Old Lady. From showing inconsistent flashes of his potential at Arsenal, to proving that he may be able to fill that potential at Roma, I believe that we are finally seeing Szczesny fulfilling his potential. The Polish international was tested early on when Dusan Tadic unleashed a swerving effort from the top of the box. The ball seemed to be heading towards Szczesny’s right and he shuffled towards it. The trajectory of the ball ended up taking a swerve to Szczesny’s left forcing him to collapse to his left to collect. This showed, for me, showed his progression as the Szczesny of old may have spilled it. In the 18th minute Szczesny was tested again by a curling shot from the top left of the box by Ziyech which was arguably the save of the match. As the ball headed toward the top left corner, Szczesny took a cross-step from left to right then took his push-step with his right foot and tipped the ball over with his bottom hand (right hand). I was impressed with how quickly and sharply Szczesny was able to execute the footwork that ultimately allowed him to make the save. He chose to go with the bottom hand as the ball seemed to be dipping and landing almost behind him which presents a better opportunity to go with the bottom hand. Other than this save Szczesny did not have to make any other saves of note in the first half. He was tested very early on in the second half though. I do not believe that Szczesny had any chance with the Neres goal, because he was being screened by a few defenders and the shot was well placed, perhaps he could have taken a shuffle and dove on this occasion instead of cross-stepping as that would be quicker, but that would be asking a lot. Szczesny made a good save in the 65th minute from an effort from Veltman, the right back for Ajax. Ziyech had the ball at the top of the box and played the ball wide to the right where Veltman had made a run into the box. The Juve back line was able to cut off half of the goal which allowed Szczesny to take a step forward to cut the angle. As Veltman strikes the ball, you can see Szczesny anticipating that the ball will be struck to his left by reading the body posture and the position of the defenders cutting of the the other side of the goal. The big polish goalkeeper leans toward the direction that he has read the shot will be taken, allowing him to make the save low to his left. I do not understand the stigma behind a goalkeeper anticipating the direction of a shot. Many goalkeeper coaches would tell young goalkeepers to wait and react, but in some instances a good goalkeeper can read the body posture of a forward and make a save that would not be able to be made had they not anticipated and started their movement in that direction. It would have been extremely unlikely that Veltman could have struck the ball through defenders across his body into the far corner, so why not begin leaning in the other direction? A situation as such reminds me of an interview with Edwin Van der Sar in which he described a free-kick at the top of the box. He stated that 9/10 of the time the shooter will go over the wall, so if he’s playing the odds and wants the highest percentage of success for his team he should anticipate moving in that direction, right?. However, in the one time out of ten the ball goes to the goalkeeper’s side and he is beaten, he has made a mistake. I have the upmost respect for a ‘keeper that chooses to go with the odds and potentially sacrifice himself.