Holding Midfield
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Having already broken their club record, Real Madrid headed into their game at the Mestalla just two wins shy of Coritiba’s world record 24 game winning streak and as world* champions, having emerged victorious against Copa Libertadores winners San Lorenzo in Morocco. It was a tricky return from the winter break however: Valencia aren’t all that far behind Real, currently fighting it out with Sevilla for the final Champions League spot, and have only lost at home to Barcelona all season. Valencia started very aggressively in a 3-5-2, pinning in Real Madrid high up the pitch, while Madrid continued in their 4-3-3/4-4-2 hybrid where Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez switch between central and left-sided roles. Valencia’s shape was somewhat unusual in that it truly was a back three. Typically when we talk about a back three, it’s really a back five, where an extra man gives enough cover for the full-backs to get forward. Here, the wing-backs were truly midfielders and would generally position themselves higher than those in the centre, against the opposing full-backs. The result was that the back three would get very stretched – Lucas Orban meeting Gareth Bale on the left touchline and Shkodran Mustafi meeting […]
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