#tactics

#tactics

Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most important figures in modern football, and the former AC Milan coach and player is ingrained in the club's history. There are very few players or coaches who have dominated for generations; you may say Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as players, Pep Guardiola as a manager, but Ancelotti would also have to be in the conversation. As a manager, he has won five Champions League titles, five top-flight titles, and a host of other competitions, too.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play. "They can but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

Scotland are potentially two games away from a first men's World Cup finals appearance since 1998. Wins over Greece and Denmark or a draw in Greece and then a win over Denmark will guarantee Steve Clarke's side a place at next year's tournament in Canada, the United States and Mexico. This will be the fourth meeting with Greece this year, so there should be no big surprises in Piraeus, although it's difficult to gauge the hosts' mood given they are out of the running.

"We tried to find the details to win the game," said Le Bris, when asked after the 2-2 draw if that was true.

"They are performing fantastically. The work he [Iraola] is doing, all the professionals there with the head coach, it's really fantastic," Emery said. "He is always even selling players, he's building a very competitive team, competing for the top positions, European positions, and this year, they have 18 points, three more than us. "Tactically, they are very good at everything. They are defending aggressively, they are winning duels, they are attacking in transition, but they are getting good combinations with their players and being very offensive with all the players they have."

"I know Wojtek would rather watch his teammates from the bench and, if necessary, help out. I still see a spark in him after every good save in a match, and I'm happy about that because I enjoy watching him play," he told WP Sportowe Fakty.

We've been playing well in recent matches. They're one of the best teams in the world. We'll play high up the pitch, attacking and man-marking.

The spirit of Stoke City's legendary ball flinger lives on with the long throw-in enjoying a renaissance in the Premier League this season. Indeed, statistics show that the number of long throw-ins per match has more than doubled from last season, pointing to a very real and meaningful trend. It's a trend bemoaned by some, including Jamie Carragher, who in his punditry has taken issue with the way long throw-ins disrupt the game (the game's lawmakers are considering taking action too).

Seattle Reign FC head coach Laura Harvey said she used ChatGPT for tactical advice this past offseason, which ultimately led her and her staff to test out a new formation with five defenders. Harvey, who is a three-time NWSL Shield winner and three-time NWSL coach of the year, told the "Soccerish Podcast" that she had not previously played in a back-five or heavily researched it.

Frank is more of a pragmatist, more willing to be direct, play on the break and wait for opportunities to unveil an array of clinical set-piece routines, whereas Maresca veers towards dogmatism. The Italian comes from the Pep Guardiola school; he prizes dominance of the ball. Chelsea's average of 59.7% possession this season is bettered only by Liverpool in the Premier League.

HT: 0-0. On the basis of that half, Shels are facing a much weaker opponent than Qarabag and Rijeka and this feels more like Windsor Park where they are getting reasonable time on the ball on a big pitch in a vast stadium that is far from intimidating.

Wowzers - who predicted this stunning scoreline? Perhaps Nathan Jones, though he might have wished for even more goals. This was no easy task - Ipswich Town, a Premier League side just last season and one of the promotion favourites, stood firm with an unbeaten home record this campaign. In front of a packed crowd of 28,006, two astute managers clashed, but it was Jones' tactical courage - playing two up front - that helped deliver this win.

This time it was the first on the way to a largely comfortable 2-0 win in Spain that suggests that a team is emerging once again, with Bernardo Silva scoring the second in a first half of notable superiority before a second in which there were moments to suffer but not too many of them. When Haaland was withdrawn with five minutes to go, there were whistles and relief; he, and they, could do no more damage.

The test is very useful for us; it shows us that all our rivals are tough. All our opponents play at 100%. Venezuela played a good game. We won, but that's not the important thing. We wanted to see how the team was doing and get some playing time under our belts. I wanted to try the 5-3-2 option, which is an interesting variation, and we have the players to do it. There are times when defensive solidity is needed.

I expect a tough opponent tomorrow. It wasn't easy to beat them in the first leg. They play a lot of long balls, so you have to fight for the second ball, the third and fourth ball. They did well against Slovakia. It won't be easy. We have to perform very well to win,

A coach must be able to do it all, I have to set my ego aside and do what is best for the team,

Gennaro Gattuso has suggested he's willing to adapt his tactics as Italy prepare for their World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Israel, insisting he's ready to "put my ego aside" if a change in formation is what the Azzurri needs. Gattuso, who took over from Luciano Spalletti in June, has posted a 100% record so far, with two victories against Israel and Estonia last month.

They've since lost two straight Premier League matches to goals in the 97th and 95th minutes. Last season, they lost two Premier League games -- total -- before they clinched the league title. Throw in the 1-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League last week, and they've lost three games in a row for the first time since 2023. Their manager, Arne Slot, has now lost three straight games for the first time in his career.