"Arne Slot had spoken in the buildup to Liverpool's defeat by Galatasaray on Tuesday of how difficult it is to create chances in modern football, and how set pieces are a way to circumvent the sophisticated defensive setups of most Premier League teams. He is certainly not alone in taking that approach in the Premier League."
"The crowding of the six-yard box, the full bearhug grappling, the meat wall to block the goalkeeper it turns out all of those are penalised by European referees, and that is a problem for Premier League teams."
"The Premier League is by some way the most demanding in Europe. English sides habitually bully mid-ranking foreign sides, or even the elite if they are not quite at their peak, but with the accumulated fatigue of three-quarters of a Premier League season they find it rather harder."
Premier League teams increasingly depend on set pieces as a tactical solution to break down well-organized defenses, with managers like Arne Slot acknowledging this necessity in modern football. However, this approach proves problematic in European competition because referees enforce stricter standards against physical play in the box. English clubs dominate domestically but struggle in European competitions due to accumulated fatigue from the demanding Premier League schedule and the physical toll of playing two games weekly. The quality of opposition in the Premier League, even lower-ranked teams, exceeds many European competitors, leaving English sides exhausted by the time European competitions intensify. Recent Champions League results demonstrate this pattern, with Premier League clubs failing to win against European opposition.
#premier-league-tactics #champions-league-performance #set-pieces-strategy #english-football-fatigue #referee-standards-differences
Read at www.theguardian.com
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