Football - The beautiful game

This Season At RB Leipzig   RB Leipzig's 2021/22 season has been topsy-turvy to say the least. Upon losing Julian Nagelsmann, the poster boy of the up-and-coming managers in Europe, to what seems like perennial Bundesliga Leaders Bayern Munich, whilst also having to watch two of their most talented defenders in Dayot Upamecano (who joined Nagelsmann at the Bavarian club  alongside midfield general Marcel Sabitzer ) and  Ibrahima Konaté leave the club, it was destined to be a tough season for Leipzig. The incoming Jesse Marsch, joining from sister club RB Salzburg, seemed to be a pretty logical next step in the process. Viewed as someone who was already accustomed with the RedBull style of play, no one could have foreseen how terribly it was going to turn out for the American.  Having won just five games out of 14 this season, Marsch was sacked on 5th December 2021 as  Leipzig sat a lowly 11th in the Bundesliga table following three straight defeats in the Bundes...

The Round of 16 Draw for the UEFA Champions League came with its fair share of drama - with United being initially drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, causing a fan uproar as the prospect of Ronaldo and Messi going head-to-head again - only for the draw to then be re-done with the Red Devils being finally picked to face the current Spanish Champions, Atletico Madrid. As I start writing this article, Atleti are coming off a defeat to Xavi's Barcelona in what was a rather underwhelming display from the Colchoneros.  This led me to delve a little deeper into their season so far through data and look at how United might potentially overcome the Spanish Champions. Their Season So Far Looking at the Expected Goal Difference (xGD, which is Expected Goals For - Expected Goals Against) so far this season, Atleti rank third in the league, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. In terms of xG, they rank 5th while according to xGA, they are the best defence in the league. In short, Atleti ...