Football - The beautiful game

The much anticipated Euro 2020 (being held in the summer of 2021, which is surely a trivia question further down the line) got off to an amazing start on the 11th of June. A new-look, attacking Italian side under the former Man City boss Roberto Mancini took on a Turkey side with some exceptionally talented individuals who play at a very high level, namely Soyuncu (Leicester), Calhanoglu (AC Milan), and 2020/21 Ligue 1 winning duo at Lille, Yilmaz and Yazici. Italy boast what is probably their best attacking unit this decade. With pacey and technical wingers in Insigne, Chiesa and Berardi and two of the most in-form strikers in Immobile and Belotti. They have also (finally) replace Gigi Buffon with the PSG-bound Donnarumma and have a young Alessandro Bastoni to complement the experienced CB duo of Chiellini and Bonucci.  However, the area where Italy truly have upgraded their squad the most is the midfield, which now boasts some of the best midfield talents in the world. They ...

United's Current Defence Manchester United's defensive woes this season are quite well established. United ended up conceding an xGA (Expected Goals Against) of ~42 goals (the fourth-best, behind Brighton!)  whilst conceding 44 goals in total  (the sixth-best)  in the Premier League. If United want to challenge Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea the next season, United need to sure up the defence. I have already highlighted the need for an elite defensive-midfielder earlier and how it would go a far way in solving this issue, but the red devils do need to add another top-level center-back sooner rather than later to be considered a consistent challenger for major honors in Europe.  If we try and profile a center-back partnership, it usually (and broadly) comprises of two different styles of players. One center-back is what we will call the "aggressor". The aggressor is the one who more often steps out of the backline to intercept passes, put pressure on forward...

Introduction Stories like that of this Brighton side don't come often.  Currently sitting 17th in the Premier League table, they might just be one of the most well-coached and entertaining sides in the league. Appointing Graham Potter from Swansea turned out to be a masterstroke for the Seagulls, as the English manager showed the league his credentials and coaching talent. Even the top managers are impressed by his work, with Pep Guardiola commenting “We were in front of the best English manager right now” after the Seagulls had given his much more expensive squad a run for their money at the Etihad Stadium.  “You have to be a top side to play that way. As a spectator, I like to watch these teams. I like watching Brighton play. I recognise it. When I was a football player, I would love to play in this team.”, he added. Brighton most commonly set up in a 3-4-3 / 3-4-1-2 formation, and have some exciting players throughout their team; most notably center-backs Ben White and Adam...

United's current strikers The strikers at Man United - Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani - are facing worse seasons than expected no matter how you think of them. The statement holds more true for Martial than for Cavani though, with the former scoring just 4 goals whilst xG would predict an average striker to score about 7 goals from those chances. With only about a third of the season left to play, amassing an xG of just 7.4 would still be considered diabolical for a starting forward at Manchester United.  Martial is 25 now, and can no longer be considered a "youngster who can develop into something special". He had a good 2019/20 season, as he scored 17 goals (from an xG of 13.2) and also provided 6 assists (from an xA of 4.6). Fans and the manager rightly considered it to finally be the season after which Martial explodes and fulfills the promise he showed as a youngster. However, in hindsight, it seems to be a flash in the pan, since the only other time he scored ov...

The stories around Paul Pogba at Manchester United always swing one way or another. Ever since Pogba joined United in 2016, it is safe to say that not everyone has been convinced if he has ever completely justified his then world-record transfer fee of €105m . What everyone can agree to, however, is that he has certainly shown flashes of his ability and his seemingly unlimited potential. The United fanbase seems to be split into two major chunks; one believes he is equal to Kevin De Bruyne, and the other believes he has been a waste of money, and is arrogant and simply too flashy. The reality, however, lies somewhere between the two. Pogba has been consistently good, hitting levels of "great" in parts during his time at United. A standout match would United's 3-2 victory over Manchester City on 7th April 2018, where United came from 2-0 down at half-time and Pogba scored two crucial goals. He also went on a hot-streak during Solskjaer's initial days as the interim man...

The Current Situation Chelsea lost 3-1 to Manchester City on January 3rd, 2021. This has prompted a reaction from a significant chunk of Chelsea supporters, calling for Frank Lampard's head. But is the situation really that bad at Stamford Bridge? Things began to take a turn for Lampard when his side lost to a "relegation-threatened" Arsenal side 3-1. The gunners were seen as a massively inferior side who were in terrible form when they beat Chelsea. As it always is, this prompted an over-reaction from Football Twitter. As poor as Arsenal had been, they were still a good team and were underperforming in many aspects. But looking at the expected points in that match gives a clearer picture of what actually happened. The game finished with an xG of Arsenal (1.94) - Chelsea (2.25). This means Chelsea were slightly better than Arsenal and should have at least gotten a point out of that game. If we recollect the goals Arsenal scored, it was a very soft penalty on Tierney (conv...

1. Background FC Barcelona are currently 5th in La Liga, sitting 8 points behind table-toppers Atletico Madrid having played one game more. They have only won 3 out of the last 5 matches. This season could be that season where Barcelona could miss out on Champions League football as well.   Barcelona have scored 28 goals in the league, and unsurprisingly Lionel Messi is their top scorer with 7 goals. The injured Ansu Fati is the second top scorer, with 4 goals. With the new year on the horizon, these are pitiful statistics for a club of Barcelona's stature.  What is more worrying, is that Messi is finally underperforming his xG and xA this season. If this continues, this could be an extremely long season for the cules. 2. Statistics Barcelona are actually top of the league for expected goals, with an xG of around 33 goals (actual goals scored -> 28). On the surface, this suggests that the players will sooner or later catch up to the xG and would start scoring on a more...