5 Tactical Nuances You Might've Missed in the Men's Champions League Final

Liverpool's evolving strategies to exploit a weakness; Kroos & Modrić's subtle genius; Casemiro's sneakiness; & more.

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Real Madrid have done it again, much to the delight of their raucous supporters and the chagrin of virtually everyone else. The supposed disconnect between Los Blancos’ quality and their accomplishments, especially relative to tactical giants Liverpool and Manchester City, has generated an endless stream of discourse and hot takes.

Some say it’s pure luck; more still say it’s Champions League DNA; and a few argue that Madrid’s brilliance is simply misunderstood.

Real Madrid's Champions League DNA is Both Real & Fake

You’d think in all of this there could be nothing else to debate or pore over, but oftentimes the larger narrative overshadows the intricate details.

Let’s rectify that.

Here are five tactical nuances you might’ve missed from the 2022 men’s Champions League final.

1. Accessing & Defending the Space Behind Modrić

Carlo Ancelotti tends to base his defensive blocks around man orientations rather than deliberate shapes that move as units to deny or close down specific areas of the pitch. This was the logic behind using Fede Valverde as a right winger throughout the UCL knockouts, with Madrid flitting between a back five and a back four depending on where Fede’s mark moved.

The Great Eyebrow applies these concepts more loosely in midfield, with his setup vs. Liverpool being a great example. Although both Modrić and Kroos were asked to key in on Thiago and Henderson, it was the Croatian who was pulled forward the most due to his counterpart’s deeper positioning. On Kroos’ side, Henderson often roamed high and to the flank, engaging in rotations with Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, meaning that the German had to sometimes abandon his assignment and fix his attention on Fabinho.

Real Madrid’s defensive idea vs. Liverpool.

This scheme is not too dissimilar from what Carlo tried in that disastrous Clásico, with players from midfield stepping up in an attempt to contain deep ball-players, only to get burned by Barcelona’s quick vertical passing, which exploited acres of real estate between the lines.

The difference between then and Saturday was the cover from teammates, who were far more alert and coordinated in their reactions to Liverpool accessing the space behind Modrić. This didn’t exactly stop The Reds, who managed to create a number of chances as a direct result of this game plan, but it enabled Madrid to tread water until they could strike on the other end.

In the first half, Sadio Mané was the guy who descended into the pocket, looking to turn and drive at the defense. Casemiro had to come across numerous times to check the AFCON champ and had mixed success. In the 21st minute, Mané got by the defensive midfielder, forcing Courtois into an incredible save.

Mané finding space behind Modrić.

Of course, it was difficult for Casemiro to shift across on every possession and Militão sometimes had to be the one to take responsibility, as seen in the last clip of the above GIF. It’s noteworthy that no one is positioned against the last line, since Salah is stretched out to the touchline (a trend to accommodate TAA’s increased influence this season) and Díaz is interested in receiving to feet, allowing Militão to step out with little fear of leaving Alaba exposed.

One wonders what the positional and spatial balance would’ve been like had Jota started at center-forward with Mané on the left.

Modrić trying to check a number of threats.

This one is a good example of the “loose” interpretation of Madrid’s man orientations in midfield. Modrić clearly starts out attached to Thiago, but then decides that someone needs to provide resistance to the incoming Fabinho. That allows Mané to receive and bring Liverpool into the final third, where Modrić recovers to Thiago before deciding to go out to Robertson, who had essentially swapped positions with his midfield teammate. As a result, Mané can receive in that pocket again, but this time Casemiro reacts instantaneously to completely wall off a path to goal.

Liverpool still get a shot, but it’s much more comfortable for Courtois than anything Mané could’ve produced in the box.

2nd half adjustment: Díaz finding space behind Modrić.

In the second half, Luis Díaz was the one who looked to receive, perhaps to rectify issues with occupation of the defensive line (Mané could stay higher on the regular, now). This brought Carvajal into the central action and, just like Casemiro, he had his victories and defeats. On the odd occasion, someone else would attack the gap left by Modrić, such as Fabinho in the final clip.

This might’ve been a good adjustment, but Liverpool’s best chances from this scenario came in the first half. Ultimately, Klopp’s men didn’t have enough of the ball for long enough, reducing the amount of times they could test this configuration; Liverpool had sub-50% possession from the 46th to 72nd minute. I put this down to accumulated fatigue and, consequently, Liverpool having to recede into a 4-5-1 block instead of being able to press at full intensity.

These numbers changed dramatically in the final quarter of the match, but Madrid were defending deeper and more compactly by then.

2. Modrić’s & Kroos’ On-The-Fly Adjustments vs. Pressure

Real Madrid’s generational midfield has never really controlled games, resisted presses, or dissected opponents quite like others. Beginning with Zidane, Modrić and Kroos were given immense freedom to conduct things as they pleased in build-up while Casemiro roamed ahead. It was bizarre to watch from a structural perspective and only got more lopsided in Zidane’s second stint, when he used Casemiro as a major box threat to offset some of the offensive losses since Ronaldo’s departure.

Although Carlo hasn’t quite taken it to that extreme, he hasn’t messed with the fundamental concept. Against Liverpool’s vaunted 4-3-3 mid-high block, Casemiro frequently became the most advanced midfielder, as Modrić and Kroos tried to manufacture solutions on the fly deep in Madrid territory.

Liverpool dominated the first 20 odd minutes of the game, racking up ~63% possession and an explosion of shots. Madrid simply could not escape their own half and were at risk of being suffocated if it weren’t for Luka’s and Toni’s bouts of CPR.

Modrić & Kroos developing solutions.

FYI: The result of Kroos using his body to shield the ball in the second clip wasn’t just the prevention of a turnover — it forced Liverpool to reset into their shape. By the time they were ready to press again, Madrid were able to bring the ball over to the center circle and push Liverpool back, buying minutes of relief and kickstarting a new dynamic in the second half (Real had 58% possession from then on).

The result of Kroos’ press resistance ~45 seconds earlier.

The below sequence is all Luka:

1. Drops into the right back slot to help out Militão.

2. Tries to progress with Carvajal but smartly resets.

3. Breaks Thiago’s cover shadow to progress on the second go.

4. Connects the dots as the most advanced player between the lines.

If Casemiro completes a relatively simple pass to Benzema, Madrid have made it into the final third.

Now, here’s Kroos:

Everything is about body shape with him. A subtle manipulation sets Alaba free, allowing Madrid to create a great chance that was only denied by VAR. Then, with the title just minutes away, Kroos turns a somewhat errant Camavinga pass into a foul that kills crucial clock.

I think that final play sets up a great contrast between the young Camavinga and his older mentors in Kroos and Modrić. For all his talent and technical ability, the 19-year-old can switch off in the “simple” or “boring” moments, causing the weighting or direction of his passes to be off. However, when the big, sexy play is on, suddenly, Camavinga is capable of pulling off inch-perfect diagonals that carve out non-existent space in the box.

Those types of high-leverage executions are great signs of potential, but it is what Modrić and Kroos do in the little moments that set them apart. They take so much care in each of their actions that they accrue marginal gains better than almost anyone else, empowering them to make an incredible impact in the aggregate.

3. Mané’s Space Investigation in the Box

One of the things that makes Liverpool so dangerous is the sheer variety of ways with which they can attack the box. So much of that comes from the elite off-ball movement of the likes of Sadio Mané, who constantly looks to get in behind defenses from all sorts of angles and situations.

The patience and timing to stay onside in the first clip is nice, but the change of pace in the second is even better. He loses Casemiro and creates a moment to attack by slowing down. Had Mané kept going at 100 mph, Militão would’ve probably picked him up and eliminated the possibility of a reception to feet.

That’s the other thing — I love how Mané doesn’t attack the penalty area with the sole intention of getting off a one-touch shot. He just tries to find whatever space he can in the situation that exists, banking on his agility and skill off-the-dribble to make something of whatever that materializes. This greatly expands the territory he can unlock in the box and, by extension, Liverpool’s ability to get closer to goal.

Hendo finding Mané with dinked balls.

Henderson’s chipped balls into Mané added another wrinkle to these movements. In the first sequence demonstrating this relationship, you can see how it’s Kroos getting pulled forward this time and the knock-on effects this has.

4. Firmino’s Clever Movement Off the Bench

Roberto Firmino’s introduction signaled a shift to a 4-2-3-1 that placed an explicit playmaker between the lines without sacrificing personnel out wide or up top. The modification correlated with an immediate surge in Liverpool’s offense, as Firmino applied relentless pressure on that aforementioned zone behind a tired Luka Modrić.

Note the diversity of ways Firmino positions himself and roams into that halfspace to receive free of Modrić and any help defense, and how he maneuvers to keep himself available should he not receive immediately.

It’s tempting to think about what Firmino could’ve done as a starter, even if that was realistically never going to happen.

5. Casemiro’s Deception on a Free-Kick

One thing that has already been memory-holed in the xG discourse is the dangerous attacks Madrid put together to end the match. There was a 3v1 break and a counter-attack that should’ve seen Ceballos get a shot or pass off, and there was this:

Not sure how Casemiro fails to square that to a wide open teammate, but the set-piece design is simple and neat. The Brazilian simply hides out of sight behind Militão and waltzes into the box completely untracked.