Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Easy-on-the-eye La Real continue to draw praise

The latest wins recorded by Imanol Alguacil’s troops have sent records tumbling at the San Sebastian‑based club. The coach has masterminded the club’s two longest-ever winning runs, both of which have come this term. The Basques put together an eight-game winning streak between September and October and their current run of form betters that by one match. This success is all down to the side’s strong all-round play. As we can see in this video, the intensity of the team’s carries are a key element, with many of them culminating in attempts on goal and goalscoring opportunities.

The graphic below displays the position of the carries that have resulted in attempts on goal, also known as high‑impact carries, this term. La Real lie in third place in the LaLiga Santander standings for the number of high‑impact carries.

Remarkable Coach

Simeone has got Atletico firing

In football, the number of shots recorded clearly isn’t everything, with great importance attached to the area in which they are taken from in relation to the opposition’s goal. Atletico Madrid perform well in the shots stakes and lie fourth in the league for the number of shots taken. If we look at the positions from where the Atletico players fire their shots in, we can see that there is a great symmetry to their play in the attacking phase. A third of their efforts on goal are taken centrally in the box, with a further 16% coming inside the box (from both sides).

If we continue to examine the areas outside the box, we note that that the central lane closest to the penalty area accounts for the h0ighest percentage of shots, which means that when shooting from range, Diego Simeone’s charges typically try to ensure that they’re positioned centrally. In addition, the Colchoneros claim the runners-up spot for the number of shots per minute of possession, which shows how the capital club’s willingness to try their luck on goal as they bid to continue to put points on the board.

The Match up

LaLiga Santander heavyweights go head-to-head

Real Madrid welcome Real Sociedad in a contest between two of the league’s top‑performing sides. That said, the Matchday 19 opponents find themselves in vastly contrasting form, with the Basques very much on the up and Carlo Ancelotti’s charges desperately seeking a return to their former selves. Let’s take a look at the teams’ playing styles.

As we can see in the following graphic, Imanol’s men excel in the defensive criteria, such as speed of recoveries, recoveries in the opposition’s half and the number of clean sheets recorded. Meanwhile, the Blancos shine in the attacking stakes and are more efficient when it comes to finishing, while they record more shots and a high number of passes in the final third. In short, the two teams are both formidable outfits with fine numbers in both phases of the game, with one excelling in the defensive phase and the other in terms of attacking play.

Remember his name

Carmona brings joy to Elche cause

While the outlook seems rather dismal at Elche CF right now, the arrival of Jose Angel Carmona has injected some much‑needed excitement into an otherwise uninspiring season. Pablo Machin’s side are riding an 18‑game winless run and a whole 11 points separate them from safety.

The Sevilla FC loan ranger has turned in some stellar performances that have offered the Elche faithful some reason for hope. Despite only recently having checked in at the Manuel Martinez Valero, he already lies fourth in the side’s ranking for the number of high-impact actions. His carries, shots and attacking play have given the relegation battlers a timely boost and his contribution was reflected by his display in the team’s last outing, in which he chipped in with a stunning goal, chalked up the most dribbles, won over half of his duels and amassed seven recoveries. The way in which he has adapted seamlessly to life at Elche has offered the strugglers some hope of avoiding the dreaded drop.

Metric of the week

Passing distance

A pass can be analysed from a whole host of different angles, with distance representing one of the most important criteria. This metric measures the average distance that a team’s passes travel. While we know that well-executed passes count as a completed pass in statistical terms, not all passes benefit a team’s play in the same way. In addition to distance, we can also shine the spotlight on the direction of the passes. There is clearly a big difference between a team where the majority of passes are played forward compared to a side that records low figures in this area. The video offers an example of how we can measure the passing distances registered by RCD Mallorca’s Dani Rodriguez.

Beyond Stats ofrece métricas increíbles en la industria del fútbol: no se limita a recopilar los datos que se suelen usar para los análisis estándarque llegan a los aficionados, sino que va más allá, recopilando una cantidad ingente de información durante el partido, casi en tiempo real, gracias a la herramienta Mediacoach de LALIGA, que es capaz de revelar nuevas percepciones sobre el juego a un nivel más profundo permitiendo trazar patrones y obtener proyecciones de futuro.

Los datos brutos recogidos (Raw Data) son tratados para su análisis por un equipo multidisciplinar compuesto por expertos en Business Intelligence & Analytics y análisis futbolístico de LALIGA a través de procesos de Machine Learning e Inteligencia Artificial que se han hecho posibles gracias a la tecnología Azure que provee Microsoft, capaz de procesar grandes volúmenes de datos. Tras su tratamiento, se genera un algoritmo que permite la visualización de las métricas que llegan al aficionado por medio de Beyond Stats. Estas estadísticas permiten a los aficionados entender mejor por qué su equipo ha ganado un partido, lo ha perdido, o tener una visión panorámica de su rendimiento y expectativas, lo que permite una inmersión inédita en la experiencia del espectador de fútbol.

En todos los estadios de LALIGA encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico que siguen en el terreno de juego la situación de jugadores, árbitros y balón, recogiendo datos físicos y técnico-tácticos a un ritmo vertiginoso de 25 veces por segundo.

“Encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico”

Estos dispositivos permiten la integración, a través de la herramienta de análisis Mediacoach, de dos tecnologías: tracking y eventing. El tracking se apoya en la información de seguimiento recogida por las cámaras perimetrales del estadio, y permite elaborar métricas como las referidas a distancia recorrida, velocidad máxima y media, o número de sprints. Mediante el eventing se registran los eventos más objetivables: número de pases, córners, o faltas cometidas y recibidas. La información captada a través de tracking y eventing se integra y almacena en el sistema formando un conjunto de datos de gran volumen.