Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Villarreal carrying themselves towards Europe.

Things have changed a lot for Quique Setien’s men of late, both in terms of their statistics and the general feel surrounding the side. Their win over Real Madrid saw the Groguets leapfrog Real Betis into fifth spot in the league standings. The team have improved over time and after a slow, sputtering start the Castellon outfit are now motoring along nicely.

Although the Yellow Submarine are certainly no slouches in a number of areas, carries are one of their hallmarks. They hold the final spot on the LaLiga Santander podium for high-impact carries, chalking up almost three carries per game that lead to attempts on goal, which is no mean feat for a side of Villarreal’s standing. It’s also worth pointing out that that the boys from the Estadio de la Ceramica play combination football and are adept at circulating the ball. Indeed, Setien’s troops have landed third place in the league standings for passing efficiency (84%) and also lie third in the possession charts. We can certainly say that Villarreal manage to combine their possession-based blueprint with an end product that results in goals. The graphic below shows how and where their carries originate.

Remarkable Coach

Rubi’s possessions with a purpose

Football isn’t all about being on the ball but making the most of the possession phase. And Rubi and his Almeria side would certainly appear to be well aware of the fact. The Andalusians occupy fourth spot in the LaLiga Santander table for the fewest minutes of possession required to record an attempt on goal. In addition, this impressive efficiency stands alongside another hallmark of Rubi’s system: high intensity. However, it should be noted that this intensity primarily relates to the possession phase. Almeria also clinch fourth place for the number of actions completed at over 28km/hr, i.e. at top speed, when in possession. These statistics reflect the Rojiblancos’ admirable approach and the side’s ability to fully exploit attacking moves.

Key Player

Chukwueze creates for himself and others

The Nigerian goal-getter is such an integral part of the Villarreal squad, as reflected by the 30 starts he has made this season across all competitions. He has enjoyed a fine campaign so far and there are a host of statistics worth highlighting. He is the LaLiga Santander bridesmaid when it comes to dribbles, second only to Vinicius. However, if we analyse his role within the Villarreal ranks, his influence becomes clear. He lies second in the team charts for the number of passes completed in the final third, assists, completed dribbles and goals.

The following graphic offers information about the six LaLiga Santander goals he has notched this season. Although he has a tendency for the right flank when it comes to the origin of these goals, it is worth noting that a number of his strikes have come from more central areas or the left side.

The Match up

Atletico & Almeria set for high-stakes showdown

The Matchday 29 opponents both have plenty to play for, but at opposite ends of the table. The two sides possess contrasting playing styles and coaches who have instilled instantly recognisable identities. As mentioned above in our analysis of Rubi, Almeria take full advantage of their possessions and are a high-intensity outfit.

Atletico, meanwhile, are on a fine run of form in which they have starred in the areas upon which they have earned their reputation over the years. Atleti lie fourth in the Spanish top‑flight standings for the press after losing possession, which is central to Diego Simeone’s playing style. In addition, the Wanda Metropolitano-based outfit are third in the league for the number of forward passes and attempts on goal (over five per game). The video features all of the capital club’s attempts in their last game, against Rayo Vallecano. Although many of their efforts failed to hit the target, we can clearly see just how many attempts they racked up. It is also interesting to analyse the angles from which the attempts originated.

Remember his name

Starlet Abde makes his mark

The creative winger is turning in some convincing displays at Osasuna, as reflected by his latest outing, in which he bagged a brace. The youngster has three LaLiga Santander goals to his name this term, a return that puts him second in the team’s scoring charts. You can relive his goalscoring exploits in the video below. However, we’re not only interested in Abde’s ability in front of goal, we’re also keen to spotlight his attacking directness. He features amongst the top ten players in the competition for the number of defensive players beaten. This is a key criterion that allows the Navarrans to create goalscoring chances with a numerical advantage. The following graphics reflect how the El Sadar-based side created their goalscoring opportunities and where the ball entered the net.

Metric of the week

Double-pressure passes

Double-pressure passes are those in which both the passer and the recipient are under pressure. In such situations, there is minimal distance between the passer and their opponent, and the recipient and their counterpart. The distances involved often fail to exceed a metre, which offers an indication of just how challenging these actions are. As we can see in the following video, Imanol Alguacil’s Real Sociedad perform impressively in this department, with the Basques leading the way in the double‑pressure passing stakes (over 12 per game).

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.