LALIGA
INSTITUTIONAL

LALIGA WITH
SPORT

LALIGA
GROUP

Matchday 30

Quality recoveries & build-up play that offers guarantees

This video illustrates how recoveries can be distinguished not only in terms of their effectiveness, but also their quality. Barcelona record the fourth-most advantageous recoveries in the league, i.e. situations that involve a numerical advantage and where the side in possession has more players ahead of the ball than the opposition.

Given the importance of build-up play in the system deployed by Xavi’s troops, the team’s set-up at the start of the attacking transition is key. This video shows how the Barcelona players react in these situations. It’s worth pointing out that 15% of the Catalan giants’ recoveries put them at an advantage.

Dato de la Semana ENG

It’s your Game

Matchday 14

Real Sociedad

0 - 0

Valencia CF

SUN 21.11.2021

20:00

Season 2021/2022

Anoeta

Rayo Vallecano

3 - 1

RCD Mallorca

MON 22.11.2021

20:00

Season 2021/2022

Estadio de Vallecas

Granada CF

1 - 4

Real Madrid

SUN 21.11.2021

15:15

Season 2021/2022

Nuevo Los Cármenes

Atlético de Madrid

1 - 0

CA Osasuna

SAT 20.11.2021

17:30

Season 2021/2022

Riyadh Air Metropolitano

Atlético de Madrid

1 - 0

CA Osasuna

SAT 20.11.2021

17:30

Season 2021/2022

Matchday 14

Riyadh Air Metropolitano

Atletico Madrid are undisputed kings of the press

Atletico Madrid have brought last season’s impressive attacking form into the current campaign. The Madrilenians are showcasing an ability to make regular inroads on the opposition’s goal, as illustrated by the fact that they top the LaLiga Santander standings as the team that finishes their possessions closest to the opposition’s goal. Atleti’s desire to win the ball back high up the pitch certainly contributes in this department and Diego Simeone’s troops feature among the top five teams for pressing after losing the ball. When the Colchoneros get a sight of the opposition’s goal they’re lethal and have landed themselves a top-two berth for shooting efficiency and claim a place on the podium for shooting success percentage.

In the face of such attacking prowess, Osasuna will need to bring all their defensive solidity to the fore. The Navarrans’ aerial game has caught the eye this season and they are the side to win the most aerial duels in the league, whilst also featuring amongst the top three teams when it comes to recoveries. Whenever the El Sadar-based outfit manage to get their noses in front in games, they do a sterling job of closing out spaces. Indeed, they boast one of the three smallest convex hull scores in the top flight when ahead in matches. They are also the side to cover the greatest distance after losing the ball.

Share
Share
Share
Share

Route one football is Osasuna’s trademark

Osasuna continue to remain faithful to their direct approach. The Rojillos demonstrate a clear understanding that their aim is to reach the opposition’s box as quickly as possible. The Navarrans have landed themselves a place on the podium for the number of opposition players passed per pass. This statistic goes a long way to explaining why the Pamplona-based outfit boast the highest percentage of possession in the opposition’s half, a statistic which also wins them a spot on the podium among the teams with the highest pass percentage in the final third. Once they reach the attacking third they continue to play at a high tempo and have posted the most crosses in the whole division.

As for Atleti, they’re once again showing just what a formidable defensive unit they are and are the best team in the league when it comes to preventing the opposition from creating chances, whilst also being the side to receive the fewest shots. They also post the best numbers for percentage of shots successfully blocked.

PLAYER FOCUS

David Garcia is Osasuna’s defensive linchpin

David Garcia is proving to be a key cog in the Osasuna machine. The Rojillos’ stopper lies second in the league charts for the number of aerial duels won and boasts the highest percentage of aerial duels won amongst those who contest the most balls in the air, whilst he has completed the second-most clearances in the division. He is also amongst LaLiga Santander’s top five players for recoveries. However, Garcia’s influence extends beyond his defensive duties and he’s also chipping in at the other end of the pitch. The defender is the team’s joint-leading goalscorer on two goals, alongside Chimy Avila, Roberto Torres and Kike Garcia, all of whom are attacking players. Garcia is also often the starting point of many of the team’s route one play, with his passes passing more opposition players than any of his teammates’.

Share

Metric of the Week

Matchday 30

Metric of the week 30 ENG

Find out the meaning of each metric

Number of players involved per possession offers clear indication of team’s style

There are a number of ways in which a team’s possession can be defined, with the number of players involved in them being one of the methods that we analyse. This criteria measures how many team members touch the ball during the course of an attacking transition. Teams whose game involves more intricate build-up play and possessions typically feature more players per possession.

As this video illustrates, Real Madrid are the LaLiga Santander champions for the number of players involved per possession, with an average of 3.67 per outing.

HOW IT'S MADE

Beyond Stats offers incredible metrics which go beyond the ordinary in the football industry: it does not limit itself to gathering the data normally used for the standard analyses that reach fans, but goes one step further, collecting a vast amount of in-match information, almost in real time, thanks to LaLiga’ s Mediacoach proprietary tool, that is capable of revealing new perspectives on the game at a deeper level, allowing patterns to be traced and future predictions to be made. 

In every LaLiga stadiums we have up to sixteen high-resolution, fixed perimeter cameras for optical tracking which follow the positions of the players, referees, and the ball on the field of play, collecting the physical and technical/tactical data at the dizzying rate of 25 times a second. These devices permit the integration, through the Mediacoach analysis tool, of two technologies: tracking and eventing. Tracking is based on the positional information collected by the stadium perimeter cameras and allows for the generation of metrics such as distance covered, top and average speeds, and number of sprints. Eventing allows more objective events to be recorded: number of passes, corners, and fouls committed and received, for example. The information captured through tracking and eventing is integrated and stored in the system forming a high-volume set of data. 

The raw data collected is processed for analysis by a multidisciplinary team composed of LaLiga experts in business intelligence & analytics and football analysis, through machine learning and artificial intelligence processes made possible thanks to the Azure technology supplied by Microsoft, which is capable of processing large volumes of data. After processing, an algorithm is generated that permits the visualisation of the metrics that reach fans through Beyond Stats. These statistics allow fans to better understand why their team has won or lost a match, or to benefit from a panoramic view of their performance and expectations, gifting football fans an unprecedented immersion in the experience.