Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Athletic are top dogs on width in possession

When we talk about a team’s width in various game scenarios, we inevitably refer to their convex hull rating. In this department, Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club cover a bigger area of the pitch in possession than any of their top-flight rivals. This set-up affords the team greater space and improves the passing options available to the man on the ball.

Meanwhile, in the fitness stakes, the boys from Bilbao lie fifth in terms of distance covered (km) so far this term, but they rank top of the class for distance covered at high intensity. In addition, the Basques feature amongst the top four teams in the competition for the number of switches of play and through-balls.

Remarkable Coach

Pellegrini’s troops are ball-carrying kings

Real Betis have enjoyed a fine start to the season, in which they have impressed with their play, goalscoring prowess and defensive solidity, with few teams able to match the Sevillians’ balance in both boxes. As we can see in the following clip, the Verdiblancos are one of the division’s top sides when it comes to beating the opposition’s defensive line with carries.

This is just one of a whole host of actions that seek to create the best goalscoring chances and it would certainly appear to be reaping its rewards, with Betis averaging two goals per game and only one team in the league needing fewer shots to score.

However, at the start of this section, we spoke of the team’s ability at both ends of the field and if we look at the Andalusians’ defensive record, they lie top of the pile for the number of attempts on goal the opposition require to score (29).

Key Player

Lethal Lewandowski’s seamless adaptation

Despite having only checked into LaLiga Santander a matter of weeks ago, the Pole already leads the way in a number of the league’s rankings. Before discussing what he contributes in the final third, it is worth highlighting that he occupies top spot for the least distance to the nearest opponent when receiving the ball, i.e. he is regularly subject to intense pressure from opposition defenders.

In terms of his participation in creating play and goals, he is one of top three players in LaLiga Santander for the number of high-impact attacking actions, chalking up over five per game. He sits in second place in the league standings for the number of attempts on goal (4.4 per outing) and is also the runner-up for the number of attempts on target (almost three per match).

The Match up

Creative forces clash as Real Madrid meet Betis

The league’s top two teams play an easy-on-the-eye, dynamic, attacking brand of football that leaves their fans on the edge of their seats, all of which is reflected in the statistics.

If we shine the spotlight on high-impact carries, the Blancos lie in second place in the league standings in this department and comfortably outperform the Verdiblancos. Elsewhere, Real Madrid are top dogs for goals per game (three), while Betis grab the last place on the podium with an average of two strikes per match.

One of the hallmarks of both sides is their high-intensity play and the number of passes completed per minute. Manuel Pellegrini’s charges complete more passes per minute than any other team in the competition, with Real Madrid lying fourth in this area.

Remember his name

Fresh-faced Balde oozes quality

Alejandro Balde has proved to be a difference-maker and despite surprising a large section of the FC Barcelona faithful, his has won them over with his eye-catching performances. This video showcases his ability to carry the ball at pace. Indeed, the starlet has earned himself a place amongst the top 10 players in the league when it comes to beating the opposition’s midfield line with carries. Meanwhile, intensity is a major feature of the youngster’s game and he comes in ahead of all of his Barça teammates for the number of actions completed at over 28km/hr (3.5), whilst he ranks in second spot in the team charts for actions performed at over 24km/hr.

In addition to his impressive intensity and ball-carrying carrying, it is also worth noting that only one of his teammates has chalked up more recoveries than the up-and-coming talent, who averages eight per game.

Metric of the week

High-intensity actions at over 21km/hr over at least 20m

The modern game requires players to perform intense efforts, both in attack and defence. Having players who are capable of covering ground at high speed hands teams a competitive advantage.

High-intensity actions are defined as those that hit the 21km/hr mark for at least 20m. The minimum distance is a very important element of this metric because even if a player achieves the required speed, if it is not sustained over the stipulated 20m, it fails to qualify as a high-intensity action.

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.