Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Imanol’s boys are top-class carriers

As we can see in the following video, not only are Real Sociedad’s carries highly effective, they also pose a threat. Imanol Alguacil’s troops feature amongst the top three teams in LaLiga Santander for the number of carries that create danger. The Basque outfit’s carries break opposition lines and move the team closer to the opposition’s goal in the attacking phase to create goalscoring opportunities. As well as carries, the side from San Sebastian also rely on combination play that involves a high number of passes.

Remarkable Coach

Xavi has Catalan giants playing his way

The expectation levels surrounding Xavi’s appointment in the FC Barcelona hot seat were related, for the most part, to the playing style he would implement. The Catalan tactician has had a good run of games since taking up the reins to instil his blueprint, but the team’s latest outing represented a before-and-after moment.

Xavi’s charges currently lie top of the pile for the number of possessions in the opposition’s half, with 57.4%. This statistic owes much to their impressive statistics in relation to the press after losing the ball, an area in which they also rank top of the tree. The Azulgranas rack up over six quick presses after losing possession per outing, which enables them to chalk up some outstanding possession stats.

In addition to these metrics, a central feature of Barcelona’s game is their high-impact carries, where they take the LaLiga Santander crown, recording five per game. It is also little coincidence that they occupy second spot for the distance covered at over 28km/hr.

Key Player

Tchouameni continues to stake his claim

The Frenchman has raised plenty of eyebrows with his eye-catching displays since he earned his place in the Real Madrid starting line-up at the start of the season. He certainly had big boots to fill, but he has proven himself to be a more than capable replacement for the outgoing Casemiro. As we can see in the following clip, he helps to create goals thanks to his excellent passing ability. His passes beat an average of 2.7 opponents, while he features amongst the top 10 players in the league when it comes to both the number of recoveries in opposition territory and aerials duels won. Elsewhere, he claims a spot amongst the top eight players in the division for the number of assists per outing, chalking up almost 0.41 per match.

The Match up

Sevilla v Atletico Madrid: a contest between sides gasping for points

The Sevillians are currently enduring rather turbulent times. There are question marks surrounding the coaching team and the results are failing to materialise, all of which gives rise to a tense atmosphere within the Andalusians’ camp.

Despite either team failing to fill their fans with any great feeling of optimism, we will here focus our attention on the raw data. If we look at the number of presses after losing the ball in terms of the number of players involved in them, we note that Sevilla bag second place in the LaLiga standings, while Atleti sit in sixth spot. Both teams feature amongst the top five teams for the number of passes per minute, i.e. the ball circulate rate.

However, there is some level of disparity between the levels of intensity. Only three other teams clock up more kilometres at over 21km/hr than Sevilla, while the Rojiblancos languish down in 10^th spot in this department.

Remember his name

There’s more to Mendez than goals

Brais Mendez features amongst the top 10 players in LaLiga Santander for the number of double-pressure passes completed. These are passes in which both he and the receiver of the pass are subject to pressure from the opposition. However, our current analysis shines the spotlight on his goalscoring prowess. He sits in fifth place in the league standings for the number of goals scored in open play. Meanwhile, he has a shot conversion rate of 30%, a return that places him amongst the top 15 players in the division, whilst none of his teammates amass more attacking actions than the talented schemer.

Metric of the week

Percentage of dangerous possessions

We began our analysis by pointing out that dangerous possessions are those which create a goal or a goalscoring opportunity. However, there are a whole host of aspects to analyse and assess when it comes to a facet of the game as complex as possession. If we focus on the outcome of possessions, we can assess them in terms of their danger. This relates to whether the attacking transition culminates in a goal or a goalscoring opportunity, i.e. an attempt on goal.

Bearing this in mind, we establish that the percentage refers to the proportion of dangerous possessions compared to the total figure.

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.