Ancelotti’s platforming to maximise Rodrygo & Vinícius vs Bayern was levels on what we saw from Luis Enriqué’s use of Mbappé vs Dortmund. Mbappé received the ball facing goal in his favoured inside left zone very few times (still created danger in 2 of those moments). Top…

Almost every touch, dribble and pass of Sancho’s turned to gold. A winger combination play masterclass in a Champions League semi-final. Mental & physical stability is everything.

Musiala is a cheat code.He can turn/dribble out of any tight space,it doesn’t matter what pressure you apply to him: he’s a one-man route to the penalty box.When Tuchel made him the main recipient of their attacks (Guerreiro feeding him down the left) in the 2nd half,they flowed.

Ancelotti’s choice to use Vinícius & Rodrygo to overload down the same side (left) ✅✅✅. The right side of Real’s attack was virtually ignored in favour of this. Tuchel’s in-game switch of Sané to RW for more width & Guerreiro’s passing in midfield,turned the match. Top battle.

Dare to give this man time & space to pick his pass like Bayern did and he will kill you.

•Saka is a high IQ player.Constantly makes good choices in & out possession- how he started & ended the counter for his goal epitomises it
•Reads the game defensively better than any winger around
•His touch & strength allows him to roll full-backs easy

Sean Dyche’s body of work is very impressive. His Burnley team had had no right staying in the Premier League for so long given Burnley were spending the least in the league on both transfer budget & wages. Europa League qualification was crazy. Everton now coping comfortably…

Pretty sure Liverpool’s old recruitment team would have replaced Firmino with Nkunku

The plan from Arteta says a lot about Chelsea’s attack. He’s essentially exposed how poor Chelsea’s attacking options are (especially without Palmer) by sitting a bit deeper and just allowing their attack to give them cheap possession to break off. Poch wants to attack vertically…

Bradley Barcola looks like a top talent. Stretches the pitch with his dribbling/speed but also plays at high intensity & repeatedly makes runs off-the-ball plus tracks back defensively. PSG missed this type of high energy attacker before. Turned the 1st leg & key in the 2nd leg.

Vitinha’s talent is clear- on the right side of Portugal under 21’s diamond, his ball progression was key to connecting the midfield to the likes of Gonçalves in attack

Despite limited game-time, Wolves should take the option to make his loan from Porto permanent,based on talent

He’s become too underrated because of his lack of pace. Remember: ball travels quicker than man. And brain can cover legs. Ice cold when pressed with an extensive passing range too. No Kamara, no Douglas Luiz and Tielemans steps up with a sensational performance at the Emirates.

Isak’s manipulation of the ball past defenders is so good. It completely did for Van de Ven. When you have that quality in your 9 with the ball-carrying of Gordon & off-ball movement of Barnes, in large spaces, that’s a lethal front 3 in transition.All 3 are decent finishers too.

That pass from Pedri to assist Raphinha was so special. The fact that it was his first pass after being out injured too… a sign of his ridiculous levels of talent.

Raphinha’s off-ball threat is very good. He got into so many dangerous shooting areas. Credit to Xavi for maximising it by dropping Lewandowksi deeper. Because Luis Enrique did the exact opposite with Mbappé by using him as a touchline winger, he rarely got into shooting areas.

Rodri, Foden, KDB (long-range banger in the 1st leg last season) vs Tchouaméni, Kroos, Valverde, Jude, Vinicíus (long-range banger in the 1st leg last season) was already a heavyweight clash of ball-striking from outside of the box then Gvardiol & Camavinga joined the party too.

The nature of how Ancelotti instructs his midfield to defend does leave them vulnerable to central long shots. He wanted the Camavinga-Kroos double pivot to collapse pretty deep because of how Man City use double 8s, which then left 2 CBs free to defend Haaland. Ancelotti also…