Manchester City

v Match analysis

Olympique Lyonnais

@dgouilard
 Stats comparison

ATTACKING PO S S ES S IO N D EFEN D IN G
CPLT PRESS PRESS BALL
TOP HALF
SHOTS ON xG xG ATTM ATTMP CPLTD
GOALS CHANCES SHOTS xG xG DIF PASSES PASSES PASS % ATTMP CPLTD PRESS % RECS BALL FOULS
TARGET % PER PER CROSSES CROSSES .
RECS.
SHOT GOAL

MAN 1 8 17 44% 1.92 1.26 0.11 1.92 691 607 88% 14 0 9 4 44% 49 9 13
CITY

OLYMPIQUE
3 4 8 88% 0.66 -1.26 0.08 0.22 288 222 77% 2 0 11 4 36% 42 4 15
LYONNAIS

Sources: InStat & WhoScored

• Unsurprisingly, Man City dominated Lyon in terms of passing as their attempted passes are more than twice as high
as Lyon’s record. They also registered higher number of crosses compared to their opposition, with 14 attempted
compared to two, since they preferred attacking down the wings more often.

• Guardiola’s side had 17 shots, generated 8 chances and had their xG value per shot at 0.11, which are all decent
numbers. But they could have done a lot better given that their total xG value is only approximately 2, and should
Sterling hit the back of the net rather than sending the ball to space, they would match the number.

• Man City still attempted to press Lyon whenever possible, as they registered 9 ball recoveries inside Lyon’s half.
Meanwhile, Lyon’s record of 42 ball recoveries is quite unsurprising given how they preferred to defend deep and
only managed to win the ball back four times inside Man City’s half.
Manchester City
 Man City – Pre-match (1W in the EPL, 1W in the UCL)

Man City 5-0 Norwich

In David Silva’s Premier League farewell match, Man City was undoubtedly
the dominant side over last-placed Norwich City, which was proved by their
number of key passes (25 over Norwich’s 4) and attempted shots (31 over
Norwich’s 5). While Silva was unfortunate not to get a goal, it was Kevin de
Bruyne who stole the headline with two goals and one assist.

26/07/2020
Man City 2-1 Real Madrid
Having won 2-1 at Santiago Bernabeu before the season was suspended, Man
City entered the second leg with high confidence and it was reflected through
their style of play. They remained the dominant side in terms of possession
(55.1% over Real’s 44.9%) and managed to pin Real back inside their
defensive third for the majority of the match. While the away side managed
to find the equalizer through Karim Benzema, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem
Sterling were able to capitalise on Raphaël Varane’s errors to score the two
decisive goals for Man City.
07/08/2020
 Man City – Starting XI Sharemytactics.com

• 3-1-4-2 when offensive; 5-1-2-2 when defensive

• Switched to a 4-2-3-1 after the 56th minute
• Rodri stayed deep and linked up with the CBs
during build-up
• João Cancelo and Kyle Walker tended to overlap
high up the pitch; at times, found themselves near
the box
• Kevin de Bruyne drifted to the left-wing more
often to support the play
• Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus also drifted
wide, but they also attempted to find space
behind Lyon’s defensive line
• A questionable lineup from Pep Guardiola as he
moved away from their usual 4-1-2-3 lineup

City’s line-up at the end of the match

In possession
 Man City – Key features
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: ATTACKING 3-1-4-2, WBs STAYED HIGH
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Man City preferred to have control of the ball and attempted to push the opposition into their own half.
PREFERRED
While three centre-backs had the ball near the halfway line, the attacking players were tasked to drift wide
STATE and create overloads when they managed to do so. Both wing-backs took up a position high up the pitch,
with Cancelo preferredly stayed higher than Walker.

Looked to move the ball slowly inside the first half and distributed the ball wide often (mostly down
Cancelo’s left-hand side). Three CBs were unable to connect with Rodri as he was locked up by Lyon’s pressing
BUILD-UP box (see next slide), which prevented them from passing the ball in between Lyon’s defensive line.

Moved the ball slightly quicker when they switched formation and looked to take the game to the opponent
when they scored the equaliser.

Were lacked of players staying centrally, with both Sterling and de Bruyne drifted to the left-wing when the
ball was moved to the area. Jesus was the only player who attempted to find space in between Lyon’s
INSIDE
defenders as he looked to arrive into the box and picked up crosses made from the left-wing.

Heavily relied on width as they played the ball wide more often (down the left-wing inside the first half and
WIDTH
the right-wing in the second half). The combination between the wing-back and the winger (Cancelo and
Sterling, Walker and Mahrez/De Bruyne) was key for Man City to progress the ball down the wing. Also
relied on crosses to get the ball into the box (26 attempted crosses in total).

The players were encouraged to roam from their positions in order to drag Lyon defenders out of their
positions, which, as a result, created space behind their back. It did not work out for them as Lyon defenders
DEPTH
stayed discipline and rarely moved out of their respective positions. City players also focused on flexible
movements and swapping positions with each other, especially among the attackers.

FINAL Wing-oriented, especially down the left-hand side, and relied on crosses towards the box. Crosses were
THIRD
aimed low towards the 6-yard box, or high towards the far post. If the ball was progressed down one wing,
the players on the opposite side would arrive in the box and looked to walk the ball into the net.
 Man City – Build-up
• Moved the ball slowly in between the centre-backs
• Were not able to connect with Rodri as he was
locked up by Lyon’s pressing box (2nd image)
• Both wing-backs took up a high position during the
team’s build-up
• Lacked of players centrally as the attackers were
looking to move wide and receive the ball from the
outside centre-backs (3rd image)
• Did not attempt to make direct passes from the
build-up, but rather find space to progress the ball to
the final third Man City’s passes targeted towards the middle third
Man City’s shots map (Source: InStat)
0.4 xG
0.15 xG
More shots were taken from the left-hand side, which is also
the area where Man City preferred to attack. Not a single shot
was registered down the right-hand side, but it was
reasonable given that Pep’s side were aware of Cornet’s speed
and it was not viable for Walker and de Bruyne to outrun him.
0.22 xG
0.33 xG
0.13 xG
0.22 xG
In ten shots Man City managed to register inside the box, six of
them have an xG value higher than 0.1. But while de Bruyne’s
goal was a well-executed shot, the other two on target, taken
by Rodri and Sterling inside the first half, was dealt
comfortably by Lopes. It showed how struggle they were in
creating good chances to score.
Man City – Passes into the box (Source: InStat)

Man City players made

25 passes into the box
from the left-hand side
compared to 7 on the
opposite wing, which,
once again, indicating
their reliance on
overloading the area
and attempted to put
Léo Dubois under
pressure on a constant
basis.
Out of possession
 Man City – Key features
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: HIGH 5-1-2-2
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

As expected, Man City would commit players forward in order to press Lyon right from their build-up. If they
PREFERRED
ended up losing the ball during their attack, they would have numerical superiority to create 2v1 situations
STATE and win the ball back inside Lyon’s half.

Pressed with a high line as three centre-backs stayed near the halfway line, with Eric García stayed deepest to
provide coverage for Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho. Both wing-backs were tasked to pin Dubois and
PRESS Maxwell Cornet down by also committing forward to join the press along with the attackers. Were slightly
aggressive, but did not commit fouls near their box.

Ilkay Gündogän and Kevin de Bruyne were tasked to follow Lyon’s Maxence Caqueret and Houssem Aouar
while Rodri provided coverage for the back-three. Both strikers closed down the two centre-backs and
INSIDE
provoked long passes to allow one of Man City’s centre-backs to regain possession for the team.

As mentioned, both wing-backs were responsible for Cornet and Dubois while the outside centre-backs had
the option of drifting wide to provide coverage for the ball-sided wing-back. But Lyon were able to capitalise
WIDTH Cornet’s pace to outrun Walker and received support from both Aouar and Fernando Marçal to enter the
space behind Fernandinho’s back (Lyon’s opening goal was a clear example).

Played with an extremely high line with only García provided coverage for the space behind the back-three.
They lost out to Lyon’s striking duo (Memphis Depay/Moussa Dembélé and Karl Toko-Ekambi) on several
DEPTH
occasions when the opposition midfielders made either a through ball or long passes towards the space
behind them.

LOW 5-4-1 mid-block with the back-five spreading wide to cover up both wings. Sterling dropped slightly deep and
BLOCK
pushed de Bruyne to the right-hand side while Rodri and Gündogän stayed centrally. Attempted to win the
SHAPE
ball inside the middle third, but were ready to deal with Lyon’s attack down either flank.
Olympique
Lyonnais
 Lyon – Pre-match (2L in the CdLL and the UCL)

PSG 0-0 (6-5) Lyon

With Ligue 1 finished earlier than expected, Lyon entered their first
competitive match after four months against Paris Saint-Germain in the
Coupe de La Ligue final. Both teams had a good match as both their number
of chances were double-digits (11 for PSG and 15 for Lyon), but Anthony
Lopes and Keylor Navas also had a good day in goal. But it was the Costa
Rican goalkeeper who came out on top to save Bertrand Traoré’s penalty and
sealed the win for PSG.

31/07/2020
Juventus 2-1 Lyon
Lyon gained a slight advantage over Juventus having already won 1-0 at home.
In the second leg, the French side entered the match with a defensive lineup
and hoped to keep a clean sheet at the end of the match. An early penalty goal
from Memphis Depay even boosted their confidence amid being dominated by
Juventus (Juventus held 62.3% of ball possession compared to Lyon’s 37.7% and
created 16 shots over Lyon’s 6). But Juventus’ plan of relying on crosses (39
attempted crosses) was not enough to see them qualified for the quarter-final,
even with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two goals for the Italian side.
07/08/2020
 Lyon – Starting XI Sharemytactics.com

• 3-1-4-2 when offensive; 5-3-2 when defensive

• Switched to a 4-1-4-1 shortly after Riyad Mahrez
was brought on for Man City
• Maxwell Cornet tended to overlap high up the
pitch when he played as a left wing-back and
received support from both Fernando Marçal and
Houssem Aouar
• The same can be said for Léo Dubois on the right-
hand side, but he did not overlap on a constant
basis like Cornet
• Memphis Depay and Karl-Toko Ekambi roamed
from their positions occasionally as they looked to
attack the space behind Man City’s defensive line
• Bruno Guimarães stayed slightly behind Aouar and
Maxence Caqueret to provide coverage for Lyon’s
central midfielders and the defensive line
In possession
 Lyon – Key features
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: WIDE 3-1-4-2, WBs STAYED HIGH
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

While Lyon rarely had the ball to execute a build-up situation like Man City, but when they did, they aimed to
PREFERRED
pass the ball slightly quick and looked to distribute it to either flank, preferredly the left-hand side. The
STATE attacking players would look for space in between Man City’s 5-4-1 block to position themselves into. They
mostly played long passes or through balls towards the strikers as they looked to make the most of the space
behind Man City’s defensive line.

Build-up with three CBs with Marçal looked to shift slightly to the left-wing as he was ready for any
opportunity to overlap up the pitch. Guimarães would stay near the centre-backs and pinned down Jesus
BUILD-UP while Aouar and Caqueret moved flexibly in between Man City’s midfielders.

Lopes tended to make long kicks straight from goal-kicks to prevent Man City from pressing high, but was also
willing to pass the ball short when needed.

Aouar and Caqueret were flexible in terms of positioning as they looked to link the front two with the rest of
the team, especially Aouar. Toko-Ekambi stayed slightly wide to provide diagonal runs into the box while
INSIDE
Depay stayed centrally and usually aimed to be in between the centre-backs to capitalise through balls from
his teammates.

Attacked down the left-wing often using Cornet’s pace while both strikers were able to roam from their
WIDTH
positions into the half-space to provide support. Cornet and Aouar linked up well with each other whenever
Lyon attacked down the left-hand side as the latter occasionally created space for the former to run into.

Aouar was arguably Lyon’s key player in the match as he looked to sit in between Man City’s defensive lines
and linked up the play. As both strikers were tasked to pin down the defenders, Aouar and Caqueret
DEPTH
provided possible passing lanes for the centre-backs to find them constantly and then distributed the ball to
the advanced options.

FINAL Wing-oriented, especially down the left-hand side. But they also made the most out of long passes and
THIRD
through balls towards the space behind City’s centre-backs for their pacey strikers to run into. Lyon’s first two
goals came from either a long ball (assisted by Marçal) and through passes (assisted by Aouar).
Lyon – Lopes’ passes (Source: InStat)

Most of Lopes’ goal-

kicks were aimed long
and towards Man City’s
half rather than going
short to Denayer and
Marcelo. This was
intentional as it
prevented Man City
from executing their
press inside Lyon’s half,
which could result in
them conceding goals
from individual errors.
Out of possession
 Lyon – Key features
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION: DEEP 5-3-2
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Lyon were comfortable sitting deep and created a mid-block inside their own half. While it would mean that
PREFERRED
they would allow Man City to have more of the ball during their build-up phase, they were able to overload
STATE the central area and prevented Man City from creating passing lanes centrally.

The French side did not start pressing Man City until their opposition moved the ball to near the halfway line.
Since Man City played out with three centre-backs, Aouar was encouraged to step out on several occasions to
PRESS mark Fernandinho, creating a 5-2-3 pressing shape alongside Depay and Toko-Ekambi (see 2nd image).

They aimed to create a pressing box to shift from side to side and locked up Rodri to prevent Man City’s
centre-backs from linking with him. By having three central midfielders covering for the three centre-backs,
INSIDE
Lyon were able to overload the central area, locked up possible passing lanes and forced Man City to pass
the ball wide.

When the opposition moved the ball to either flank, the pressing box would move along with the ball and
linked up with the ball-sided wing-back to overload that flank. On most occasions, Man City distributed the
WIDTH ball towards their right-hand side but was forced to make a back pass since Lyon managed to outnumber them
and they had to restart the build-up.

Aimed to swarm the area in front of the box using their 5-3-2 defensive shape and prevented Man City from
progressing the ball centrally. When the opposition distributed the ball wide, the shape would shift from one
DEPTH
side to the other and created an overload on the ball-sided area, preferredly on the edge of their defensive
third.

LOW 5-3-2 low-block with the players looked to stay discipline and held their positions, except for Aouar.
BLOCK
Overloaded their defensive third and attempted to close down unoccupied space in between the lines
SHAPE
through numerical advantage. Guimarães occasionally dropped deep to provide coverage for the three
centre-backs.
Aouar’s heatmap
Lyon – Ball recoveries (Source: InStat)

There were 38 ball

recoveries made by
Lyon players inside
their own half, which
took up 90.5% of their
total ball recoveries in
the match. As they
preferred to stay deep
and close to their own
box for the majority of
the match, it explained
the mentioned stat and
showed how they were
able to frustrate Man
City during their build-
up phase.