prolifik
Pat_Mustard
prolifik Tactics
We've switched to a 4-2-3-1 setup, with Zidane slotting in as a classic #10 orchestrating for our explosive forward line. In addition to their sheer pace and skill, the interchangeability of our front men makes them a major challenge - Figo and Mbappe are both comfortable on either flank, and Henry is happy to drift all across the final third to find space. The attackers are supported by a balanced double-pivot, with Alonso sitting and dictating while Pirri plays a box-to-box role.
Pat has an excellent back four but we've got the weapons to cause them some problems. Baresi's reliance on the offside trap is dicing with danger against a team with Zidane operating between the lines, Alonso spraying long passes from deep, and the pace of Figo, Mbappe, and Henry to run in behind. It may work 9 times out of 10, but we feel at some point we can spring the trap and punish them. Additionally, our pacy and unpredictable forward line isn't the best fit for Chiellini's strengths as a defender.
Defensively, we assume Cristiano will be occupying the left channel in some capacity, and we're comfortable (to the extent you can be against this level of player) with the Bergomi-Carvalho combination to combat him on that side.
Pat_Mustard Tactics
Formation: 4-3-1-2
Similar team shape to our last match, but we shift away from the dour, defence-first Lippi model to something slightly more possession-based and expansive, and more akin to the diamonds deployed by Ancelotti at Milan or Zidane at Real Madrid in 2016-17. We're capable of countering at pace, but equally we can hold onto the ball for longer periods, be it to build attacks through sustained pressure, or simply to take the steam out of the match and defend by retaining possession.
Pat_Mustard
prolifik Tactics
We've switched to a 4-2-3-1 setup, with Zidane slotting in as a classic #10 orchestrating for our explosive forward line. In addition to their sheer pace and skill, the interchangeability of our front men makes them a major challenge - Figo and Mbappe are both comfortable on either flank, and Henry is happy to drift all across the final third to find space. The attackers are supported by a balanced double-pivot, with Alonso sitting and dictating while Pirri plays a box-to-box role.
Pat has an excellent back four but we've got the weapons to cause them some problems. Baresi's reliance on the offside trap is dicing with danger against a team with Zidane operating between the lines, Alonso spraying long passes from deep, and the pace of Figo, Mbappe, and Henry to run in behind. It may work 9 times out of 10, but we feel at some point we can spring the trap and punish them. Additionally, our pacy and unpredictable forward line isn't the best fit for Chiellini's strengths as a defender.
Defensively, we assume Cristiano will be occupying the left channel in some capacity, and we're comfortable (to the extent you can be against this level of player) with the Bergomi-Carvalho combination to combat him on that side.
Pat_Mustard Tactics
Formation: 4-3-1-2
Similar team shape to our last match, but we shift away from the dour, defence-first Lippi model to something slightly more possession-based and expansive, and more akin to the diamonds deployed by Ancelotti at Milan or Zidane at Real Madrid in 2016-17. We're capable of countering at pace, but equally we can hold onto the ball for longer periods, be it to build attacks through sustained pressure, or simply to take the steam out of the match and defend by retaining possession.
- We'll still tend to drop off in the defensive phase and defend in a deeper block, as that seems like more familiar and comfortable terrain for most of our players, particularly Buffon and Chiellini.
- Verratti coming in alongside Rodri gives us two press-resistant volume passers to orchestrate our possession phases and manage the flow of the match.
- In a narrow formation, we now have two of the premier flank-dominating FBs in our side of the draft in Cabrini and Amoros to keep the pitch wide when we're attacking.
- This is the late-stage Real Madrid version of Cristiano, when he was at his most decisive as a goalscorer in big matches, and was less wasteful and egotistical in his involvement in the build-up phases. To be honest I have mixed feelings about dropping the hard-running, more selfless and vastly more likeable Butragueno, but with a workhorse like Riva at CF, and Baggio who will drop back and do his bit against the ball, I feel we can accomodate Ronaldo here as our one player who will basically 'cheat' in the defensive phase and wait for the opportunity to do something decisive on the counter.
- With Riva occupying the CBs and doing the back-to-goal stuff, good crossing from the FBs, punchy direct passing from the CMs, and the possibility of something outrageously creative from Baggio, there's a good range of tools for Cristiano to work with here, and as much as he annoys me he's one of the most reliable matchwinners the game has seen.
