Read on Twitter
Brief Twitter summary of what I saw live:
1. RBL& #39;s shape was a diamond for buildup. 3 CBs beats 2 strikers, 1 midfielder as anchor.
The midfield played between ATL& #39;s defence and midfield (constant movement) to outnumber, press and offer passes. Difficult to deal with for ATL
1. RBL& #39;s shape was a diamond for buildup. 3 CBs beats 2 strikers, 1 midfielder as anchor.
The midfield played between ATL& #39;s defence and midfield (constant movement) to outnumber, press and offer passes. Difficult to deal with for ATL
ATL always defend in 2 hyper-organised lines of 4. No gaps, training ground drilled defending, very aggressive. RBL wanted to outnumber them to gain overloads and a free man. Did this with five across midfield, stretching the pitch
A few times this opened up really nice forward passing moves, where RBL hit one-touch passes diagonally and appeared to have an extra man free - that was all planned by Nagelsmann. But all it needed was an interception, quick pass forward and Atletico could score.
So Simeone didn& #39;t do anything wrong in not changing things. The 442 works, it& #39;s incredibly hard to break down, and they can score off it. They beat Liverpool. It certainly worked then...
However, as soon as RBL took the lead, Simeone needed to do something
However, as soon as RBL took the lead, Simeone needed to do something
The right side of this picture was ATL& #39;s shape after Felix came on. He& #39;s circled in gold. ATL moved to more of a 4312 (easy to switch to 442 out of possession) to get Felix higher up the pitch. This meant he could block the RBL midfield anchor and disrupt build up. It also meant
... that he could drift into channels and then arrive in the vacant 10 space to attack central areas. That& #39;s how he got into the penalty area to be taken down for the equaliser. That sub changed ATL defensively and in attack. RBL then adjusted to stop his influence
Both teams kept their defensive systems in place for the whole game. RBL defended aggressively high up the pitch, trying to keep Atletico busy in an area they are usually comfy. Quite brave. Atletico don& #39;t let anyone past but couldn& #39;t support the strikers because of RBL& #39;s shape
Both managers kept making minor adjustments, pulling one player here or there, and players naturally dropped into space because that& #39;s what good players do. Commentary said Atletico should have & #39;gone for it& #39; but I think that kinda misses the point. Because...
the reason Simeone has done so well at Atletico is playing this exact system. It is easier to destroy than create. Imagine Burnley or Kilmarnock with World Cup winners and Joao Felix on the bench - it works. If he & #39;has a go& #39; then it& #39;s player v player, and that...
... means Simeone loses control. ATL control games without the ball. RBL control games with it. I know which one I& #39;d rather watch, but a lot of the time it& #39;s the defensive one which wins games. RBL wanted Atletico to open up - that was their absolute dream. Simeone knew it
... Angelino made that same pass inside the pitch a few times before it actually worked for the winning goal. If they hadn& #39;t scored from it, that wouldn& #39;t have meant Nagelsmann got it wrong. Players decide games, managers identify patterns and match tactics to suit a system
The first goal, for example, was a product of everything Nagelsmann worked on in training for the game. Upemacano was the & #39;sweeper& #39; (he wasn& #39;t but let& #39;s go with it), the shape stretched the pitch, the ball was moved from left to right to left to the goal
without brilliant players, like the ones RBL have, they probably wouldn& #39;t have been able to do this and pass first time in tight spaces between ATL defensive lines. It& #39;s why Killie can& #39;t do it against Celtic, for example, or Burnley v Liverpool. Coach built the platform for it
So in summary: Nagelsmann = incredibly talented coach. Simeone = incredibly talented coach. Two styles kept the score level, one brilliant passage born of tactics and player skill changed game, tactical tweak and player run for equaliser, tactics and luck for winner. 
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