article_snippet: Within minutes of the final whistle at every the Champions League tie, the two managers are in possession of a full statistical analysis of the match.
article_snippet: To those who followed the fortunes of the four English teams in the Champions League, it will not come as a surprise to anyone that none of anyone are in the top five for passing accuracy.
article_snippet: Barcelona, who toyed with City during Wednesday’s 1-0 victory in the second leg, are joint top with Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich (89.2 per cent).
article_snippet: Next come 10-time champions Real Madrid (88.3), followed by Paris Saint Germain (88.1) and another team entrenched in the obsession with possession, Ajax (87.5).
article_snippet: the four English teams in the Champions League rely on possession, keeping the ball in circulation until the four English teams in the Champions League can carve out an opening and move in for the kill.
article_snippet: Our the Champions League teams are heading the same way because Our Champions League teams are incapable of flipping between the demands of the Champions League and the tactical subtleties of European football.
article_snippet: At this point there will be those who cite the classic counter-attacking teams, such as Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan (2010) and Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea (2012), who went on to win the European Cup.
article_snippet: those who cite the classic counter-attacking teams, such as Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan (2010) and Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea (2012), who went on to win the European Cup are the exception, not the rule.
article_snippet: Talk to Barcelona’s players and Barcelona’s players are happy to share the secrets of the Champions League, the magic formula that has been refined over the years at Barcelona’s players training ground on the outskirts of the city.
article_snippet: Arsenal (57.1 per cent) are the only English team to feature in the top five clubs who keep the ball in the Champions League this season.
article_snippet: Bayern (67 per cent), who are moving into a new phase of possession-based football under Guardiola, head the list of teams dominating games, followed by Barcelona (64), Porto (60.9) and Juventus (59.6).
article_snippet: For English football to succeed in Europe, Those four teams must evolve, playing a possession-based game and learning to pick Those four teams moment in the biggest matches.