- TFA - Total Football Analysis
- Posts
- Rondos & Possession Games - Tactical Theory & Pep Guardiola Progression Tactics At Man City 2025/2026
Rondos & Possession Games - Tactical Theory & Pep Guardiola Progression Tactics At Man City 2025/2026
Today, we have a tactical theory piece on rondos & possession games for pre-season training along with analysis of Man City's progression tactics with Pep Guardiola & Pep Lijnders.
In partnership with
The Home Of Tactical Analysis
In Partnership With 🤝
Burned out by the news? There’s a better way.
Outrage headlines. Never-ending feeds. Everyone shouting, no one listening.
Keeping up with political news today can feel more like emotional labor than staying informed. That’s why Tangle exists.
Tangle is an independent, nonpartisan newsletter that covers one major political story each day. It breaks down the facts, shows how the left, right, and center are talking about it, and adds clear, honest analysis — without the spin, hysteria, or bias.
No sides to pick. Just clear, honest analysis from an independent source — all in under 10 minutes a day.
More than 400,000 readers — no matter their politics — trust Tangle to get the full picture and stay informed without getting burnt out.
If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed by the news — but still want to understand what’s really happening — give Tangle a try.
New TFA Podcast Episodes 🎤
If you previously subscribed to the TFA podcast, you may have noticed it's back!
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other players via RSS.
Today’s TFA Posts ⚽
Rondo and possession exercises are now staples in most modern football coaches’ repertoires.
They can, and should, be used throughout the season.
However, they can be particularly useful to coaches during pre-season as a way to break down the components of a particular game model while providing enough intensity to increase players’ cardiovascular capacity.
For this tactical analysis, a ‘rondo’ is defined by the static nature of the players in the attacking, or in-possession, team and the defending players moving within a designated area.
Possession games, on the other hand, are differentiated here by their more fluid nature.
All players are freer to move, resulting in a more ‘game-like’ feel.
From an attacking point of view, the aim of both is to improve a team’s ability to keep the ball with, ideally, a target for them to play to.
These games are also a great way to embed good pressing in terms of the individual technical aspects, as well as tactical and psychological factors, of reacting quickly to turnovers of possession.
Improving pressing further raises the level of possession performance, as players are forced to play quicker and make better decisions with the ball.
This tactical football analysis will analyse different components of rondo and possession exercises, break down their uses, and offer example exercises that the world’s top coaches are using.
This training analysis will show how these rondos translate to real game scenarios, along with in-match examples from Celtic and Real Madrid.
In our previous Pep Guardiola and Pepijn Lijnders analysis, we began exploring Manchester City’s in-possession tactics by focusing on their build-up—the phase in which Pep Guardiola’s side demonstrated tactical flexibility and diversity in their game plan, adapting based on the starting personnel and showing resilience against the opposition’s high-pressing schemes.
With the addition of assistant coach Pepijn Lijnders and several new signings, Man City’s tactical evolution has taken a fresh turn, especially in how they approach the next phase of play: progression.
In this piece, we move beyond the defensive third and into the middle third, analysing how Man City advance the ball with their updated positional dynamics, how they manipulate man-oriented systems like Juventus’, and how specific roles enable them to gain territory.
Progression—the phase between build-up and final third penetration—requires cohesion, timing, and flexibility.
It is the phase where Pep Guardiola’s tactical ideas meet the opposition’s pressure in the middle third.
Here, Man City operate with a clear objective—a point worth keeping in mind when analysing their approach.
While creating a goalscoring chance from this phase is certainly a positive outcome, Manchester City’s primary aim is to progress with control into the final third.
The focus is not on forcing opportunities but dictating the game’s rhythm through measured possession.
TFA Archives 📆
Newcastle are showing interest in Samu Omorodion’s situation and Porto are demanding €80M.
He’s one of several options being considered for the striker position.
Check out his 2024 scout report to see the potential of the young striker.
Heung-min Son to LAFC has a verbal agreement in place between all parties.
He is ready to complete his move to MLS with Spurs due to receive fee in excess of €15m.
Dive back to his 2018/2019 scout report.
Was that his best ever season?
Manchester City are likely to reignite their interest in Lucas Paquetá.
A deal could be done with West Ham for around £50M-£60M.
Dive back to his Copa America 2021 scout report, what can he bring to the club?
