UCL 2024/25: Real Madrid Vs Man City & Atalanta Vs Club Brugge - Tactical Analysis

Today, we have a pair of post-match tactical analysis articles from this past UEFA Champions League game week — Real Madrid vs Manchester City and Atalanta vs Club Brugge!

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Today’s TFA Posts ⚽

The UEFA Champions League provided another fascinating matchday, with three huge Italian sides crashing out in the Round of 32.

Whilst each of Milan, Atalanta and Juventus all lost to relative underdogs, Gian Piero Gasperini was left perplexed as the reigning Europa League champions were dismantled at the hands of Nicky Hayen’s Club Brugge.

Brugge were the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, but managed to effectively nullify Atalanta’s key threats whilst also displaying their own talents in transition.

A whirlwind of emotions, both on and off the pitch, has recently come to the forefront for Atalanta, who are now out of all domestic and European cup competitions thanks to a poor run of form.

Club Brugge’s 5-2 aggregate victory seemed all too comfortable, with Hayen’s team seemingly able to stroll into Bergamo and snatch an early 3-0 lead.

The introduction of Ademola Lookman seemed to inject an element of life into Atalanta’s attacking fortunes.

Still, Club Brugge and the heroics of former Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet stifled any further danger as the second half went on.

Jack Chippendale’s tactical analysis will begin to identify the key elements of the match which allowed Club Brugge to find so much comfortability against a usually suffocating Gasperini tactics.

The play-off round of the new Champions League format has conjured up some mouth-watering ties.

None more so than Real Madrid vs Manchester City.

The last two winners of the competition will have been disappointed that they did not automatically qualify for the Round of 16.

This fixture was an unwelcome duty, as both have significant work to do domestically.

The first leg saw late drama.

Man City had gone 2-1 up against the reigning champions.

However, two late goals from Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham gave Los Blancos the lead going into the second leg.

An injury-ridden Man City turned out to be no match for the Spanish giants.

A Kylian Mbappé hat-trick extended Madrid’s aggregate lead to 6-2.

City did manage to pull one back late on.

Yet this one was one of the most complete displays by Real Madrid in recent memory.

Jack Chippendale’s post-match analysis will examine four key areas of Real Madrid’s game that led to their dominating performance under Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics.

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