“Madrid has a hidden strength”

The UEFA technical report of the last Champions League is full of positive references to Real Madrid, how could it be otherwise, after winning the Decimofourta and doing so through a series of comebacks that amazed everyone. It also shows negative data for another of the favorites, PSG, which concluded the competition as the team that ran the fewest kilometers on average. The presumable.

“Madrid has a hidden strength, as recognized by Roberto Martínez, the observer of the round of 16 second leg against PSG, the first in a series of extraordinary comebacks at the Santiago Bernabéu,” the report reads. “The word ‘miracle’ appeared in more than one newspaper headline the morning after the match against Chelsea. However, Madrid was just warming up (…). In the semifinals against City, Courtois saved the elimination against Grealish and led to a new and sudden resurrection of Lázaro (…). In the final with Liverpool, the chant of the Madrid fans was louder: ‘This is how Madrid wins’. He always finds a way to win, and in the biggest match he did it once again”, he concludes.

The individual prizes

The report also establishes Courtois as the best goalkeeper, Benzema as the best player and Vinicius as the best young player. The ideal eleven is formed by Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Van Dijk, Robertson; De Bruyne, Fabinho, Modric; Mbappé, Benzema and Vinicius. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti also receives well-deserved praise for his fantastic tournament and the record set by winning his fifth title.

Among the data to highlight are the five times in which Courtouis kept a clean sheet, the maximum in the competition along with Mendy (Chelsea) and Vlachodimos (Benfica). In addition, Benzema was the best scorer (15 goals) and special emphasis is placed on his ability to score headers. More goals were scored in total (380) than in the previous edition (366) and it was the third best mark since the Champions adopted the current format. The player who reached the highest speed was Mbappé, with a top speed of 36.7 km/h to Darwin Núñez’s 36.5. The team that ran the least overall per game was PSG with a total average of 106.34 kilometres, far from the 123.05 of Dynamo kyiv (the one that ran the most) or the 115.38 of Madrid (the champion and his executioner). The report shows the lack of effort of the Parisians.

Known members in the Technical Committee

Increasingly common nuances in current football are highlighted, such as pressure or forward defensive lines (Bayern and City placed their line higher than anyone else). Short play from behind is also a trend, as reflected by the fact that 39% of the goal kicks were received by another teammate inside the area or that only 82% of the executions were made by goalkeepers. The set piece also had its incidence: Madrid was the one that needed the most shots against (63) to fit in this way, so it was a real fort in corner kicks. The defenses of five also grew compared to other editions. Referring to City-Atlético del Etihad, the report highlights that “Atlético’s 1-5-3-2 defensive formation became a 1-5-4-1 and even, at times, a 1-5-5 -0″.

The UEFA Technical Committee analyzed in situ each and every one of the matches played in the Champions League until reaching the final in Paris. The panel is composed of: Packie Bonner (UEFA Technical Adviser, Ireland), Tim Cahill (Australia), Cosmin Contra (Romania), Frank de Boer (Netherlands), Corinne Diacre (France), Jean-François Domergue (France ), Dušan Fitzel (Czech Republic), Steffen Freund (Germany), Frans Hoek (Netherlands), David James (England), Aitor Karanka (Spain), Robbie Keane (Republic of Ireland), Marcel Koller (Switzerland), Claude Makélélé (France), Roberto Martínez (Spain), Mixu Paatelainen (Finland), Vera Pauw (Netherlands), Peter Rudbæk (Denmark), Willi Ruttensteiner (Austria), Willy Sagnol (France), Thomas Schaaf (Germany), Gareth Southgate ( England) and Giovanni van Bronckhorst (The Netherlands).