RMAReal MadridClub page
INTInterClub page
Squad value€1.46bn
Squad value€730.3m
Key playerKylian Mbappé
Key playerLautaro Martínez
Head coachJosé Mourinho
Head coachCristian Chivu
Inter commit to keeping the ball and Real Madrid are waiting to break the moment they lose it.
Mourinho has put two holding midfielders in front of the back four. This is a more cautious Madrid than the one you remember.
“A 4-2-3-1, with two holding midfielders in front of the back four rather than the single anchor and two runners Madrid leaned on last term.”Everything is aimed at Mbappé through the middle, with Vinícius back out on the left where he can run at his full-back.
“Mbappé becomes the central reference, the man the structure is built to feed. Vinícius returns to the left touchline, the flank where his first touch faces the goal and the game opens up in front of him rather than around him.”They are content to let you have the ball. The dangerous moment is the four seconds after you lose it.
“sit in shape, deny the space behind, absorb the waves and turn the moment of a lost Barcelona ball into four seconds of Mbappé and Vinícius running at a defence”Inter will have the ball for long spells, passing it around calmly until they reach the edge of your box, then trying to slide it through the middle rather than crossing.
“Il leit motiv del match è lapalissiano: pallone tra i piedi degli ospiti, che lo fanno girare con continuità fino agli ultimi 20-25 metri, cercando poi imbucate interne”The theme of the match was obvious: the ball at the visitors' feet, and they kept circulating it up to the final 20-25 metres, then looked for passes threaded through the middle our translation
Win the ball off them and you get about two seconds with it. They come straight back at you in numbers, which makes it very hard for the other side to build anything.
“Impresa ardua proporre gioco offensivo quando l'avversario, perso il pallone, va a riprenderselo velocemente con aggressività e autorità.”Mounting any attacking play is a tall order when the opponent, on losing the ball, goes to win it straight back quickly, aggressively and authoritatively. our translation
If you press them hard when they play out from the goalkeeper, they stop trying and hit a long ball to Pio Esposito instead. He holds it up so the rest of the team can run forward and join him.
“La soluzione dettata dal tecnico interista è quella di appoggiarsi sui lanci lunghi verso Pio Esposito - compagno di reparto di Lautaro Martinez -, che ha offerto la sua fisicità per far salire la squadra.”The solution the Inter coach called for was to lean on long balls up to Pio Esposito — Lautaro Martinez's strike partner — who offered his physical strength to let the team push up the pitch. our translation