Champions League Performance Insights: Real Madrid's tactical discipline

"The plan was to press high only at the start when Ederson was playing out and for the rest to have a compact mid-block [and] cut passes inside, have the two forwards close on the inside to avoid our midfielders pressing and have them stay closer to the back line."

This was Carlo Ancelotti speaking after Real Madrid's knockout phase play-off first leg at Manchester City, elaborating on the tactical plan that helped his team take a step towards the UEFA Champions League's last 16 with a 3-2 victory.

As explained by Ancelotti, Madrid were set up in a mid-block and they performed with admirable organisation and discipline, as this study by UEFA's analysis unit will underline.

To begin with the chart above, it shows the combined total of 15.1 minutes that Madrid spent in a mid-block; more than in any previous game in the competition this season. The closest they came to that figure was at Anfield in November (14.3 minutes) but the outcome was very different. The difference between that night – when they lost 2-0 – and this week is something we will return to later.

Madrid's tactical discipline is illustrated in the first video which shows how well their lines are connected. We see the front two of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior working hard, screening centrally, and thanks to the team's compact shape, they are not too far from the midfield pair of Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos. Equally, these two avoid being drawn too far forward; instead, they are aware of the space behind and can be seen getting tight to the City player in the pocket behind as the ball shifts to their right and then left respectively.

The heat maps displayed are instructive for showing us the areas where different Madrid players managed to win the ball back and the fact Ceballos' recoveries were prominently in wide areas indicates that City, a side who like to play through the middle, did not threaten as much centrally as they normally do. They got into spaces in the wide areas but did not get as many runners coming through the middle and, in this sense, the opening goal, which followed Joško Gvardiol's run in behind, was an exception.

In Camavinga's case there are more recoveries centrally but not predominantly so; meanwhile, Mbappé's work as the first line of defence was done in central areas as signalled by his heat map.

This graphic underlines the point about Madrid's compact set-up, showing their players' average positions when defending in 4-4-2 shape in a mid-block.

Camavinga (6) and Ceballos (19) stayed close to their centre-backs – as well as the City players in the pockets, Kevin De Bruyne (17) and Bernardo Silva (20) – and resisted the temptation to step up on John Stones (5). This contrasted with their approach at Anfield in November when in the second half, Liverpool purposely looked to invite the Madrid midfielders on to their own central midfield pair of Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister and, with it, open up space for attacking midfielder Curtis Jones and the forwards. The fact they did not get dragged out this time was vital.

For this second video we return to Ancelotti's quote at the top about cutting out passes inside as it offers a strong example of how compact Madrid made themselves centrally. It also reiterates the point about the discipline of their two midfielders: look at how Ceballos screens the passing lane to De Bruyne while also being close to Manuel Akanji, albeit without being drawn out to engage with him.

We see Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior screening further upfield and in the end, with the passing routes blocked centrally, City go wide. Then, as another sign of Madrid's excellent organisation, they pack their penalty box to ensure a numerical superiority in the event of a cross.

This willingness to embrace defensive work is illustrated by the graphic above which features the top-six ranked Madrid players for defensive actions in the mid-block – with match winner Jude Bellingham first with 21. The sight of Vinícius Júnior (14) and Rodrygo (nine) also in the top six reflects that this was a collective effort in which the visitors' talented attackers played their part.

With this final video, the focus moves to Madrid's back four, showing them squeezing up together and then shifting across the pitch as a well-synchronised unit.

As a coaching point, good communication is essential to operate as an effective unit and UEFA's analysts identified the role of centre-back Raúl Asencio – who we see circled as he issues orders. Madrid, as this sequence reinforces, succeeded in defending as a team and again we see Camavinga and Ceballos not getting drawn forward but controlling the space in front of Asencio and his fellow defenders.

Another aspect highlighted is Madrid's zonal approach, seen in the moment in the clip when each player in the back four shifts across into a team-mate's zone as they move over to their left when Ferland Mendy steps out to press De Bruyne.

UEFA observers and a former Treble winner reflect...

"A really clever 4-4-2" is how Henning Berg described the way Madrid set up in Manchester. Berg, a former treble-winning defender with Manchester United, said this was key to frustrating opponents who "want to play through the middle and have the overload with the extra player central."

"The way Madrid played, they wanted to close the middle with the strikers and it was very important that the two central midfield players were not dragged out of their positions. With a mid-block, if the strikers and midfielders step up, there will be holes in between the lines and City would have taken advantage of that, but this didn't happen. Madrid played a really clever 4-4-2, closing the middle, and they had the quality when they won the ball to not lose it again. They are not afraid to dig deep and are very well organised."

According to another former Champions League-winning defender, Madrid old boy Aitor Karanka, the benefits of a mid-block set-up were clear to see on Tuesday night. "When you're in a mid-block, it is much easier to organise," said Karanka. "When you're going to press high and have greater distances, that makes communication on the pitch more challenging. In a high block, if the forwards press and the midfielders follow, it leaves a lot of space. But when you're closer together it is easier to get to balls, to communicate, to cover for someone. In a mid-block when the lines are closer, everything is much easier, especially for the centre-backs."

To elaborate on the role of the centre-back within such a set-up, Jan Peder Jalland – the UEFA observer from Norway – offered the following coaching point.

"The important thing for a central defender in terms of positioning is that you manage to read the player on the ball – is the player on the ball a threat to play in behind? If not, then you can squeeze the line. If the player on the ball is a threat, looking ready to play forward, then you have to be aware.

"So you have to read the player on the ball, read if there is any threat or runs in behind, and then you have to see the line – that it is a good back line and nobody gives away any space or is too high or too low from the rest. It has to be co-ordinated. Coaches should say: Read the guy on the ball. If he is a threat and there are runs, most likely you have to drop back and defend the space in behind. But if not, then you can keep the line and keep distances short in the team and be compact."