Swissquote match analysis: Servette's narrow win over Ludogorets

Servette edged out Bulgarian champions Ludogorets by a solitary goal in a tight and tense second leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off on Thursday.

In this article brought to you by Swissquote, UEFA technical observer Dušan Fitzel – in conjunction with the UEFA analysis unit – highlights how the Swiss visitors emerged with the 1-0 victory after a disciplined and tactically flexible display in and out of possession.

The crucial goal, a Timothé Cognat strike after just six minutes, was the first conceded by the home team at the Ludogorets Arena in four UEFA Conference League matches this season and ended a winless run of seven away games in UEFA competition matches for Servette.

Servette's pressing structures

So how did they do it? René Weiler’s team displayed impressive cohesion out of possession throughout to nullify Ludogorets' attacking threats. Clip one shows how they took control of proceedings in a high block after the early goal. The role of central midfielder Théo Magnin proved crucial. We see him advance to pick up the Ludogorets playmaker and captain, Jakub Piotrowski, when he drops deep to help build the attack.

"While this often gave Ludogorets an opportunity to outnumber Servette in midfield, the wingers [Miroslav] Stevanović and [Bendegúz] Bolla went narrow when the ball was on the opposite side," explained Fitzel. As in this case, Servette often regained possession to counter. In clip two, Magnin again joins the high press with the two attackers, forcing the Ludogorets goalkeeper Sergio Padt to go long, where the away team outnumber their opponents 5v3 and win the second ball.

Clip three illustrates the change of approach in the second half when Ludogorets upped the intensity in possession and Servette dropped to a mid-block. But it was no less effective. Fitzel noted how Magnin switched to left midfield in the second half and showed great energy tracking back to support the left-back. "Working in sub-units, Servette applied pressure to force backwards where possible," noted Fitzel.

Servette coach Weiler also hailed his side’s organisation and desire. "We were very united, very compact," he said afterwards. "Everyone has to help each other out."

Servette's attacking movement

Servette’s front two, Alexis Antunes and Enzo Crivelli, displayed a similar unity of purpose in possession. "They were always proactive, offering supporting options for teammates and movement in behind," noted Fitzel. Clip one shows the pair remaining connected while offering support to the attack and a goal threat – with five attackers in the box – once the ball goes into the penalty box.

This move also features Stevanovic winning an aerial duel to feed Crivelli and attack the final third. "On the right, Stevanovic was key," explained Fitzel. "Most long diagonal passes went to him. He started wide and often the full-back dropped behind or overlapped him to progress up the pitch." In contrast, on the left, Servette built more often with a central midfielder drifting wide to gain a numerical advantage and play through midfield.

Clip two shows how the front two in the 4-4-2 set-up retained their commitment to remaining close to each other in attack in the second-half, when Servette were largely restricted to counterattacks.

This time it is Antunes linking with Stevanović to show great touch, awareness and vision to create a shooting opportunity. Again, we see good numbers and lively movement in the box as the cross comes in.

Ludogorets' attacking organisation

Despite the victors' defensive robustness, Ludogorets' goal threat grew as the game wore on. Georgi Dermendzhiev's 4-3-3 attacking system posed Servette a variety of challenges, particularly with trickery and directness in wide areas. Clip one offers a first-half glimpse of the potency Ludogorets displayed much more of after the break. We see midfielder Pedro Naressi collect a pass from left winger Caio Vidal and switch play to the opposite side for right full-back Aslak Fonn Witry to exploit the space vacated by right winger Bernard Tekpetey drifting inside. Vidal joins three team-mates in the box but fails to get a meaningful connection on the cross. 

"The wingers got success by pulling a lot wider to stretch the game in the second half," noted Fitzel. In clip two, it is Vidal’s late replacement, the Brazilian winger Rick, who switches play to find his opposite winger, Tekpetey, isolated against the full-back. Note how the late change of shape, to create a front four in possession, frees up the two central attackers to make earlier movements threatening in behind the defenders. Again though, the cross comes to nothing despite four attackers in the area. "We saw a lot of incidents with cutbacks leading to half-chances," said Fitzel. But decision-making in the final third let them down, he noted.

Ludogorets accumulated seven attempts on target to Servette’s three but when they did manage to get through on goal they came up against an inspired goalkeeper in Jérémy Frick, who pulled off several smart stops in 1v1 situations.

As the game headed towards 90 minutes, Piotrowski dropped deeper to orchestrate attacks for Ludogorets with an impressive display of penetrative long passing. The final clip illustrates one such example. We see Tekpetey collect the diagonal pass, burst past full-back Bradley Mazikou and fire hopefully across goal in a hugely promising 3v3 situation. It proved to be the final opportunity missed on a night of frustration for a team that had failed to score in only one of their previous 15 UEFA competition home games.

Lessons for player development

"These analysis articles form part of a strategy of translating findings from our senior club and national team competitions into actionable insights for elite youth development. By looking at trends from the Europa Conference League, these articles can be used as an engine for player development across the European landscape."
UEFA's head of technical education & development, Olivier Doglia