Women's Champions League performance insights: Brann 1-2 Barcelona

UEFA's performance analysis unit took a close look at pressing strategies during the first leg of the Women's Champions League quarter-final between Brann and Barcelona in Bergen, where the current champions dominated most of the proceedings but struggled to penetrate resolute defensive work by the Norwegian team which restricted the visitors to a one-goal advantage.

Brann, who had dominated possession in all but one of their group games (in Lyon), were obliged to prioritise out-of-possession mechanisms and bravely set out to exert high pressure on the champions as often as they could. The result was a fascinating duel between pressing strategies and ways to deal with the high press.

The first graphic related to pressing provides a concise summary of the game as a whole. It illustrates how Martin Ho's team were ready, willing and able to press high, but were not able to do so as frequently as their opponents. It not only shows that the home side had 38 pressing actions compared with the visitors' 69 but also demonstrates that they could exert a high press on 16 occasions and relied more heavily on pressing in a mid block. Jonatan Giráldez's team, by contrast, did 84% of their pressing while operating in a high block with, on many occasions, their back line positioned well into Brann territory.

The video clip provides an example of Brann's uninhibited use of the high press when confronting a Barça goal kick with five players fanning out to block exit routes so effectively that the ball is returned to goalkeeper Cata Coll – who is immediately pressed aggressively. When she passes the ball to the left-back area, five Brann players spring into action and regain possession – only for the referee's whistle, on this occasion, to thwart their attempt to launch an immediate attack from the advanced area.

The second graphic demonstrates that both teams favoured collective team pressing with five or more players – and that Barça had the upper hand statistically in this facet of the game. No less than 87% of their actions were executed by half their outfield workforce or more, with outstanding counter-pressing actions within five seconds of losing possession. This put them ahead of the home team, who relied more heavily on individual pressure on the ball or actions by two, three or four players. These two categories added up to 36% of their pressing, compared with Barcelona's 13%.

These statistics interlock with the previous graphic and video in the sense that the visitors' exceptionally compact high block in the Brann half provided a solid platform for pressure and counter-pressure in numbers – and, evidently, opportunities to exploit high regains.

As technical observer Gemma Grainger remarked in her match analysis, "One of the striking features of the game was Barcelona's rest defence, with the image of their two centre-backs within 35 metres or so of the Brann goal line. It kept the whole unit extremely compact and laid the foundations for some really effective counter-pressing."

The first clip in the video shows Brann attacking on their right with Barcelona retreating into a low block. The move is aborted in Barça's left-back area and played back to the keeper who, under immediate pressure, makes a hurried clearance received by a Brann player. She plays the ball to the right and, with seven players in advanced positions, the move creates a clear goalscoring opportunity.

The second section of the video illustrates how the visitors, after a goal attempt is blocked, effectively counter-press, forcing a long diagonal clearance which is comfortably intercepted to initiate a new phase of attacking possession play.

The third graphic demonstrates that, while teams might use immediate pressure on the ball to buy time for team-mates to retreat into defensive shape, both teams in Bergen were prepared to commit players to multiple pressing actions in advanced areas. The figures provide additional confirmation of Barça's readiness to exert sustained pressure high up the pitch, their total of 57 scenarios involving two or more pressing actions more than doubling Brann's tally of 27. This also shows Brann's desire to play and find the way through the opposition.

If the pause button is hit on the opening frame of the video clip above, Brann goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen appears to have passing options to initiate build-up play. But Barcelona's defenders are up to the halfway line, laying foundations for pressing actions to be executed by several players ready to pounce in advanced areas. The sequence then shows how Brann's attempt to play out from the back is thwarted by pressure on three outfield players and the goalkeeper herself.

The performance analysis unit has issued the final graphic with a warning that it can be tricky to interpret, so viewers can be excused if a first glance provokes a bit of head-scratching. The simplest explanation is that, for Barça's successes, the top three lines on the right are the ones that count and, after that, they appear in white on the left, where the damage inflicted on Brann is reflected.

Those first three lines reveal that when Giráldez's team was applying pressure, the champions were able to regain possession on 59% of occasions – the vast majority (41%) in open-play scenarios where regains could be translated into immediate opportunities to pose an attacking threat. Only 9% were in their own half, plus an identical percentage in the OOP category which relates to dead-ball situations.

The graphic shows a sharp contrast between the two teams, with Brann's regains totalling 17% and only 11% in open play – just over a quarter of Barça's haul.

Switching to the left of the chart, related to situations where Brann were pressing, the bottom line reveals that, in spite of high pressure by their opponents, the champions were able to play through the press and into Brann territory in 26% of those scenarios whereas the home team managed just over one-third of that percentage.

Barcelona's ability to retain possession under intense pressure is reflected by the cumulative total of 57% of game situations, of which 13% corresponded to moments when the ball went out of play. The figure of 18% illustrates their readiness to assure possession by playing the ball back in problematic moments such as when confronted by aggressive collective pressing. Although Brann matched the visitors in this particular aspect, their percentage of successful retentions of possession in open play cannot match their opponents'.

The associated video clip again starts with the Brann keeper in possession, with all ten Barcelona outfield players between her and the centre circle. The ball is played to the left centre-back and returned to Mikalsen, who is harried into a short central pass which, under pressure, is hurriedly laid off to the right – where Salma Paralluelo picks it up and immediately sets up a shooting opportunity.

"Barcelona's compact high pressing with overloads in small areas was one of the keys to their ability to dominate the game from start to finish," said technical observer Gemma Grainger. The review by the performance analysis unit endorses her opinion.