Tactical Analysis

Marcelo (found in the red circle) is known as being a particularly attack-minded full-back and this can be observed in the clip above. It is clear just how dominant and comfortable Madrid are in possession, and as a result, Marcelo slowly and instinctively pushes forward, even drifting central to provide adequate attacking support. A vast difference can be observed when comparing his positioning in the end of the clip to the beginning.

The clip above shows a generalization of Marcelo’s movement and positioning from the first clip, except this time it’s put in relation to his area of defensive responsibility (highlighted in red). As a left-back, Marcelo is responsible for protecting the left side of Real Madrid’s defense and his habit of pushing forward with Madrid in possession, causes him to abandon this area. Subsequently, leaving a massive left-sided gap in Real Madrid’s backline.

This defensive gap could very well have led to a potentially lethal PSG counter-attack just before the 40th minute, if not for Eden Hazard’s brilliant and out of character piece of defending, as seen in the clip above. Hazard (found in the orange circle), plies his trade in Real’s attacking third and has cultivated a reputation for a lack of endeavour when it comes to tracking back on defense. However, on this occasion, Hazard realized that it was essential to sprint back and stop the looming PSG attack; not only because of the defensive gap but also because of the forward run being made by the notoriously quick Kylian Mbappe. When Mbappe (found in the blue circle) is given space to run into, his blistering pace and great finishing ability is near-impossible to stop. Obviously, the empty space caused by Marcelo’s absence, would provide Mbappe with the perfect opportunity to terrorize Real Madrid’s backline on the counter-attack, or at least it should have been.

PSG manager, Thomas Tuchel made the speculative decision to start Neymar on the bench to start the match, as he had just recently returned from injury. However, Tuchel clearly didn’t consider the tactical ramifications of the decision. In PSG’s full-strength XI, Neymar plays on the left-wing, with Mbappe on the right and either Cavani or Icardi at striker. Without Neymar in the lineup, Mbappe was sent to the left, with the much less pacey, Ángel Di María replacing him at right-wing. This hindered PSG because as mentioned repeatedly, Mbappe’s pace was essential on PSG's right flank in order to exploit Marcelo’s abandoned defensive area, rendering him much less of a threat as Tuchel deployed him on the left instead.