Back in the W-League after two-and-a-half years in Spain, Melbourne City midfielder Alex Chidiac is “definitely” hoping to return to Europe at some point, but has developed a newfound appreciation for the conditions of the Australian top-flight during her time abroad.
In classic Atléti fashion, the whole thing started from their 4-4-2 shape and became aggressively wing-oriented. The objective was to usher the ball to the flanks, compress the space to ensure access to all near side options, and harass all short passing outlets into rushed decisions or difficult passes.
This type of pressing game plan is fairly common in football, but it’s the skill and intelligence with which Atléti pulled it off that stood out. Everyone was primed to certain pressing triggers (sub-optimal body orientation and heavy, nervous touches) and ready to make positional adjustments based on the location of their teammates.