FC Barcelona 1:2 Real Madrid

FC Barcelona – Real Madrid 1:2 (0:1), 16/04/14, Mestalla, Valencia

Barca were without Pique and Puyol, Bartra recovered early enough to start the game alongside Mascerano. Martino continued with his expected XI for the ´big´ games with both Iniesta and Fabregas on the pitch. Pinto would probably start the game even if Valdes was fit as he has been Barca no. 1 in Copa del Rey for years.

Real couldn´t count on Arbeola, Marcelo and Ronaldo. Ramos was fit enough to play so Varane was only on the bench.  Ancelotti played Isco rather than Illara in the middle, with Di Maria on the right and Bale on the left. Casillas was preferred to Lopez in goal.

Starting XIs

Real  à la Atletico ?

The game had expected pattern, with Barca dominating the possession significantly and Real trying to play on the counter, even though Real enjoyed good spell on the ball during some periods.  Real were really solid defensively, denying Barca space in front of their box and looking for quick attacks  once the ball has been won. On the paper it looked like Real will continue with their usual 4-3-3, with Xabi-Modric-Isco in the middle and front three. In fact that was the way they positioned themselves when having possession for longer periods, but that happened rarely as Barcelona dominated the ball. It was really interesting how Ancelotti change the system for this game in the absence of Ronaldo. When in the side, he doesn´t contribute too much defensively and usually stays higher up, providing and outlet on the break. In this game, Real defended as a 4-4-2, replicating the system Atletico Madrid uses when playing Barcelona. Modric and Alonso were in the middle, Isco on left and Di Maria dropping deeper on the right with all four of them staying close to each other and moving towards the play. Bale dropped in occasionally, but Benzema stayed up top without contributing too much defensively once the ball was played behind him. He, Bale and Di Maria pressed half-heartedly sometimes, but Barca had little problem to work the ball forward around them.  

When Real won the ball, Isco and especially Di Maria sprinted up the pitch to support the front duo and exploit the space left by Barca. First goal was perfect example. Real won the ball, Isco played a neat pass to Bale, he found Benzema on top who played a beautiful first time through ball into Di Maria and Alba couldn´t get back on time to stop him from opening the score. 

Barca down the right

Martino played his usual side for this kind of game and yet again, Barcelona looked rather impotent. Neymar is the most dangerous when playing on the left, with a chance to cut inside and get into penalty area or find a player in the box with a cross, but he started on the right again. Iniesta played on the left, but he drifts inside most of the time allowing Alba to get forward. Fabregas started in the middle, but with Iniesta coming in from the left, he was often pushed out, playing as a central forward. Messi dropped deeper to create overload in the midfield, but Real defended really well in the middle. Most of Barca´s attacks were coming down the right, with Alves typically getting in advanced positions, looking for a cross or to combine with Messi and Xavi. He sent in couple of good crosses, but it wasn´t easy for his teammates to win a header against Pepe and Ramos with Alba having the best attempt.

There were couple of good combinations down the left too, but Barca didn´t manage to create too much, with Messi´s shot on the volley on the rebound probably the most dangerous chance.

Second half and subs

Adriano replaced Alba at half time, most likely in attempt  to offer Barca´s centerbacks more support. Alba likes to get forward as much as possible, and with Alves spending more time on the right wing than defending, Barca is conceding too much space at the back and Real´s counter attacks always looked dangerous. With Adriano on the left, Barca had more balance when attacked through Alves. However, Real still managed to create promising situations on the break with Bale having a good chance early into the second half, he probably should have passed rather than go for a goal himself.

Both teams played the same way as in the first half and Martino made an expected substitution after 60 minutes - Fabregas off, Pedro on. Neymar went left, Iniesta middle and Pedro played on the right, drifting inside to provide space for Alves and Messi. Neymar did the same from the beginning, but as mentioned before, he is much more dangerous from the left.

Barca´s improvement and increased pressure resulted into an equalizer, but it wasn´t from open play. Bartra scored from a corner after Pepe misjudged the path of the ball and he headed the ball into top corner.

After the goal the game´s tempo dropped as Barca didn´t have to push so much for the goal. They still dominated the possession though and Real played on the counter, creating couple of decent chances, before Bale scored the decisive goal after another quick break. Real won the ball in the left back position and played a ball down the touchline. Bale simply outpaced Bartra and beat Pinto from a close range after coming in from the left and Mascerano couldn’t get across to intercept. Bale showed his great physicality here, but more important was how much space Barca left behind again.

Ancelotti made his second change right after goal, bringing on Illaremendi in the place of Di Maria. He played alongside Alonso in the middle, with Modric on the left and Isco moving right.  Couple of minutes later, Isco made a way for Casemiro.

Alexis came on for Bartra immediately after conceding. He went up front, with Messi playing right behind the front trio and Busquets dropping to defence.

Neymar had a golden chance to send the game into extra time, but he only hit a post when 1 on 1 against Casillas after Xavi played him in through the middle.

Ancelotti took of Benzema and brought on Varane to prevent the same situation happening in the stoppage time. 

 Conclusion

This was a very different game compared to the last meeting between these two sides. Without Ronaldo, Ancelotti played a system that made Real really solid defensively and dangerous on the break as Di Maria and Isco supported front two. Martino played his usual side for the big game, but yet again, Barca looked rather helpless, creating only one clear cut chance, which Neymar didn´t convert into another equalizer. It remains mystery, why he insists on starting with both Fabregas and Iniesta and playing Neymar on the right, when Barca clearly look much more dangerous with Brazilian on the left and either Pedro or Alexis on the right. It provides more men in the central positions, but with teams defending with four midfielders close to each other in that area, Barca find it really difficult to get behind them and defenders look untroubled most of the time.

Real won the first major trophy of the season with a chance for a treble while Barcelona can only hope for Madrid teams to give away some points in the remaining games in La Liga as even winning all their games wouldn´t be enough to win the title. 

Highlighs: Barca 1:2 Real

Bayern 0:3 Dortmund

Bayern – Dortmund 0:3 (0:1) , 12/04/14, Alianz Arena, Munich

Guardiola had almost full squad available and opted for Martinez rather than Boateng at the back. Muller and Kroos were only on the bench.

Dortmund are without long term absentees Gundogan, Subotic and Kuba. Bender and Shmelzer are also out for the moment. Surprisingly, Lewandowski and Piszcek were only among subs, probably being rested for the DFB Pokal semi-final on Tuesday. Therefore, Jurgen Klopp named makeshift XI.

Starting XIs

Guardiola´s experiment

Pep Guardiola named familiar players, but continued with his experiment from the game against Man Utd. In possession, Lahm dropped deep, even behind the centerbacks at times, forming a back-three. Fullbacks Alaba and Rafinha moved higher, but inside the pitch, rather than keeping their width. Sweinsteiger and Gotze played in the middle, trying to find space between Dortmund´s front four and holding midfielders. Robben and Ribery stayed close to the touchlines, providing the width. 

Bayern in possession, 1st half

This plan didn´t really work in Champions League and Bayern went back to their usual shape after going behind and managed to score three goals in 30 minutes. They played this way during the first half here, going back to standard system for the second half.

We can see the difference in positioning of Alaba, Rafinha and Lahm during the first and second half below. In the first half, Alaba and Rafinha receive most of the passes in the central positions. 

Alaba,Lahm,Rafinha-passes received,1st half

In the second half, in the positions where fullbacks are expected to be. 

                                                               Alaba,Lahm,Rafinha-passes received,2nd half

Guardiola probably wanted to try this system against the side with different style than the one of Man Utd during the week. While Man Utd set deep and tried to play on counter, Dortmund played their usual game with intense pressing, disturbing Bayern´s build up. Bayern found it difficult to find a way out of their own half and it often took them a lot of time. The players looked really uncomfortable with Dortmund´s pressing and it was obvious it took them longer to find a free player who could receive a pass and actually get a ball forward. Dante, in particular had a big problem with his distribution, misplacing three passes in the opening 10 minutes. 

Dortmund´s counter-attacks

One of the Dortmund´s trademarks is their fantastic pressing. The other one is their ability to counter once the ball is won in their own half. They created numerous opportunities on the break, mainly through Aubameyang who exploited the space on the flanks. Reus did the same when he switched positions with Aubameyang. That space was free since Bayern´s fullbacks pushed towards the centre of the pitch and couldn´t get back into positions on time. Situations when Dortmund switched the ball from one flank to the other quickly were the most problematic and Aubameyang wasted a good chance from one of these situations in the first half.

The best example of Dortmund´s counter-attacking was a second goal when they won the ball after Bayern´s corner, Mkhitaryan sprinted forward with a ball, played a great ball into the space for Aubameyang who cut back for Reus to finish. 

High lines

Both teams played a high line. While it worked quiet well for Dortmund, it wasn´t so effective for Bayern. Reason for that is simple. Bayern play possession football with lots of short passing and they really lacked penetration here. Dortmund are one of the best counter-attacking teams and play direct football, trying to get behind the defence quickly, if possible. Since Bayern had problems to work the ball forward, Dortmund´s defender had plenty of time to drop deeper. But Bayern never looked to get behind them quickly anyway. Dortmund on the other hand, always looked for a ball in behind that high line and especially Reus and Aubameyang made runs to receive such a ball very often.  Dortmund were flagged offside 9 times, but more importantly, third goal came after a long ball from Socratis and perfectly timed run by Hofmann. 

Second half and substitutions

As mentioned earlier, Bayern returned to their usual shape for the second half. It didn´t work this time as Dortmund scored within 5 minutes after the break and went 3:0 up after 11 minutes into the second half.  Despite conceding twice in the second period, they looked much more dangerous. Best chances came after quick combinations of Muller and Gotze in front of the penalty area, but neither Mandzukic nor Gotze could beat Weidenfeller.

Dortmund continued the same way and caused problems even at 3:0 up. They created some promising situations, but couldn´t get that final ball right.

Bayern were forced to remove Neuer at half time. Muller came on for Ribery. He played just behind Mandzukic until Kroos came on for Robben. After that final change he went right, Gotze left and Kroos played in the midfield trio with Lahm and Sweinsteiger.

Klopp´s first change was Lewandowski for Hofmann. Surprisingly, he played behind Reus, with Aubameyang on the right and Mkhitaryan on the left. Other subs were strait swops with Friedrich replacing Hummels at the back and Jojic coming on for last 15 minutes in the place of Aubameyang.

Tactically, substitutions didn´t change anything.

Conclusion

It was interesting to see Guardiola giving this concept another chance, but Bayern could afford it as they won the title already and a result wasn´t going to be important in terms of the their position in the table. However, first half was really disappointing from Bayern and they had problem to work the ball forward. They spent too much time in their own half, looking for the passes as Dortmund pressed them intensively. They improved after the break as they returned to their usual system, but Dortmund put the game beyond them before the hour mark.  Dortmund´s pressing was impressive and counter-attacks purposeful and they deserve a credit for such a performance with so many players missing. However, Bayern would probably approach the game in a different manner if it was a title-decider. Rather than result, Bayern and Guardiola would be looking at how this system could improve their game as it seemed to be rather contraproductive than conducive. 

Highlights: Bayern 0:3 Dortmund

Chelsea 2:0 PSG

Chelsea 2:0 PSG, 08/04/14, Stamford Bridge, London

Mourinho was without suspended Ramires and cup-tied Matic for this game, so Lampard and Luiz paired in the middle. Etoo was fit to start from the beginning and replaced Schurlle up front.

Blanc would probably name the same XI as last week, but Ibrahimovic is out for a few weeks. Lucas came into the side, playing on the right and Cavani moving central.

Starting XI - Hazard replaced by Schurlle after 18 minues

Chelsea down the left

Both managers named expected starting XIs and both stuck with their usual formations. However, teams approached the game in the opposite way compared to last week as Chelsea had to chase the game and PSG looked to protect the lead from the first meeting between them.

Everyone thought Etoo might come off early in the game as Mourinho decided to gamble on his fitness, but it was Hazard who was forced out of the pitch because of an injury. Schurlle came on for him after 18 minutes, but the substitution had no impact on Chelsea´s tactics.

As last week and more or less, throughout the whole season, Chelsea attackers shown how versatile they are. Etoo stayed up top, but the three players behind him were changing positions very often and they were creating space for each other cleverly.

Since PSG had three central midfielders sitting deeper than usual, Chelsea tried to play through the sides. The seemed to focus attacks down the left, where they won a few fouls and created danger from set-pieces. It made sense to target that side of the pitch as trio of Jallet-Alex-Verratti doesn´t have a quality and physicality of Maxwell-Silva-Matuidi on the other side.

Chelsea- fouls suffered- 1st half

PSG too cautious

It´s understandable PSG wanted the game to be slow and don´t allow Chelsea to get into the tempo and create pressure, but they created problems for themselves with unnecessary fouls in the dangerous areas. With four players used to play centerbacks, Chelsea were likely to create chances from free kicks and long throws into the penatly box. Sirigu made a great save to keep out Lampard´s free kick, although it took a big deflection on the way. Opening goal came from a long throw when Luiz won a header and ball fell to Schurlle who wasn´t covered by Lucas. Only minutes later, Cahill had a good chance after another free kick, but didn´t hit the ball properly.

PSG didn´t offer too much going forward in the first half simply because there wasn´t enough support from the midfielders. Matuidi made no runs towards the left wing, which caused Chelsea big problems in the first game. Both him and Verratti didn´t move forward when they could and stayed quite close to Motta most of the time. They kept the ball well in the middle, but Chelsea were able to get enough players behind the ball to deal with their slow attacks. PSG´s most promising moment came when Lavezzi drifted inside from the flank and managed to dribble past multiple opponents before returning the ball to the flank where Maxwell made a good run, but sent in a poor cross. Lavezzi changed position with Cavani and tried to make runs behind the defence, but couldn´t get the right ball and was flagged offside 2 or 3 times.

Second half

PSG were much more proactive right from the 46th minute and started to involve more players when attacking. Chelsea even managed to create a big chance on the counter when Verratti lost a ball. The ball eventually got to Schurlle who hit the bar. PSG weren´t able to clear the rebound, Etoo won a foul and Oscar hit the bar again from a free kick.

With more players joining attacks, PSG created some promising situations. Matuidi won a free kick on the left wing and Lavezzi played a dangerous ball in, but Cech pushed it out for the corner. Lucas had a decent shot from outside the box – in the lead up to that shot, PSG combined well around the area with 5 or 6 players involved. Best chances however, came after long diagonal balls behind the defence. First Matuidi found Cavani who took a shot on the volley, but it was a difficult angle to score from. Cavani had even bigger chance just a few minutes later when Cabaye played a perfect long ball to him, but his shot went just over the bar. You would expect player of his quality to finish that, even though the shot was taken with his weaker foot. 

Subs - Plan B and plan C for Chelsea

Mourinho prepared his players for every possibility and at 1:0 up and half an hour left, he made his second change of the night. Ba came on for Lampard, which caused numerous changes in positions. Willian dropped deeper alongside Luiz, Ba went up front, where he provided aerial threat while Schurlle, Oscar and Etoo rotated behind him. With Ba on top, Chelsea looked to play more long balls and crosses towards him. Only couple of minutes after his introduction, he won a header for Schurlle who had his shot saved.

With 10 minutes to go, Mourinho brought on another striker. Oscar was replaced by Torres and it was all attack for Chelsea. Fullbacks pushed higher and both Etoo and Torres played closer to Ba. 

It paid off. After another long ball into the penalty area, PSG were unable to clear and Azpilicueta´s deflected shot fell into path of Ba who guided the ball behind Sirigu from a close range. 

Chelsea in the last 10 minutes

Blanc has used all of his substitutes prior to the goal as PSG were looking to hold on. Cabaye came on for Verratti as a strait swop. Lavezzi was replaced by Pastore who stayed on the right. Eventually, Marquinos came on for Lucas and played alongside Motta in front of centerbacks.

PSG in the last 10 minutes

Conclusion

Chelsea didn´t have a best game, but they really played into their strengths. They didn´t have space for counter attacks, but repeatedly found space in the wide areas where they won free kicks, throw ins and created few dangerous situations.  Mourinho was forced to make an early change, but used his remaining substitutions well, increasing number of attacking players around the PSG´s penalty area and Chelsea scored the kind of goal he was probably hoping for.

On the other hand, PSG didn´t play into their strengths at all. Without Ibrahimovic, there was no one in front to hold the ball and cause Chelsea defenders some trouble.  They tried to slow the tempo down and not leaving space for Chelsea to break into, but they relied too much on the attacking trio as central midfielders stayed behind the ball most of the time.  More players pushed forward in the second half, but they didn´t trouble Chelsea too much, especially in the wide areas. Cavani could have sent them into the semi-finals, but once Chelsea got their second, there wasn´t enough time and attacking options to get that one away goal. 

Highlights: Chelsea 2:0 PSG

Parma 1:0 Napoli

Parma 1:0 Napoli, 06/04/14,  Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma

Donadoni was without injured Cassano and suspended Amauri. Palladino played as a lone striker in a defensively minded XI.
Benitez named the same XI that defeated Juventus last week. 

Starting XIs

No space for Napoli

The game´s pattern was clear right from the beginning. Parma set in their own half with only Palladino in front of the ball, trying to deny Napoli space in the attacking third and looking for a chance on the counter. Both Schelotto and Biabiany dropped back to protect full backs and tracking the runs of Ghoulam and Henrique. Marchionni was the deepest of midfield trio, sitting in front of centerbacks while Acquah and Parolo tried to pressure Napoli´s midfielders and got forward to support attackers. Marchionni was very reliable with his passing and his positioning often forced Hamsik to drop deep to pick up the ball in the positions where he could create much and wasn´t able to play too many dangerous passes. 

Napoli had slightly more of the possession, but it was difficult for them to find forward passes as Parma were really compact and defended so deeply. They have only completed 56% of their passes in the final third during the first half.

Napoli managed to get behind Parma´s defence on couple of occasions, but were unable to create a clear cut chance. Most dangerous situation came when Insigne played a good through ball for Callejon, but he was pushed wide by a defender and was only able to cross and defenders cleared the ball easily. As expected, Parma´s best chance came on the counter after Napoli´s corner. They broke down the left side, but Fernandez managed to get back just on time to clear a dangerous cross.

First half was scrappy, with lots of fouls and no tempo to the game, therefore it was no surprise we didn’t see a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Second half

The games pattern continued in the second half and both teams looked the most dangerous when trying to counter quickly after winning the possession back. Parma had a really good chance on the break after 50 minutes when they were 3 v 2, but Biabiany tried to beat defender 1 on 1 instead of playing a ball to Molinaro who was running on the overlap.

The decisive moment came in the 55th minute. Insigne cut inside from the right after a good passage of play, but sent a weak towards Mirante who started Parma´s attack right away. The play moved towards Napoli´s goal and players were still getting back to their positions from the attacking phase. Albiol stepped out of defence to follow Palladino who went towards the ball. Schelotto made a run inside to drag Ghoulam from the left back position. The ball was played to Cassani on the right side who wasn´t tracked by Insigne, he crossed the ball first time towards edge of the box where Inler wasn´t close enough to Parolo and he stroke the ball pass Reina brilliantly. It was really good piece of play by Parma and they probably deserved their lead.

After the goal, Parma continued with their gameplan and more chances were coming on the counter. Acquah had a decent shot before Schelotto received the ball in behind the defenders, but couldn´t make the most of it.

Higuian´s only bright moment of the game came after great work and through ball by Jorginho, but he took a shot from a tight angle when he probably should have cut back for Insigne.

Napoli increased their pressure towards the end of the game with substitutes Zapata and Mertens having a good impact.

Subs

It was surprising that Benitez waited until 68th minute to make a substitution, but he made a double switch with Zapata and Mertens coming on for Higuain and Callejon. Mertens played from the left and Insigne went right. Pandev came on for Hamsik for the last ten minutes, but had little impact.

Zapata was booked for simulation trying to win a penalty, but the decision could have gone either way. He also provided aerial threat as Napoli tried to cross more often in the last ten minutes. Mertens and Insigne switched the sides and it Napoli played almost every attack down the right. Mertens sent in couple of great crosses. Firstly, Insigne wasn´t able to finish from tight angle when ball went across the small box and then Zapata headed just over the bar. Zapata had one more chance in the stoppage time when Insigne cross from the left, but headed over the bar again.

Donadoni´s first substitution 80th minute was Munari for goalscorer Parolo as he tried to bring some fresh legs into midfield. His second sub was very clever as Napoli attacked down their right side through Mertens and Molinaro wasn´t able to cope. He brought on left back Gobbi for Palladino to protect that left back zone for the last few minutes. Biabiany moved to striker position and was replaced by youngster Cerri in the stoppage time. 

Conclusion

A very disciplined performance by Parma. Donadoni approached the game with a simple gameplan which worked were nicely and Napoli had a real problems finding a way through the compact defence, while Parma had good chance on the break.

Compared to last week’s perfect performance against Juve, it was shocking to see the same players having such a poor game. Hamsik created little and both Higuain and Callejon were almost invisible. Benitez made right changes as Zapata provided aerial threat and had couple of good chances, while Mertens created a few dangerous opportunities. He probably could have made those changes a little bit sooner or could have played Mertens right from the start.

This was a big and much needed win for Parma after fourth game in a row against one of the stronger teams and they are still in the fight for the place in the Europa League.

Napoli´s hopes for the second spat are probably gone now as Roma is 11 points ahead and their main focus will be on keeping their third place ahead of Fiorentina and trying to beat the same team in the final of Coppa Italia. 

PSG 3:1 Chelsea

PSG 3:1 Chelsea, 02/04/14, Parc de Princes, Paris

Mourinho named probably the most counter-attacking XI he could, as you would expect in this game. Matic is cup-tied so Luiz played alongside Ramires in the midfield.

Laurant Blanc decided to play Verratti rather than Cabaye in the expected XI. Jallet continued on the right as Van der Viel is still unavailable.

Starting XIs

PSG sloppy passing at the back

PSG started very well, Luiz lost the possession under pressure and the ball eventually got to Matuidi on the left who sent in a good cross, Terry´s weak clearance fell right into Lavezzi who controlled his volley brilliantly in the difficult position.  The goal came probably earlier than PSG expected and they dropped deeper and tried to keep possession with short passing. However, Chelsea being behind so early didn´t really waited for them to attack and play on the counter, but put a good pressure a PSG had problems to work the ball forward and were forced to pass the ball back to Sirigu. Verratti in particular, was quite slow on the ball, playing couple of back passes that Chelsea almost got to.

PSG attacks

When they managed to get the ball forward, PSG attackers moved well, creating space for each other and used the ball well. Ibrahimovic often dropped into midfield to overload Luiz and Ramires. Lavezzi made runs towards middle, creating space for Maxwell and especially Matuidi on the left wing. Matuidi played the role similar to Di Maria for Real Madrid recently. On the other side, Cavani also drifted inside or made runs into space left free by Ibrahimovic, dragging Ivanovic out of his position, creating space for Jallet who made a good use of Hazards lack of defensive work.

Chelsea were expected to exploit the space left by PSG, but it was Lavezzi who had a best chance on the break after great through ball by Ibrahimovic, but Cahill managed to push him on his left foot and his shot went wide.

Chelsea attacks

Since Chelsea started without a proper striker, they tried to confuse PSG defenders by changing positions up front. Oscar switched with both Willian and Hazard, Schurlle changed with Hazard in the striker position.

PSG defended in 4-1-4-1 with Motta sitting in front of centerbacks, Verratti and Matuidi tried to pressure Luiz and Ramires while both Lavezzi and Cavani dropped to help fullbacks. It was difficult for Chelsea to find a space as their fullbacks remained cautious and didn´t push high up the pitch as much usual. Their first chance came from Luiz after good turn and avoiding Verratti´s tackle. Penalty came after PSG lost the ball when trying to break down their left, Willian made a good run down that side, cutting ball back towards Oscar who was fouled by Thiago Silva. Hazard converted from the spot. Hazard almost scored from tight angle after good cross by Willian from the right again.

Such an early goal completely changed the way teams probably wanted to play and the way they actually played. PSG had only 43 passes in the attacking third, compared to 84 by Chelsea.

Chelsea-passes-attacking third

PSG-passes-attacking third

Second Half

PSG continued with risky passing at the back under Chelsea´s good pressure in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half. However, the pressure gradually dropped and PSG found it easier to get forward and keep the ball with 3 v 2 in the middle and Ibrahimovic dropping off the centerbacks.

Lavezzi had a decent chance after another Matuidi cross from the left, but headed just over the bar.

PSG restored their lead from a free kick. Luiz committed unnecessary foul on Matuidi when he made another run from the middle to the left. Lavezzi sent in fantastic ball and the ball went in off Luiz. This time, however, PSG didn´t let Chelsea have the initiative and continued to threaten. Cavani had couple of good chances before substitute Pastore humiliated Chelsea with goal from nothing.  Chelsea never looked like getting an equalizer and haven´t managed a single shot in the second half while having only 36% of the possession.

Substitutions

PSG were forced to make two subs with Ibrahimovic and Verratti both picking up an injury. Lucas came on for Ibrahimovic, with Cavani moving central and Lucas playing down the right. Cabaye for injured Verratti was strait swop and Pastore came to strengthen the midfield in the place of Lavezzi.

Mourinho made only two subs. Torres changed Schurlle up front and Lampard coming on for last 20 minutes and Chelsea attackers changed positions in their 4-2-3-1 again. Ramires went right, Willian switched to the left and Hazard played behind Torres.

Conclusion

Early goal didn´t help PSG considering the way they played in the first half, but improved significantly in the second half.  Chelsea on the other hand, played well while looking for an away goal, but were really disappointing in the second half, especially when their pressing dropped. PSG looked much more likely to score, but teams seemed to settle with 2:1 for the last 10 minutes.  Pastore´s superb individual goal gave PSG the lead, which Chelsea might not be able to turn around as they did against Napoli in their title winning season two years ago. 

Napoli 2:0 Juventus

Napoli 2:0 Juventus ,  30/03/14 San Paolo, Napoli

Both teams lined up in their usual formations and with expected starting XIs. Juventus were without suspended Tevez so Osvaldo partnered Llorente upfront. Henrique continued on the right as Maggio is still unavailable. Mertens was only on the bench after an ankle injury last week. 

Starting XIs

 

Possession dominance

Napoli played one of their best games this season, while on the other hand,  Juventus had arguably one of the worst and it is hard to remember when they´ve been on a back foot for such a majority of the game.

Napoli dominated the game right from the start and used the possession very well, keeping ball for  long periods and trying to work their way through with short passing. They had 62% of the possession in the first half and Juventus had barely got out of their own half. 

Napoli´s wing play

Higuain repeatedly made runs towards sidelines rather than trying to battle against Juve´s physical centerbacks and help to create some good combination plays on the wings.

In fact, first goal came after a good play down Napoli´s left and a fantastic ball by Insigne. Napoli had couple of good chances in the first ten minutes already and the game remained scoreless mostly thank to good saves by Buffon. 

Juventus problems

Juventus were forced to sit deep right from the start and even when they had the ball, they weren´t able to work it forward effectively and were very disappointing in the final third as Napoli were quick to get back and very organized with two banks of 4 and Hamsik and Higuain in front of them. Juventus were wasteful in the attack and only completed 56% of their passes in the final third. It took 25 minutes to see the first shot on target from Juve.

Second Half

Juve improved slightly in the second half, seeing more of the ball as Napoli looked to play more on the counter. It worked quiet well as they managed to create dangerous situations on the break. They kept their shape well throughout the second half too, and Juventus couldn´t really find a way to create a clear chance to score.

Napoli defended well and always looked to counter as Juve pushed higher up the pitch.  Hamsik went through on goal after good ball from Pandev before Mertens killed the game after being on the pitch for only 3 minutes.  The goal was scored only seconds after Juve´s corner as only a long throw by Reina and a long ball from Pandev were needed to get the ball on the other sides of the pitch. Still, Mertens had a lot to do, but managed to control the ball and hit the ball into the bottom corner brilliantly.

Subs

Antonio Conte hasn´t tried to change the game from tactical point and his substitutions were strait swops. However, all three players, Marchisio, Isla and Vucinic got into dangerous positions. Isla received the ball behind the defence on the right side twice, at first he miscontroled the ball and the chance was lost, second time he sent a poor cross into Reina´s hands. Vucinic had a shot just wide from outside the box and Marchisio almost got on the end of a long ball into the area.

Benitez has done the same with first two subs, bringing on Pandev for Higuain and Mertens for Hamsik. The duo combined for a second goal and Mertens was close to his second after a good run down the left by Insigne. Dzemaili came on late for Callejon to strengthen the midfield after second goal.

Conclusion

It was a comfortable win for Napoli as Juventus never got into a clear chance and only managed two shots on target in the whole game and Reina was never tested properly.  Without Tevez in the team, Juve missed his work rate; link up play and great understanding with Llorente they are enjoying throughout the season.  Pirlo was also relatively quiet. Hamsik was marking him most of the time, but even if he left him space, Pirlo didn´t have his usual impact, mostly because there wasn´t much room for the wingbacks to whom he likes to play long diagonal passes. Bonucci, the other long passer in the Juve´s team, hasn´t done too much either as there simply wasn´t a space too play those long balls to wing backs. 

The result will not probably have too much effect on the table, but it gives Napoli a hope they can overcome Roma for second place while being 12 points ahead of Fiorentina now.