The abysmal difference between City de Guardiola and Atlético de Simeone in data: possession, shots and the unusual heat map

Manchester City took a small step towards the Champions League semifinals by win 1-0 against Atlético de Madrid this Tuesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the continental tournament. The match was a clash of styles between two coaches who respect each other very much, as was reflected in the statements in the previous one. On the pitch, the difference was much bigger than in the result.

The worst news for Pep Guardiola and the best news for Diego Simeone, was the same: that the score ended only 1-0, a difference that is not difficult to reverse in what will be the April 13 rematch at Wanda Metropolitano. But, to win that match, the Argentine coach must take note of what his team did today in Manchester.

It's just that ninety minutes, the Aleti couldn't even kick the goal. The Colcohonero team had some counterattack approaches, but none ended up with a shot, either diverted or at goal or blocked by an opponent. Without a doubt, an alarming statistic for one of the best teams in Europe. For their part, the local cast tried the goal 15 times, although only six had goal destiny. Only one ended up in the goal defended by Jan Oblak - one of the figures of the match - and it was precisely the goal of Kevin De Bruyne.

Despite the difference, the number of shots at the goal can also mean a headache for Guardiola, as his team gave 695 passes throughout the match, almost 400 more than his opponent, and despite constantly prowling the rival area, he had a hard time generating clear chances. The incredible thing is that 519 of those touches were in the field of Atlético de Madrid, according to data provided by statistics company Opta.

In terms of possession, the difference between the two teams is also abysmal, 70.5% for City and just 29.5% for the last Spanish champion. This has formed a unique heat map for two teams fighting to be European champions. It is that Atlético has had more time playing the ball in and around its own area than in any other area of the field.

“It was a very disputed match, very difficult because they are some masters defending all together behind,” Guardiola acknowledged the Movistar+ platform after the final whistle. “There is no room, apart from the fact that they are very competitive, very good at defending, there are no spaces,” he said, explaining how difficult it is to kick Oblak.

Simeone was also unable to take advantage of one of his main attacking weapons: the stop ball. His team did not even have a corner kick in favor and the Manchester team committed only eight offenses, none near the Ederson area, something that was well worked out by the English cast.

It is true that Cholo planned to have the ball less than Manchester City and he probably imagined that he would have fewer chances to score, but hardly in his head was the idea of not kicking the goal throughout the game and on top of that being defeated. Luckily for him there will be a rematch at Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday, April 13 when he must win by the minimum difference to stretch the definition to the elongation or get a bigger advantage to seal his ticket to the semifinals.

General statistics of the match

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