A Little Bit of Everything

Analysis

This video shows a little bit of everything. Despite having plenty of numbers behind the ball the Real Madrid defense could not keep up with the quick passing and movement from the D.C. United attack. The video starts off with a quick give-n-go between Alecko and Freddy Adu. For a second it seemed Freddy would be dispossessed but he is able to elude two defenders with a quick step over and cross. No one is able to head in the initial cross and the Real Madrid defense recovers behind the ball as they should. The mistake here that most teams would make is to play the ball back into the box where most of the defenders are positioned. But instead Josh receives the ball and quickly finds Christian in a supporting angle. This is the key moment that leads to the goal. It forces the defense to step up thereby creating space for Jaime in the box. In the video replay you can see Christian is thinking a few steps ahead as he gets into a good supporting angle and looks to see where his next pass will be going. Alecko also gets himself into a good supporting angle and gives Christian two options; pass to Jaime in the box or play a square pass to Alecko. Since the defense steps up to mark Alecko, Christian is able to slot a ball to Jaime. Alecko does a great job following the play and is able to receive a backpass for a shot on goal. You can even see Ben running off of Christian's pass as he also realizes that space has opened up in the box for a backpass. This is a great example of using supporting angles to draw the defense out of its' shell and then make runs off the ball. Not even a defense as strong as Real Madrid could keep up.