MY TAKE ON THE GAMES BETWEEN BRAZIL VS SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY VS MEXICO .

 swiss played brazil in the world cup match . brazil started the game with 4-4-2 because both jesus and neymar were upfront and even though they looked like 4-3-3 they were not they were more like 4-4-2 . while swiss started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . now in what world would you let one of the best players in the world have time and space on the ball and leave him alone . it was abvious from the start that the swiss were going to strangle neymar . now here is where tite needs to coach him tell him and change the tactics . the more neymar is drawn into the battle the more he wants to fight it . instead tite should had just tried  to play one touch football and keep the play rolling and tite should had created the offense with other player who too are actually good .
the game started with a fimiliar note with swiss trying to sit back and strangle neymar . now i had just read the statistics that neymar was fouled 10 times in the match why wont he be . brazil were always going to have their offense on the left side because that the side neymar operates plus coutiniho was deployed there so that neymar can link up with him and can open up the swiss defense. brazil started the game brightly neymar was closed down so they spread the ball to willian who was on the other flank and he caused swiss the problem by crossing good  crosses  in the box . the trouble started with neymar getting shutdown more by berhami who was very good . what brazil lack is that height upfront which they make up with their crisp passing . jesus was never going to win headers against ikanji and schar so keeping  the ball on the floor was the best option .
swiss were never going to chase brazil in their half what swiss lacked was mobility but they had the physical advantage over brazil . now neymar likes to come deep and start dribble from there . berhami was specifically told to keep tabs on neymar who and he did a very good job with that . here is where i am disappointed with tite . neymar is the main man for brazil as messi is for argentina and every thing and anything is going to flow through him .  so the opposition are going to strangle them . now either you create and offense where on the other member of the team combine when neymar is strangled or create offense so that he can have space to work . the second thing that i was disappointed with tite was neymar's positioning . neymar likes to start from the left and deep . first off the deeper he comes the deeper the offense starts so brazil has to work that  length of the pitch to get to the box or goal . secondly when he getting closed down why not ask him to play one touch football instead trying to drive the ball and prove his ego . why play to his ego . if tite had taken the cue then it was there in the match when neymar was high up the pitch and he beat schar and schar had to take a card to stop him  . so why didnt tite asked him to stay high up the pitch and let the ball come to him and work his magic or let him stay on one side of the pitch and attract the opposition and let others combine . 
i was disappointed in brazil but i was more disappointed in swiss because going forward they didnt had a plan as to  what they are going to do when they are going to take the ball in the final third . now seferovic is a very good player and a good header of the ball plus you can play around him but none of that was visible in the swiss offense and shaqiri,dzemaili and zuber when the ball was bought high up the pitch . just try to cross the ball in the box for seferovic and test silva and mirando with both shaqiri and rodriguez good crosser of the ball . going forward the swiss were pretty hopeless and if the swiiss want to get into the next round then they need to have a better offense . the swiss let a very good chance of beating brazil who i think were vulnerable in the match .
both tite and sampoli need to solve neymar and messi or it may not get them far in the worldcup .
yesterday germany played mexico . germany started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while mexico too played with the same formation . the tactics were clear from the start that mexico were going to sit back deep and hit germnay on the counter for that they had hernandez upfront who pace can trouble anybody but his overall link up play and finishing are found wanting . germany wanted to stretch the game so that kimmich high up the pitch trying to stretch the play so that players can ozil and kross can exploit that space in the defense and find muller,draxler and wener upfront . the warning signs were from the start from both sides . first germany had the shot when werner found the space behind the back four with his diagonal run . this was because mexico tried to play a slight bit of high line and werner showed his pace to find space behind the back four .  while mexico were finding the space in the hole where on either or vela or hernandez were coming inside and releasing  lugano on the left . lugano was finding the space because kimmich use to high up the pitch and his pace was causing germany the problems . germany were playing the high line trying to congest mexico and press them but the trouble is that mexico are very good in one on one situations and are extremly mobile plus their ground game is very good . their crisp passing is very good with good positional  knowledge .
the game was all about germany dominating possession and trying to open up mexico and even though they lost it doesnt means that germany were bad . it was only that they could not find the back of the net . their game plan and the way played was actually decent and i think after this game low must had thought that perhaps he had a player like sane who can make run on defense with his after burners and open it up . the only player that i would criticise here is ozil . he is the no.10 in the side and on one of the time in the game he could had just released werner . he needs to be strong on the ball and needs to pull the strings and get himself more involved in the game . vela played the no.10 role for mexico and he played it with aplomb . both the teams should could had done more into the game . mexico should had thought about having a bigger scoreline while germany would had thought to have atleast a point in the game .
i think that low needs to look into his side and play kross in place of ozil and needs to have some crisp passing going because otherwise i think that there was nothing bad with the team with some little adjustments . if mexico are to go far into this worldcup then i think hernandez's game needs to improve overnight . the second thing is that they need to be a bit more patient they work the ball in a good position but they just get impatient with their shot . instead if they just can be a little bit more patient then they can just trouble a lot of teams but playing this deep and taking chances against team would someday catch them .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN PORTUGAL VS SPAIN .

yesterday portugal played spain in the world cup group match . portugal started the match with a 4-4-2 formation . while spain started the match with 4-3-3 formation . the game started with the usual script of portugal sitting back and hitting spain on the counter . fernando santo had his tactics right because if you are to play on the counter attack then you need to have two upfront and most importantly the front two seems to working in tandem with each other . portugal took the early lead because they able to overlaoad the left flank . portugal were able to do that because ronaldo shifted from the middle there and most importantly in the first 15-20 min spain's back line wasnt coming along upfield  with the front players to press them . so portugals players were getting time on the ball and were able to beat spains pressing game . now spain's pressing game were able to win them the 2010 world cup . the real reason why portugal were able to win the penalty was that there wasnt that clarity in the  spain team as to who was going to pick up raphael gurrero . porugal's left back was able to get go unabated upfield without an opposing player against him . spain had two player on that side with silva and koke but who was going to pick up gurrero wasnt decided . secondly he was aided by portugals tactics where on i think fernandes was told to come inside and provide cover to gurrero and let gurrero upfield because gurrero is a good crosser of the ball . in this match ronaldo was very good and he was ready to take players on and that won him the penalty for the first goal .

spain on offense

the game settled after 15 min where on the intial eurphoria of the portugal team died . the teams dont have the legs in them to close down players . spain there tiki taka game . spain attack was mostly from the left side and isco being the main progenitor .   there was some thinking to spains attack because of the players involved and the players that were in opposition . spain had isco,iniesta and alaba on that side while portugal had cedric,moutiniho and silva on that flank . portugals silva in one of the better players in that team and spain may had not wanted him to combine with the front players so spain wanted to push him back because he was marking alaba . alaba was given the lisecne to go beyond his front player a page taken barcelona's tactical book . spain had their tiki taka going and portugal were sitting back with a very compact two banks of four . even though portugal were trying to sit back compat but it a dangerous ploy because spain can move the ball very crisply and they have some very good players who have a very good game iq who know how to take position in the play and make themselves available .

what spain were trying to acheive with their offense was that they were trying to overload one flank and get either of isco or inesta getting deep into the portugal's box and then either crossing the ball for costa or koke who coming from the opposite flank .  even though spain were dominating the possession i think that they didnt use the arsenal that were at their disposal . nor did they use all of the canvas . while isco was seeing a lot of the ball silva was not having that joy . he too is one of the best ball player in that team . secondly the attack was just happening on the left flank and spain wasnt able to spread it on the right flank and they were getting greedy in crossing the ball . instead had they been patient and a better game reader and orchestrator of the game would had used the full canvas and tried to stretch portugal and opened them more . thirdly they have to bring costa more into the game and the offense should be around him and he should  be more involved in the offense . at time i felt that spain got greedy in trying to keep the ball instead of trying to take pick out players upfront who were in a good position to test oppsition's defense . spain had a good tiki taka game and dominated the possession but struggled on the counter and busquestus needs to be better with his game reading .i think he should be a little more upfront and should be the one pulling the strings . most important spain conceded three goals and at time on defense in think that on the counter there positinal awareness wasnt very good and were getting caught in wrong position . even when you are on offense you should have a reading as to from where the opposition can hurt them and should make that necessary adjustments to the game and i think after the tapes of the game heirro would make that  if spain are to go far in the world cup .

portugal had their tactics right but sitting this deep and inviting pressure in not going to get them very far in the world cup because a better organised team on offense will put them to sword . they cannot play this deep  but the satisfying thing for santos would be that they were able to beat the press and moved the ball very nicely . rafael carvalaho's performance in this game would be one of the most satisfying thing for him . the front two worked very well  and ronaldo's attitude and his performace would had satisfied him . 

MY TAKE ON THE EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL BETWEEN MARSEILLE VS ATH MAD .

on wednesday marseille played ath mad in the UEL final . marseille started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while ath mad continued with their 4-4-2 formation . the game started with a very interesting punt from  marseille deep in ath mad half . now this stratergy has been used in the nfl,rugby to punt the ball deep in the opposition half and then try to win the possession back as high as possible in the opposition half . it puts pressure on the opposition because they have to cover that much of the grass and this true even in football . marseille punted the ball and then tried to press ath mad . atleast this move showed that rudy garcia was thinking out of the book and trying to have some advantage on his opposition . the game had a good flow to it . both the teams were cautious trying to press each other and at the same time they play deep instead of trying to play a high line and get caught . both the teams like to play out of the back but while marseille like to have possession of the ball ath mad likes to sit back and hit on the counter . ath mad had koke and corriea on the wings while griezman was playing behind costa .  when ath mad have the ball they tried to feed the ball to either corriea , griezman or costa because these three are the main weapons for counter used by ath mad . griezman and corriea are very good on the ball while costa can hold the ball and bring others into play . koke is more of a playmaker or no.10 in the ath mad team . in the first half marseille dominated the proceedings they nullified corriea and costa because the two midfielders in the middle did their job very well to support their back four . 
marseille created the first chance of the match and it was because they could strip ath mad of the possession and bring the ball from back to front quickly . till this chance i think there was  a confusion in ath mad team as to who would pick payet and he was afforded time on the ball and he was able to release germain on goal who missed . after this chance ath mad tightened up . first off they reduced the space between midfield and back four . secondly payet wasnt given time on the ball . as soon he had the ball either of the two midfielders would try to close him down . the thing marseille went wrong was that marseille had germain upfront . now germain's strength is to run behind the back four . he has a good floor game and is decent in the air given his stature but he cannot beat gimenez and godin in the air . just as payet went off the field marseille didnt had anybody who could dictate the game for them . secondly marseille were feeding germain with high balls which is not his strength . marseille's problem was that they were just not able to bring the ball inside the in the final third . the reason being that they dindnt had payed on the field . secondly even if the ball was crossed in the box germain wasnt going to win the aerial duel against gimenez and godin . most importantly marseille passed the ball crisply but there was no novelty in the final third to open up the ath defense . it was just way too straight with players occupying their respective zones and not doing anything new .
when tactics are designed at that time players at hand are considered with respect to the opposition . i think in this match rudy garcia didnt take germain physical aspect into consideration . marseille were good till the final third but lack of creativity with not many players in the box didnt bore them any fruit on offense . he tried to change that in the second half where on he brought the sub lopez in the deeper in the midfield and sent sanson upfront . sanson showed some good movement but till that the game was out of marseille's hand . he should had bought mitrogolu at the start of the second half itself when he could see that the lack of height upfront was hampering his offense so he should had bought him earlier . most importantly marseille didnt had a plan B when they need to change thing because there initial approach wasnt working and that they were just not able to bring the ball back into the centre . i think he did the substitution too late to give marseille a chance .
ath mad were on the back foot in the first half the offense wasnt working for them but there is a difference between an immature team and a mature team . mature would not hasten they would not overtry to expose themselves and would just keep on trying and they would know that the chance would come and that they will take it . the first goal for ath mad came because saul was aware and when Anguissa made the mistake he was ready to pounce and punished marseille . the second goal came into the second half and till that time ath had take hold of the game they were passing crisply costa was running channels and was holding the ball better .most importantly ath mad were able to break marseille's offense in the middle and were able to hit them quickly on the counter . they showed good quality on the ball and were able to beat  marseille's  press and were able to open them up on every counter . ath mad won just because they not only quality but are also a mature team and i think that was the difference between the two .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN CHELSEA VS BARCELONA.

before i write about the game let me say doesnt matters as to how many time you have the ball and how much you have the possession but if you cannot stick in the back of the net . gaurdiola can moun that wigan had only one chance but what matters is the score and when after some years people will not remember that man city dominated the possession but the way we remember brazil dominating argentina in the 1990 world cup but ended up losing the match . in the game between chelsea vs barcelona i had read news about how barca dominated and messi being unstoppable but to be honest i would say that if i was conte i would just be happy at the way barca were playing because he should had figuered them out . i had never seen an offense being so concentrated around one player . i have heard that certain section of the press were critical of pauliniho starting but to be honest doenst matters whoever you start will he get the freedom to do his thing because eventually after two or three passess the ball ends at messi's feet and as if so he is everything creator and finisher . all the team has to play around him and adjust accordingly if i had to critical of neymar and PSG's tactics then what should i say about barca because they too look like a single man team . i think valverde had to look after his tactics and should change because if the barca board sane people and if the opposition starts figuering them out then i think clearly they will struggle . 
the game started with barca with 4-4-2 formation while chelsea started with 3-5-2 formation  with willian in the no.9 role while hazard in the no.10 role  but they kept on interchanging the role . it was very much written that chelsea were going to sit back and barca were going to be in the ascendancy and going to dominate the possession . before the game it was hyped as the battle between ngolo kante and messi but that was not the case atleast in the first half . in the first half messi was finding the space between lines and he was causing good trouble to chelsea and the interplay was good between him iniesta and  busquestus but again as i had said everything is messi . barca know that the opponent are going to be very compact because little amount of space can be exploited by barca . to honest i was a little surprised that valverde was not able to spot that chelsea were a little thin in their midfield . chelsea only had two midfielders in the middle with kante and fabregas . while pedro and willian were shifting besides them to make numbers . but at times willian was staying just high up the pitch at that time i thought that the chelsea  midfield was way too thin and there was space ( will show in figure ) that could had been exploited but then we come back to square one because it had to be done by messi . in the first half there was considerable space between back five and the middle three . most importantly messi's was staying in between the lines and was causing problems for chelsea . the reason why barcelona play pauliniho is his ability to make the runs and has a very good positional sense . the only thing that let him down is his touch . the other player that had benifitted from barca's formation had been jordi alaba . both pauliniho come inside and the fullbacks get the space to go up the pitch and when messi drifts on the right alaba had made some darting runs evading his opposite number and had been very successful in providing assists . 
in the second half chelsea made the adjustmest . in the first half the distance between chelsea back five and middle three was about 15 yards but in the second half it was less that 10 yards . conte made the adjustmests to make them more compact . secondly messi started coming more deeper which put him against kante and fabregas who now know on how to defend messi . they dont try to snatch ball from him instead try to be patient and they get the chance or they double on him . barca's equaliser because chelsea were trying to play out from the back . conte wanted barca to press them so that they can play around them and there are players like hazard and willian who can show their quality in the final third and in one on one situations . chelsea's formation had been based around good defending and most importantly the understanding between the front two . in this match i think both willian and hazard were not on the same wavelength . most importantly in this match chelsea's most unsung hero pedro was not that used or else he can cause trouble to the oppostion with his runs behind the back four and had got good postional sense.
barca may had the advantage with away goal but the tie is certainly not over and most importantly if conte had watched the game and if he is able to make some adjustments then definitely the tie is very much open . there are already talks of barca slowing down or getting tired but that is not true but after certain time the opposition starts fiuering you out and i think this may be the time when valverde needs to freshen up his tactics and should give more freedom to other players like iniesta who looks to be tied up to messi . they had been asking as to why dembele is not playing but to be honest in this style nobody cant shine except messi .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN JUVENTUS VS SPURS.

the uefa champions league matches are a great audition for the coaches as well as the players . the game between spurs and juventus was an audition for pochettino and his players . over the period of two weeks spurs have played against good opponents notably against liverpool and utd . i watched the game against liverpool and whoever had watched it then they would had found the similarities in terms of the way the game went . spurs dominated the game but were not good in the final third . the same was the story here spurs dominated the proceedings but most of the times they didnt look that threatning and squandered there possession off .
juventus started the game with 4-4-2 formation . higuain was upfront with costa who was preferred in the no.10 role because of his ability to dribble as well as he can exchange positions with manzukic who can come inside and join higuain if costa goes wide and be at the end of the cross from costa . spurs started with 4-2-3-1 formation with dembele and dier in front of the back four . spurs wanted to congest the midfield and have dominance over it . spurs fell back through two early goals because of their defensive lapses . both the goal could had been prevented atleast the second one i mean its a stupidity from the fullback davies . he should had just cleared the ball from direction where it came from instead of trying to clear it to the other side and secondly he should had tried to catch it much higher instead of trying to let it come that much down . 
spurs went two goals down early but credit goes to the coach and the players who didnt let their head go down and instead started to play their game and stamped their authority in the game . while at the same time juventus went into their italian mentality of trying to protect the lead that they had . the initial game plan of trying to close down spurs and try to win the ball high up the pitch and hit them on the fast counter went out of the window . now if you had watched the game between liverpool and spurs and this game then the reason why spurs dominated was because of one player and that is dembele . his ability to get out of the pressure and dominate the game was amazing .he was the main reason why spurs dominated .
spurs dominated the game but i was disappointed in the their offense . liverpool game was repeated here . there are three main zones in football the defense,midfield and offensive third . now spurs were playing out of the back demebele was able to pass that pressure that was exerted to him in the midfield and was able to pass that ball forward in the final third . its the role of the final third that they need to combine and the coach needs to orchestrated the offense as to what happens when the ball comes in this zone or that whoever recives the ball and who makes the makes the run and who takes what position . this is the role of the coach because unlike midfield the opposition is not going to give time and space on the ball in the final third and get themselves murdered . here i was disappointed with delle alli . he plays in the no.10 postion and is supposed to be the main creator in the spurs team but how many times did he squandered the possession in the final third . plus spurs players dont have that sharpness as to whether they have aplayer around or whether they can take a touch or should they just pass back .
i had read somewhere that pep gaurdiola use to discuss the tactics with chess grandmaster's . chess and football are way similar and the grandmasters would had taught him as to how to draw out an opponent or use various positions and how to use them . how do you read your opponent and their game plan and get an upperhand on that . the context of this is that spurs were able to bring the ball upfield but were simply poor in the final third . just as when you press a player and one of the player starts as it is a cue for others to press others . similarly it is on offense when the ball is passed upfield then the other players needs to take the cue and take positions and it needs to be crisp . there is no stopping for crisp passing and only it can be stopped is by fouling the offensive team . i think spurs need to up their game in the final third and be more creative .
juventus took the lead early but then just took their foot off the paddle . first thing if it was an audition for pochettino then similarly allegri's name is being linked to various clubs and would any club like to have a manager who plays defensive football . there is nothing bad in sitting back and hitting back on the counter but when you can read that you need to you have ten players players behind the ball then you need to do level changes( ufc word) like be patient move the ball try to slow the game and then hit them . juventus just played one dimensional football just try to hit spurs on the counter atleast in the last quarter they should had just try to take different approach . juventus were helped by some stupid defending by spurs fullbacks who were just hopeless all night long and there decision making would cost spurs a place in the quarter finals . 

MY TAKE ON THE ELCLASSICO

 i was ill that is why i was not able to post and do this game early which i wanted to do so badly . on satuday real madrid played barcelona . for the last 4 or 5 days i had been reading the news, opinions and analysis of many a pundits . first and foremost many a pointed this defeat towards zidane and he is responsible for it . well a coach is defenitely responsible for the result of his team but on the other had let me ask as to which coach will tell his players to play badly or mess up in the game . there are situations where on the decisions making goes wrong and the team pays the price . i dont think that zidane would ever do that . when would a coaches CV or his status gets raised when he does something against great opponents and what better opponents than barcelona to do better .
the most important thing had been which had been missed in this game is that everybody and anybody is criticizing zidane but what about valverde and barcelona . i am want to first one who will criticize his or say question his . if the match had been the mirror image of first half then everybody had been questioning valverde and his tactics . barcelona is said to play the best football in europe and they had been the flag bearers of football tactics for all the teams . under gaurdiola it was intense pressing then came enrique era of quick counter attack and the question mark remains of what of valverde tactics . had the game gone the other way then he would had been questioned and he would had been on the knife's edge .
barcelona started the game with 4-4-2 formation but pauliniho was playing more as a forward rather than a wide man and messi playing as a number 10 . pauliniho started the game because he has the knack of making runs into the box and taking great positions where on his team mates can find him and that helps in offense because it helps to move the ball and helps the team very nicely . real started the game with 4-4-2 formation with ronaldo playing as the wide forward while benzema through the middle . real started to have 4 midfielders in the middle of the park the stratergy being to congest that space and deny barcelona any space in the middle of park . for the first half barcelona were trying to find their identity . what were barcelona trying to achieve was very clear but madrid were prepared for that . first off messi was coming deep and luis suarez was going wide just to create that space between centre backs so that if messi beats his marker he will can either pass that ball to suarez or use that space which suarez created . 
real madrid were prepared for all what barcelona were going to throw at them . first off they didnt gave messi time and space on the ball and this might the first classico when messi had lost possession most amount of time in a half . either kovacic or casmeiro were with him . while barcelona were trying to play a little bit of a dutch game trying to be patient and find the opening in the madrid defense . madrid had their own offense . they had crowded the middle of the park but they had sent their fullbacks high up the pitch and they too wanted to stretch the barca defense . the offense had the correct intent because real had benzema and ronaldo in the middle but at times i think that real crossed the ball with letting ronaldo having the time to come into the box . the other thing was that real could had just tried to have deeper penetration in the box and once they succeded and created the best chance of the game which ronaldo scuffed . now here is the difference between great player  ( bergkamp)and good player ( ronaldo) is that they have the awareness of who and what is around them and whether they can take a touch or take first time show . 
i dont know what happened but zidane tried to change thing in the second half . in the first half kovacic and casmeiro were in the middle of the park and were guarding that space very perfectly . in the second half zidane sent casmeiro against sergio busquetus . if there is a better ball passer in the barcelona team other than messi then its busquestus who is very under appreciated . the second mistake was to play sloppy passes i mean real are trying to play out from the back and if you loose the ball in the middle of the park and too to barcelona then you are inviting trouble . in the analytical pieces being done by various writers they had pointed about the counter counter attack but they failed to point as to why casmeiro ,modric and kross were caught on the wrong side of the ball . kovacic was given the duty to guard messi and he was doing it perfectly . when rakitic intercepted the pass and ran onto the real defense . kovacic was is in two minds as to whether he goes to go against rakitic or keeping on guarding messi and in that they kept on dropping back and they conceded the goal . another such goal with the same mistake with a red card and it ended the game for me .
first off the only thing zidane did wrong was that in the second half he changed the system and instead of trying to improvise what was done in the first half he tried to do different which opened the game for barcelona and real suffered the defeat . i think zidane will learn from that but the question still lingers for me about valverde and if barcelona gets upset in the coming months especially in ucl then i think he is in danger . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN NAPOLI VS JUVENTUS .

juventus played napoli on friday night . the game was significant because it was important for napoli to show that they are the best team in italy and play the best football over there . now before i write about the game as i had written time and again that the coaches try to find out the weak points in the opposition and try to explore it or try to create imbalance and start the offense from there . the coaches game is to think and coach and the players job is to carry it out on the field . the other thing is that as i had written earlier about game reading and that had been in reference to defense but just as game reading is important on defense it similarly important on the offense as well . you have to take into account the defensive formation and players qualities . even the coach had coached them and taught them as to what they need to do but its the players who is playing and has to improvise and read the play . he has to read as to where he can create space which zone he can exploit who to use in the play and take the necessary decision . its just like a chess game out there where on each one is sizing up one another and try to out do each other . if the players are of equal strength then the match will be a draw because both will cancel out each other and that is why the coaches job is to find that extra factor which can be beneficial to his team . napoli are a very good team and play good football but the trouble with napoli is that their game can be read from a distance and unfortunately sarri had not been able to add anything new to the game . napoli's game is forward going game but unfortunately what they lack is flair in that team and they dont have anybody who can attract the defenders and create space for others . 
juventus started the with 4-4-1-1 formation while napoli started the game with their usual 4-3-3 formation . i think allegri was prepared for napoli and they had prepared very well for napoli . the most important  factor when you play a pressing game is that you have to be reletless and press very hard . even though napoli were pressing and their team formation and they were working very well in tandem . while pressing the seem to be somewhat hesitant because first off juventus players possessed a physical and technical advantage over napoli's players ( whether anybody admit that or not ) .   napoli's players were waiting for juventus players to take first action and that allowed juventus players time on the ball were able to play themselves out of the press . napoli's players were circumspect and they wanted juventus players to first move because of the first goal because juventus players could play out of the press and because of the pressing many were caught on the wrong side of the ball and there was a lot of space at the back for costa to explore which led to higuain's goal ( just like last year where on juventus scored the goal and sat back to absorb the napoli's pressure for win.
allegri had prepared juvnetus very well for the napoli's test . he wanted juventus to sit back and hit back on the counter . the most important facet of the game was that he wanted higuain to come off the back four and stay inside so as to disrupt that back two . his plan was that higuain would come inside and costa and dybala to run beyond higuain . juventus had better players who could get out better in one on one situation . napoli were just one dimensional in the first half . both the team were not going to concede space in the middle so there was going to be space on the wings for both the team . as i had said napoli were one dimensional in the first half and most importantly mertens who i consider the best player in that team was just not involved in the offense in the first half . in the first half napoli were just not able to bring the ball inside from the wide areas . mertens wasnt not involved in the offense at all . secondly none napoli players could show their magic and show some skill on the ball to create chances for their team . mertens was left frustrated in the first half because of the lack of touches to the ball as well as his involvement . most of all i was very frustrated with callejon's movement and his positional understanding of the play . hysaz for me has one of the best passer of the ball in tight situations but he was let down by callejon . mario rui who was playing as left back was choosing to cross the ball which is ok considering that atleast they were getting the ball in the box but mertens beating chilleni and benatia is me beating anand in a chess game . 
in the second half sarri made the changes . he must asked his players to play around mertens and mertens to come off the back four and let insigne and others get beyond him but the trouble is that juventus were prepared for all this . secondly the length of pass from where napoli were trying to open up juventus was a bit far ( i would show that in the diagram . the passes were atleast 30-40 yard passes and which should had been further forward  ) . this was allowing buffon and others that necessary time to come off the line or make that necessary interceptions in the play . most of all i think that the mistake that sarri made was that he subbed allan for zalenski . zalenski is a very good player but allan too has a very good underrated game and i think he was realling shining in that game and would had been one of the difference maker  in that game . i thought that callejon would be subbed and he would bring somebody upfront or even just like same allerdyce tried put koulibally upfront and play mertens off him and that would had been hell of a play .