This weekend, La Liga will display the first iteration of the 2023/24 Madrid Derby, with both teams having relatively different starts to the season. Atlético Madrid have had somewhat of an up-and-down start to the season, with the side managing to win two games, one of those being a very convincing win against Rayo Vallecano, but have also lost one and drawn one game so far. Real Madrid, on the other hand, have been in imperious form, winning all of their first five games thus far.
One of the most significant reasons for their stellar form has been Jude Bellingham, with the Englishman scoring six goals in his first six games as well as assisting 1. Through his spell at Dortmund, Bellingham showcased himself to be perfectly capable of executing his defensive duties but also showcased his ability to get the team forward through progressive passes and progressive carries.
Former assistant coach of Borussia Dortmund, Renè Maric, described the midfielder as “Zidane in small spaces and Gerrard in big spaces”. At Real Madrid, however, so far, Bellingham has shown a knack for finding space in the box for slotting away and poking chances goalwards.
This tactical preview will provide a tactical analysis of how Carlo Ancelotti has utilised Bellingham so far this season and how Atlético Madrid can set up to prevent the midfielder from increasing his goal-scoring tally as well as influencing the game.
How has Bellingham’s role changed?
Although it is still very early on in this season, it would still be fascinating to see from a data perspective how Bellingham’s role has changed from last season to the current campaign.
The first view of Bellingham’s heat map strongly suggests that the midfielder is active across the middle third and the final third in central and wide areas, particularly on the left-hand side, but less so in his own half. This is a slight contrast to where the Englishman was active in his time at Dortmund. As seen below, throughout the course of last season, Bellingham was more active on the ball in his own half and the middle third than he was in the final third.
This has also been represented in the number of progressive passes that Bellingham has been making during his time in Madrid. Through the 2022/23 season, Bellingham was making 7.67 progressive passes a game. However, through the first five games, due to Bellingham taking slightly more advanced positions, a large proportion of his progressive passes have come from areas further up the field.
However, from viewing his radar from last season, it is unsurprising that Ancelotti has found a role for Bellingham further up the field, with the Englishman in the 98th percentile for touches in the opposition box. Compared to other players in his position, Bellingham was in the 91st percentile for expected goal contribution per 90 as well as the 97th percentile for shots per 90, taking 2.16 shots per game.
Bellingham in action
Bellingham’s starting position in possession has been between the first and second line of the opposition lines. However, Bellingham is not necessarily restricted to the positions behind the opposition line and moves into free spaces in the wide areas to support players and his teammates.
Due to his positioning between the last two lines of the defence, opposing defenders often have to step up to cover the midfielder, allowing Bellingham to make runs behind the backline.
With his starting position between the lines and his license to roam into free spaces, Bellingham can pull opposition defenders large distances away from the backline. This, in turn, creates spaces in the back line that other Real Madrid players can exploit.
Real Socidead tried to deal with Bellingham’s movement with a type of zonal man-marking strategy, where a particular defender in the backline would step out to cover the midfielder when he moved across the pitch to support the ball carrier. On the other hand, Getafe mainly used a man-marking approach, with Djene Dakonam tracking the movements of the Englishman.
Although still capable of exploiting defences when left with time and space on the ball in deeper areas, Bellingham has proved most dangerous with his movement in and around the box. Due to his advanced positioning, Bellingham is often placed in positions that allow him to arrive late into the box or take up positions on the edge of the box and take advantage of the dropping defenders.
This can be seen in the example below, with Bellingham positioned between the last two lines of the opposition defence, allowing him to arrive in the box unmarked.
Because Bellingham is not restricted to strictly staying in this space, Bellingham can enter the box from different angles. This can be seen in the sequence of possession that has already been used as an example to showcase Bellingham’s movement and the trouble it causes for the back line. On this occasion, Bellingham drops into the space in his own half from a more advanced position and drags a defender out of position.
However, as Bellingham moves towards the left-hand side, the opposition defender then begins to move back to his position, with no other Real Sociedad player moving towards Madrid’s number five to cover him. This allows Bellingham to drift into the box unmarked.
Regarding Bellingham’s recent goal-scoring form, a large portion of this has been from his movement in the box, not necessarily from the runs he makes into the box.
A few of his goals have been the result of goalkeeping parries. Although, at first, this may seem lucky, Bellingham is particularly adept at making runs on the blind side of defenders and moving into positions where he can benefit from parries.
This was the case in the Getafe game, where Bellingham could be seen moving on the blind side of Getafe defenders as the shot was taken, which allowed him to tap in the parry from the goalkeeper.
How will Atléti react
The main issue in dealing with Bellingham is his starting position between the lines and his movement into different free spaces. This allows him to pull defenders out of place, creating spaces for players in behind, and then eventually lose his marker as he moves around into different free spaces. As a result, Bellingham should be the responsibility of the midfield line and the defensive line.
Atléti, through the start of the season, have defended in a 5-3-2 formation, which has taken on many different variations. In their game against Valencia, this 5-3-2 turned into a 3-2-3 when the defensive line was high, with Stefan Savić and Mario Hermoso advancing into the midfield to cover opposition players.
With Real Madrid playing four midfielders in most of their games at the start of the season, it is unlikely that Atléti will use this approach, with three of Maadrid’s four midfielders not necessarily initially positioning themselves higher up the pitch.
However, this approach has not been the regular strategy for Atléti in defence, with the side reverting to 5-3-2 in their other games. Mario Hermoso in the back line has shown an impressive ability to be able to step out of the back line to cover players ahead of him but not allow himself to be dragged far from his position by attackers to prevent large spaces from forming in the back line.
What will be imperative in their game against Real Madrid is that their midfielders and Defenders actively look to cover Bellingham as he moves into spaces near them. An example of what this may look like can be seen below, with Pablo Barrios dropping deeper to cover the opposition player between the lines and Antoine Griezmann also dropping deeper to protect the players in wide spaces.
Through the actions of Griezmann’s actions, the midfield line of the side does not become stretched, with Rodrigo De Paul not having to cover the players in the wide areas, allowing him to defend the half-space. Through the tracking of the opposition player by Barrios, none of Atléti’s central defenders are forced into stepping out of the line in order to cover the opposition player.
All three lines of Atlético Madrid’s defence will have to be actively engaged to mitigate the threat of Bellingham’s movement, with the midfield and defensive line having to work in tandem to cover Bellingham whenever he is positioned nearby. The front line must also cover other Real Madrid players to compensate for the midfielder’s and defence’s focus on Bellingham.
The midfield will need to be their most vigilant when defending in their third, with these players needing to take particular note of Bellingham’s movement into and to the edge of the box as the defenders in the side move backwards. This aspect of Atléti’s strategy will also require their strikers to be actively involved in the defensive phase of the game. Although easier said than done, Atléti’s defenders must also protect Jan Oblak by moving towards their own goal as shots and crosses are taken to sweep up any potential rebounds and parries.
Conclusion
Jude Bellingham is proving himself to be one of a kind, with the 20-year-old proving himself to be adept in all aspects of the midfield position. This analysis has highlighted how he has been utilised in Madrid’s tactics and how he has caused headaches for opposing defences.
Diego Simeone’s side are going to have to make a considerable effort to ensure that players in all three lines of the defence are aware of Bellingham’s positions and movements into the box.
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