Beyond stats: Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona

Real Madrid take initiative with possession yielding rich rewards

The brand of football played by Carlo Ancelotti’s troops clearly involves combination play as a central element. Indeed, the capital club lead the league charts for the number of passes per possession.

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What’s more, as we can see in this clip, Real Madrid’s first pass following a turnover is a key aspect within the subsequent build-up.

The Chamartin-based outfit occupy the final place on the LaLiga Santander podium for forward passes after recovering possession (38.2 per outing).

Real Madrid’s possessions are intricate and yield handsome rewards. Indeed, no other team in the division involves more players in their possessions than Los Blancos (an average of 3.7 players). In addition, the boys from the Bernabéu enjoy the most dangerous possessions in the Spanish top flight, with seven per match.

In terms of the intensity of their game and performance in the fitness stakes, Ancelotti’s charges lie top of the class for both the number of sprints completed at over 28km/hr (30.3 per outing) and distance covered at over 24km/hr (26.16m).

In more general terms, it’s well worth noting that Real Madrid play the most forward passes in the league, racking up almost 400 per match.

The ease with which they create chances is reflected by the fact that they boast the highest success rate on passes in the final third in the league (over 86 per cent).

The hosts are also the league runners-up in terms of the statistics related to taking the initiative in games and nobody records more attempts than the Vikingos.

Xavi’s FC Barcelona undergoing changes for the better

The upturn in FC Barcelona’s results in recent weeks is clearly reflected in their statistics. The Catalan giants have managed to climb the LaLiga Santander standings in the build-up and finishing stakes.

Indeed, 21 per cent of the Camp Nou outfit’s possessions see them make inroads into the final third, which is enough to bag them an impressive second place. Meanwhile, the fact that 8.3 per cent of their moves result in goals sees them land the last spot in the league podium in this department.

Much like this matchday’s hosts, FC Barcelona’s style involves a lot of combination play, and, as this video illustrates, the Azulgranas lie in second spot in the LaLiga Santander standings for the number of players involved per possession, recording an average of 3.53. Crucially, there is an end product to Barça’s possession-based blueprint and Xavi’s charges lie in third position in terms of dangerous possessions (5.3 per outing). Meanwhile, only three teams in the league outperform the Catalans’ score of three carries leading to shots per game.

Despite the fact that FC Barcelona’s game revolves heavily around their trademark build-up play, in order to gain a full picture of the team’s style, we also have to look at how they perform in the defensive phase, where the Blaugrana are certainly no slouches. The Cules are handily placed in second for the number of players involved in the press after losing possession (3.18), and sit in fourth position for the number of advantageous recoveries, which make up 15 per cent of all of their turnovers. What’s more, they sit top of the pile for the number of forward passes after regaining possession.

To round our analysis off and to draw some direct comparisons with their opponents in this blockbuster bout, Xavi’s troops rank second best to Real Madrid in the stakes for forward passes, success rate on passes in the final third and shots on target.

New boy Aubameyang gives Barça much-needed boost

When it comes to electric pace and the ability to adapt to new surroundings, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has passed the test with flying colours. The frontman has hit five goals in six outings, in which he has played an instrumental role in the team’s build-up play. As we can see from this video, a lot of the forward’s success owes to his high-octane style. He chalks up an average of 3.5 actions per game at over 28km/hr, a return that places him above the average scores in LaLiga as a whole and amongst his teammates.

The jet-heeled striker features amongst LaLiga’s top 10 players for the number of attempts (3.4 per game) and it’s of particular note that over half of his efforts are on target. His performance in this department (1.92 shots on target per game) places him in second spot in the league standings.

In short and to hone in on his goalscoring prowess, the supersonic striker has plundered 1.2 goals per game, and given the number of minutes he’s played in his embryonic Barcelona career, this amazing statistic places him at the top of the LaLiga Santander tree in this facet.