FIFA Club World Cup: Everything you Need to Know About this Tournament

Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha 

Sunday kick-starts the twenty-first FIFA Club World Cup, one which 32 football clubs across the globe will participate in. 

Here in this blog post, everything we need to know about this tournament is given. 

FIFA Club World Cup: It's Meaning and Brief History 

FIFA Club World Cup is an international football tournament competed by football clubs from continents of the world: Europe, South, North and Central America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and club(s) from the host country. 

The first ever FIFA Club World Cup took place in the year 2001. In this tournament, clubs were split into two groups of four clubs each, with the top two clubs from these groups advancing straight to the semi-finals. This competition ran parallel with similar competition already in existence before it - the FIFA Intercontinental Cup- a competition that has been in existence since the 1960's, and which was participated by both the European champions (winners of the UEFA Champions League) and champions of South America (Copa Libertadores winners).  

Brazil was the host country of the FIFA Club World Cup for that year. In this competition, eight teams participated: six from the various continents of the world, one team from the host country, and a European giant, Manchester United. Further, the host country's club, Corinthians, emerged as the winners of this inaugural FIFA Club World cup, making history by becoming the first team to lift the tournament. 

From the year 2001 to 2004, the FIFA Club World Cup didn't hold due to financial challenges faced by FIFA's marketing partners, International Sport and Leisure (ISL).  But in the year 2005, the competition resurfaced, replacing the Intercontinental Cup to stand as the only inter-continental club football competition recognized by FIFA. The format for this competition remained as it was before, with the new development being that the winners of UEFA Champions League and CONMEBOL Libertadores would begin participation from the semi-final stage. And so, the competition ran from that year to 2023, as that for 2024 was delayed due to plans for a new format.  

WINNERS OF THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 

Europe and South America are the only continents to have produced winners of the FIFA Club World Cup, with both winning the competition a total of twenty times. 

Europe has the greatest number of winners - sixteen - while South America only has four, with all clubs coming from Brazil. 

Here are the winners of the FIFA Club World Cup according to continents:

Europe 

* Real Madrid (5 times) 

* Barcelona (3 times) 

* Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Ac Milan (once each)

South America 

* Corinthians (2 times) 

* Sao Paulo, and International (once) 

 

 THE NEW FORMAT 

The new format for the FIFA Club World Cup follows suit that of FIFA World Cup: it will occur every four years; it consist 32 teams (12 from Europe, 6 from South America, 4 from Central and North America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbeans, respectively, and 1 from Oceania and the host country, respectively) participating in a round-ribbon pattern(meaning they would begin from the group stage phase of four teams per group, and proceed to the knock out phases) . 

Participation is based on any of these criteria: 

* Winning the major continental competition, i.e, UEFA Champions League, CAF Champions League, Copa Libertadores, etc.

* Performance in the major continental competition (number of wins, points earned and progression)

TEAMS PARTCIPATING IN THE 2024/2025 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 

Europe

Real Madrid(ESP), Atletico Madrid(ESP), Chelsea(ENG), Manchester City(ENG), Bayern Munich(GER), Dortmund(GER), Inter Milan(ITA), Juventus(ITA), Paris Saint Germain(FRA), Benfica(POR), Porto(POR) and RB Salzburg(AUT). 

South America 

Palmeiras(BRA), Flamengo(BRA), Fluminense(BRA), Botafogo(BRA), River Plate(ARG), Bocca Junior(ARG)  

 

  

North and Central America

Monterrey(MEX). Seattle Sounders FC(USA), Leon(MEX), Pachuca(MEX), Host slot - Inter Miami(USA)

Asia 

Al- Hilal(KSA),Urawa Red Diamonds(JPN),AL Ain(UAE),Ulsan HD(KOR) 

  

Africa

Al- Ahly(EGY), Wydad AC(MAR), Esperance de Tunis(TUN), Mamelodi Sundown(RSA) 

Oceania 

Auckland City(NZL) 

MONETARY REWARD

Just to be clear, the world football governing body, FIFA, has budgeted a mammoth some of about a billion dollars allocated to participating clubs for this tournament. 

Here is a breakdown of how this money would be allocated to this clubs. 

Participation Bonus

Total amount budgeted: 525 million USD

Continent                                                     Amount Per Club 

__________________________________________________________

           Europe                                                           12.81 - 38.19 million USD

____________________________________________________________

South America                                            15.21 million USD

_____________________________________________________________

North, Central and Caribbean                          9.55 million USD

_____________________________________________________________

Asia                                                                                        9.55 million USD

_____________________________________________________________

Africa                                                                                      9.55 million USD

___________________________________________________________

Oceania                                                                       3.58 million USD

Sporting Performance Bonus   

Total amount budgeted: 475 million USD 

Stage                                                                                   Amount Per Club 

___________________________________________________________

Group stage                        2 million USD per match won and 1millionUSD per match drawn

__________________________________________________________                      

Round of 16                                                    7.5 million USD 

_______________________________________________________

Quarter final                                                  13.125 million USD 

______________________________________________________

Semi-final                                                     21 million USD 

_______________________________________________________

Finalist                                                         30 million USD

____________________________________________________

winner                                                          40 million USD 

CONCLUSION

As today begins a new dawn in the FIFA Club World Cup, I say enjoy football at its finest. 

Who do you think will be winner of this tournament?  Let us know in the comment section. 

 

      

   

 

Match Analysis: PSG vs Inter Milan 5-0 (UEFA Champions League Final) - What Happened in this Final!

Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha 

PSG finally won a first ever UEFA Champions League trophy in their almost 55 years of existence. The League One outfits inscribed their names in history's book by becoming the first team to score over 4 goals in a UCL final by thrashing Inter Milan 5-0. 

From the off till the final whistle, PSG were the domineering force in this tie. The exciting youthful team registered a total of 23 shots with 8 on target compared to Inter's 8 and 1 on target, 3.12 expected goal ratio compared to 0.49 recorded by Inter Milan, while maintaining 59% of ball possession.   

Much accolades have to be accorded to their head coach, Luis Enrique, who brought about great change to the French club since taking charge in July 2023, thus proving why he should be ranked among the elite managers in club football. 

With this achievement, Les Parisien won a quadruple this season- having lifted the French League One, Trophee de Champion and the Coupe de France already. 

So, in this analysis, we shall look at how PSG won this game emphatically and what went wrong for Inter Milan.   

LINE UPS 

Beginning with Inter Milan, they lined up in their traditional 3-5-2 formation on paper. Yan Sommer started in between the sticks, in front of him to provide defensive shade are the three central backs: Alessandro Bastoni, Francisco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard. The players who made up the five-man midfield include Federico Dimarco, Henrik Mkyteryan, Hakan Calhagnolu, Nicolo Barella and Danzel Dumfries. Up front, Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram were the number nine pairing.

Simone Inzaghi made five changes in this match: Federico Dimarco and Benjamin Paverd came out for Nicola Zalewski and Bisseck, respectively, in the 54th minute. Mkhitaryan and Bisseck who sustained injury few minutes after his introduction into the game, came out for Carlos Agusto and Matteo Darmian, respectively, in the 62nd minute. The final substitution for Inter in the night was Hakan Calhanoglu taken out for Krisjan Asalli in the 70 minute mark.

Inter Milan's 3-5-2 formation (Photo Credit: Canal +)

For PSG, Luis Enrique also made use of all the five substitutions reserved for his side. Bradley Barcola came in for Desire Doue in the 67th minute, Lucas Hernandez was introduced in place of Nuno Mendez in the 78th minute, and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves were all subbed off for Goncalo Ramos, Senny Malulu and Warren Zaire Emery, in the 84th minute, respectively.       

  

  

PSG's 4-3-3 Formation(Photo Credit: Canal+) 

INTER IN DEFENSE VS PSG IN POSSESSION 

When out of possession, Inter Milan took on a 5-3-2 shape: The backline of five including the three central defenders and the two wing-backs, the three midfielders and the two strikers. 

Like we've seen them do in several matches this season, Inter Milan would aim for rigidity in the defensive phase of the game. With the five-man defence, the goal was to create numerical advantage against PSG's very skilful and pacy wingers, that is to say, to have at least two defenders going up against these wide players when they have the ball. 

Inter Milan's spread out five-man defence (Photo Credit: Canal +) 

On the other hand, the three midfielders and the two wingers formed a central block, with the aim of giving PSG little to no space to play through the central region, due the criticality of this region of the pitch, thus forcing them to make use of the wider area of the pitch- which is a less dangerous zone compared to this central region, as it makes it easy for them to defend against their opponents. 

Here, Inter Milan's midfielders and the two strikers form a mid-block to prevent PSG from progressing through the central region of the pitch (Photo Credit: Canal+) 

So, Inter Milan's game plan was simple: sit back and allow PSG to retain most of the ball possession. The aim is to lure them into committing excessive players to the attack, thereby creating too much gap in their structure, thus making them vulnerable to counter attacks when they lose the ball to Inter. 

     

But things didn't quite go the way Inter Milan wanted it to, as PSG structure and carefulness when in possession ensured they curtailed these counter attacks. 

Now, this brings us to how PSG's in-possession strategy devastated Inter's solid defensive approach to run riot in this game. 

We shall consider two key elements which proved effective in breaking down Inter Milan's compact defensive structure.

The first lie in their overall structure when building play. In as much as PSG's formation on paper was 4-3-3, yet they barely adhered to it. They adopted a flexible build up structure. By flexibility, it connotes that their overall shape in this phase varied on several occasions. But, irrespective of the shape they assumed, two elements were constant: a back three at the defensive line, which could be formed by the two central backs and one of the two full-backs or one of the three midfielders, and players situating themselves in between Inter Milan's defence and midfield lines. 

Here is an explanation for these stratagems: By opting for a back three during build up, PSG aimed to create numerical advantage against Inter Milan's dual strikers, thereby enabling them to easily bypass this first line of defence to then advance play further up the pitch.  Additionally, by having men in between Inter's defensive and midfield lines, the goal for PSG was to have additional players in the central region of the pitch, so as to have domination of the ball in this region. Another advantage of having these players in-between Inter Milan's defensive and midfield lines is to pin their opponents in order to create space for their teammates. 

In the scenarios below, we shall see these stratagems playing out. (Photos Credit: Canal +)

PSG creates a three-man central back, in this instance, one of the three midfielders now plays as the wide left central back. With this numerical advantage against Inter Milan's front two, these defenders were able to by-pass these strikers to then play a pass to one of the midfielders, Vitinha.

On the other hand, Nuno Mendez, the left back, and Ousmane Dembele, now occupy a position in-between Inter Milan's defence and midfield lines. With the positioning of these two players in this central region of the pitch, PSG now has more passing options to progress play through this region.

Now, we can observe how Nuno Mendez's positioning in area of the pitch draws the attention of  Inter Milan's defender, thereby leaving PSG's winger unmarked.    

Vitinha spots this player and loops in a through ball for him. PSG now has an opportunity to attack Inter Milan's goal. 

Again, these stratagems play out in another scenario below. (Photos Credit: Canal +)  

PSG three-man defence enables them to easily by-pass Inter Milan's double strikers, and the presence of players in-between the defence and midfield lines means they now have passing options to advance play through the middle of the pitch.    

Pacho who now plays as the wide left central back, passes to Fabian Ruiz. Also, we can see how Fabian Ruiz's position in this region of the pitch attracts one of Inter Milan's central backs.    

Now, as the central moves to close Fabian Ruiz, space is created at the back. Kvaratskhelia notices this and runs into the vacated space. 

But instead of passing the ball to Kvratskhelia- which if he had done so, would have led to a better goal scoring chance- Fabian plays the ball to Dembele who is in the left half-space.  

Dembele shoots, but he couldn't find the back of the net.  

The second effective strategy employed by PSG in the disruption of Inter Milan's defensive structure, is the deployment of Dembele in the false nine role. Because of this role, Dembele had the freedom to operate in several positions, instead of always operating in the traditional number nine position. So, on several occasions, Dembele dropped to deeper regions of the pitch to aid in the PSG's build up play. Whenever Dembele does so, this usually forces one or more defenders out of their positions who would want to prevent him from receiving the ball. With this, gap would be created in Inter Milan's defence, which PSG would exploit. 

Below, we shall see this stratagem playing out, and how it resulted to PSG's first goals. (Photos Credit: Canal+) 

 

Dembele drops from his number 9 position to the midfield region to help in build-up play. 

He receives the ball from one of the midfielders in pocket of space in this region.   

Here we can observe how Dembele's movement to this deeper region forces one of Inter Milan's defenders to step out of his position in order to close him down. The defender's decision to jump meant that gap would be created in Inter's defence.  

Vitinha notices this space and makes a forward run into it.  Dembele spots this run, and back flicks a through ball for him. 

Vitinha receives the ball 

and passes it to Doue. 

 Doue gets the ball

and places it with precision at the back of the net. 

Also, in the scenarios below, we shall observe how this stratagem led to another goal for PSG. (Photos Credit: Canal +) 

Again, Dembele drops to the midfield region to assist in build-up. 

Nuno Mendez plays him through. 

Now, we can observe that Dembele's deeper positioning attracts the attention of one Inter Milan's defenders, thereby freeing up space for Kvaratskhelia. Dembele further plays a diagonal pass behind Inter Milan's defence for Kvaratskhelia. 

He reached to the ball 

and with fine technique, he placed it into the left angle of the net. 

INTER MILAN DEFENSIVE FLAWS 

This defeat marks the heaviest recorded in the history of the club. It comes as a result of reoccurring defensive flaws from the players in this tie. 

For most of this tie, Inter Milan didn't look like themselves. They lacked that defensive comportment, alertness and effectiveness which have been storied attributes of the club. 

Below, several scenarios of their defensive flaws is shown. 

This flaw is seen in the events that led PSG's first goal. (Photos Credit: Canal +)

Here, we can observe that PSG has two players in-between Inter Milan's 7 players in the box. Now, here is the first defensive problem: Lautaro Martinez fails to close down his opponent at his proximity, Vitinha, on time.  As a result of this, Vitinha has enough freedom when he receives the ball at the edge of Inter Milan's box 18.  

So, he plays a line breaking pass to Doue who receives the ball in large area of space in the midst of these seven Inter Milan players- hence a second defensive problem: the inability to spot and close down their opponent.   

As Doue advances with the ball, Dimarco is tempted to engage in a press, thereby leaving Hakimi without a marker. 

Doue then plays the ball to Hakimi who taps it into Inter's open net. 

Again, PSG's second goal came about as a result of this defensive flaw. (Photos Credit: Canal +)  

Here, while all of Inter Milan's five defending players are fixated to the left-hand flank of the pitch, no one noticed Doue at the right half-space. Dembele spots his free teammate and passes to him.    

Doue who has enough space, strikes one and it takes a heavy deflection off Dimarco to enter inside Inter's net. 

  

CONCLUSION

PSG's victory in this tie comes down to several clever tactics  - a reflection of head coach Luis Enrique's ingenuity- although, Inter Milan's defensive lapses could be said to be another contributing factor for this victory. 

What a remarkable way to bring the 2024/2025 edition of the UEFA Champions League to a close. This tie would go down in the annals of this competition as the most goal-filled final.   

Match Preview : PSG vs Inter Milan(UEFA Champions League Final)

Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha 

The final for the most prestigious European competition in club football is set to hold this night. Two teams who have featured once apiece in this final in the past 6 years -Paris Saint Germain and Internazionale Milan- will be the teams to vie for this highly prized trophy. 

For the French champions, PSG, this would mark a second UEFA Champions League final in the club's history, and also an opportunity to win the trophy for the first time. 

Inter Milan, on the other hand, would be aiming to add a fourth UEFA Champions League title to their cabinet, having won three already in 1964,1965 and 2010.

MATCH VENUE

Allianz Arena is the host stadium for the 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League final. This stadium is located at the heart of Munich, a metropolitan in Bavaria, Germany. It is home to renowned German club, Bayern Munich, and has been their home since 2005. It is named after one of the world's financial service giants - Allianz- and has answered the name since the stadium was officially opened in 2005. 

The Exterior view of Allianz Arena 

Interior view of Allianz Arena

Munich during the day 

   Munich at night 

Both clubs have had trips to the Allianz Arena in four occasions each in the UEFA Champions League before. 

The Nerazzurri have experienced more joy from these trips to this stadium. Out of the four matches they played there, they secured 2 wins (1-2 ,which occurred recently on the 14th of April 2025, and 2-3 victory on the 15th of March 2011), 1 draw (1-1 score line on December 5, 2006) and 1 lost (2-0, which happened on the 1st day of November 2022). 

Le Parisien, on the other hand, do not have good experience in the Allianz Arena. From these four fixtures in this stadium, they only have 1 win (2-3 in April 2021) and 3 losses(3-2, 2-0 and 2-1, which took place in December 2017, March 2022 and November 2024, respectively). 

PERFORMANCE IN THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

To begin with, Inter Milan have had good performance in this competition so far. The Nerazzurri played 14 matches in total prior to this final : 6 in the knockout stage and 8 in the league phase, out of which they won ten times (4-3 against Barcelona, 1-2 against Bayern Munich, 0-2 and 2-1 against Feyenoord, 4-0 against Crvena Zvezda, 0-1 against Young Boys, 1-0 against Arsenal, 1-0 against Leipzig, 0-1 against Sparta Praha, and 3-0 against AS Monaco) , drew thrice(3-3, 2-2 and 0-0, against Barcelona in the semifinal, Bayern Munich in the quarter final and Man City in the league phase, respectively)  and lost only once (0-1 against Leverkusen in the league phase) .They scored a total of 27 goals in this competition so far this season, while recording an average expected goal ratio of 1.70 per game. Although they rank above average in terms of goals scored, they fall below average in terms of ball possession - which is understandable for a club like Inter Milan, whose footballing philosophy has always favored defensive rigidity and swift transitioning. Defensively, Milan have been somewhat outstanding, conceding only 11 times and boasting an impressive 8 clean sheets - the highest in the competition so far, while frustratingly limiting their opponents to an average expected goal ratio of 1.24 per game. 

   

Paris Saint Germain have also been in good form in this season's Champions League campaign. They are, arguably, one of the best attacking sides in the competition so far, with an average expected goal ratio of 2.07 per game, which goes a little above that recorded by the opponents they faced in those games: 1.13.  Additionally, they scored an impressive 33 goals this season, while coinciding 15.  In terms of ball possession, PSG boast a whopping 61.9% on average per game, thus solidifying their stand as one of the most decorated sides in the competition this season. 

PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR 

PSG  

 

Les Parisien have various talented players at their disposal. 

Here are some of these players who have been pivotal for them so far in this season. 

1) Ousmane Dembele

The French Forwarder has been, disputably, PSG's best player this season, having scored the most goals for them this season - 29- in all competitions. 

In the Champions League, he still remains their highest goal scorer, with 8 goals. He also has 4 assists to his name in this competition. 

Dembele has proven to be an improved version of himself. Naturally a winger, he has featured in several roles this season for PSG, where he played with top quality. He has been deployed as a striker, winger, and even in-field forwarder, this season. 

His versatility alongside his competency with both foots and pace would be of great relevance for PSG at the attacking end in this tie.  

2) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 

The Georgian International is another top player for Paris Saint Germain. So far in the Champions League, he has 2 goals and 2 assists from 8 appearances. 

A versatile and technical winger, he is most notably for his shooting ability especially from long range. 

3) Desire Douie 

The young French forward is another player to look out for in this game. He is versatile, fast, strong player who has eyes for goals. After making 15 appearances in the Champions League so far, he has registered 4 goals and 3 assists. 

4) Bradley Barcola 

Bradley Barcola is a pacy and skillful forwarder. Traditionally a winger, he can also be deployed as a false 9.

He currently has 3 goals and 3 assists from 16 appearances so far in the Champions League. 

INTER MILAN 

The Nerazzurri is a team of really experienced personalities.  

Here are some of their key players: 

1) Lautaro Martinez 

El Toro has been in hot form for Inter this season. He is currently Inter Milan's highest goal scorer with 22 goals from all competitions. As of now, Inter's captain has registered 9 goals in 13 appearances during this seasons Champions League campaign. 

He a prolific striker whose playmaking ability sets him aside from most strikers. 

2) Marcus Thuram

The huge French striker is Inter's second highest goal scorer, having found the back of the net 14 times this season. In the Champions League, has registered 3 goals so far this season. Him and his striking partner, Lautaro Martinez, have been a good blend upfront for Inter Milan, working side-by-side to cause danger for their opponents. 

 

3) Nicolo Berella

Berella is tagged the power horse of Inter's midfield due to his tremendous energy and work ethic. The young Italian international has been influential for the Nerazzurri this season. He has 2 assists so far in the Champions League. 

4) Henrikh Mkhitaryan 

The Almeriense has a wealth of experience playing as a midfielder. He is one of Inter's key players in the midfield, thanks to his ball playing ability and mobility. He helps his team retain possession and control the game adequately. 

Mkhitaryan only has an assist from 7 matches in the UEFA Champions League this season. 

5) Hakan Calhanoglu 

Another important figure for Inter Milan in the midfield, Hakan is a technically gifted player whose versatility allows him to play deeper in the holding midfield position or take on attacking role as a midfielder. Calhanoglu is one of those midfielders who isn't afraid of trying out his shooting ability, and he does that often in games. He is also a notable set piece taker.  

Calhanoglu currently has 2 goals from 6 appearances in the Champions League in the 2024/2025 season. 

      

Pre-match Analysis: Chelsea vs Real Betis(UEFA Europa Conference League final)

Written by Paul Michael Ezeoha 

The fourth ever UEFA Conference League final is set to go down on today's night in Wroclaw, Poland. This tie would see English club, Chelsea FC, go up against Spanish sides, Real Betis Balompie.

Both teams' fate for next season's UEFA competitions have been sealed, with the Blues guaranteed to play in next season's Champions League for the first time since 2022/2023 season, and Betis' securing a spot in the UEFA Europa League for next season. So, for these two sides, it's not a quest to win the Conference League in order to participate in UEFA's competition next season. No, it's not. 

It's something different.

 

For Chelsea, it's a quest to make history by becoming the first club to win all three of UEFA's competitions, given the fact that they already have both the Europa League and the Champions League in their cabinet. 

Conversely, for Real Betis, it's a quest to lift their first ever UEFA competition. 

Therefore, this tie is a clash of two immensely ambitious teams. So, we are set to witness a very intriguing final. 

So, a succinct analysis of both teams is given below.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Real Betis and Chelsea have only encountered each other once, and it occurred in the group stage of 2005/2006 campaign of the UEFA Champions League.  The first leg played in Stanford Bridge ended in a 4-0 trashing of Betis by the home side. In this tie, the Blues had 4 different goal scorers in the persons of Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Hernan Crespo and Jole Cole. The second leg at Betis' turf ended in a 1-0 win for the Andalusian side.  

PERFORMANCES IN THE CONFERENCE LEAGUE 

Chelsea have had an excellent spell in this competition so far. They played a total of 14 matches prior to this final :2 in the League phase playoff 6 in both the league and the knockout phases. Out of these fixtures, they won a whopping 12 games, while only losing twice. In these ties, they had very impressive stats. Per game, they recorded an average percentage of 64.57 of ball possession, 16.14 total shots with 7.5 shots being on target and 2.36 expected goal (EX) ratio.  

Real Betis on the other hand also had good performance in this competition. They played 16 matches in total: 2 in both the league phase and knockout stage playoffs, and 6 in both the league and knockout phases. Out of these matches, they won 9, lost 3 and drew 4.  Also, their average stats per game are given: 54. 43% of ball possession, 17. 19 total shots on goal, 6.31 shots on target and 1.64 expected goal ratio. 

After comparing both teams' stats given above, we arrived at a conclusion that Chelsea have had slightly better performance than their Spanish opponent so far in this competition. Although Chelsea happens to have a better overall performance, the stats says that Real Betis have created more chances than them, given their higher total shot ratio, but they do come short in terms of conversion rate, given their lower EX ratio compared to Chelsea's. 

TEAM NEWS 

Based on the squad list released by Chelsea on their official social media handle, the Blues have a complete squad going into this tie, with only few of their first team players ruled out for this final. Only Romeo Latvia, who wasn't registered with the team for the Conference League, Wesley Fofana, who is still injured, and Mykhailo Mudryk, who has been ban from professional football since November 2024 after he was tested positive of having unlawful substance meldonium in his body system. 

Real Betis would be without some key players like Hector Bellerin, Chimmy Avilla, Diego Llorente, William Carvalho, Marc Rocca and Cucho Hernandez. These absentees could pose some difficulties for the Andalusian based outfits in this final.   

  

CONCLUSION 

From the stats given above, it could be said that Chelsea are the favourites to win this final. But, as we've witnessed in countless occasions in the past, football can produce some shocking results. And this is just one special nature of the sport, a cachet that we all love to witness.   

            

Post-match Analysis: Manchester United vs Tottenham (2024/2025 UEFA Europa League Final)

Written by Paul Micheal Ezeoha

Tottenham Hotspurs became the latest side to lift the Europa League trophy, thanks to Brennan Johnson's goal in the night. 

With this fit, the White Lilys have guaranteed a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League, while their opponent, Man United, will have to grapple with the distressing fact of losing out on European competitions next season.

 

Accordingly, Tottenham's victory over United means that they now extend the number of wins against them this season to 4 good times. 

 

The score line doesn't give a good account of this tie, as United were far away the dominant side. In terms of ball possession, Man United had the highest value with 73%, while Tottenham managed to secure only 27%, thanks to overly defensive oriented tactics which later paid off. Also, when we look at the shot metrics, United still pipped their opponents with a large margin. They had 16 attempts with only 6 being on target. Tottenham on the other hand made only 5 attempts, and only 2 were on target.

 

Spurs had the highest XG ratio of 1.01, and United, 0.97, even though they made the least number of attempts. This fact is simply a reflection of United's blunt attacking line - a major catalyst for a poor season, one to which the head coach and his coaching staff must proffer solution(s) to come during next season's pre-season period, if they are to count themselves as one of the major competitors in the English league. 

In this analysis, we shall look at how both teams played in this game. Plus, emphasis shall be made on what went wrong for Manchester United.    

              

MANCHESTER UNITED 

Line up 

Ruben Amorim made only one change to the squad that started against Chelsea last week Friday. Leny Yoro, who has just recovered on time for this game, comes in place of Lindelof at the central back position. 

On paper, the Portuguese lined up his men in their idiosyncratic 3-4-2-1 formation. 

Here is the starting 11 for this game: Andre Onana, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Chinazamekpere, Mazraoui, Mason Mount, Ahmad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund.  

 

In the course of this game, 4 substitutions were made: Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund were replaced by Alejandro Gernacho and Joshua Zirzee, respectively, in the 71 minutes period, as the coach intend to augment the somewhat ineffective attacking line. Also, Mazraoui and Dorgu came off for Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo in the 85-and-90-minute mark, respectively. 

In-possession Structure 

Just to make clear: by the term in-possession structure, it implies Man United's shape and tactics during the possession phase of the game. So, these would be acknowledged here. 

This been said, we shall delve into business.

 

For most of this game, Manchester United maintained their default formation of 3-4-2-1. The three central backs consist of Harry Maguire, who played as the sweeper defender, and at his sides were Leni Yoro, the right central back, and Luke shaw, who operated in the left central back position.  Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro paired as the two holding midfielders, staying in proximity, working in tandem and positioning themselves relatively close to the three central backs during build up phase, especially when they build up in their own half. The remaining personnels who made up this midfield line alongside these two holding midfielders, were the two wingbacks: Dorgu and Mazraoui.

Ahead of this midfield line were the two number 8s namely Mason Mount, who is no stranger in this role, as he had featured there to great effect during his spell in Chelsea, Amad Diallo, who has adapted to this role under Amorim this season.  These players had the freedom to either drop deeper into the central region of the pitch to create passing options in this region or pushing higher up the pitch to occupy Tottenham's defence. 

Rasmus Hojlund was the sole number 9. 

So, when Man United build up play from their own half in this shape- which they did to a great extent during this game - any of, or both of, the wingbacks would take deeper position(s), depending on the position of the ball during this build up phase. This is so in order to provide passing outlet(s) on the flank(s) during situations when there happen to be no space in the central region of the pitch to advance play. 

 

Furthermore, when the Red Devils advance play higher up, this shape did change into a 3-2-5. Here, the two wing-backs would take advance positions, providing the attacking width for the team, thus forming the front 5 alongside the double number 8s and the striker.

In this way, Tottenham players would be forced to retreat in order to provide defensive support. This would in turn give Man United players the freedom to better retain possession, therefore, they can be able to dictate the tempo of the game and possibly hurt their opponents.     

Below, we shall see United in this 3-2-5 shape.

Here, only the front five consisting of the wingbacks, the two number 8s and the striker, and Bruno, one of the holding midfielders, are within sight. 

Amad in the left half space chips in a cross for Hojlund, whose header went off target.  

There were several occasions where this shape in this phase turned into a 3-6-1or 3-1-5-1 shape, as Bruno Fernandes would leave his holding midfielder role to take on more advanced role. In this role, he could shift to any of the half spaces to combine with the wingbacks and other players close by to set up attack from these wider regions, or whip in crosses into Tottenham's box from those areas. Another behaviour of Fernandes when in this advance role is that he could join the front line, operating more as a forwarder. 

We've seen United display this all too offensive oriented shape in several of their Europa League matches this season. But during this game against Tottenham, they maintained this shape to a great extent from the 60th minute mark, when they were dire need of an equalizer.

Here is an instance where Man United are seen maintaining a 3-6-1 or a 3-1-5-1 shape.

Mazraoui, who now plays in the number 8 position after swapping sides with Ahad, puts in a cross for Bruno Fernandes, who now occupies the striker role. 

 

Unfortunately for United, Bruno's header went wide. 

 

Although United couldn't score a goal, we could see how Amorim's fearlessness in committing many players to attacking duty occasioned several goal scoring opportunities for his side, irrespective of Tottenham's bus.    

We shall now look at United's tactics in these shapes.

A noticeable tactical trend in this game - one we've come to see them execute during several games this season - is the direct link up play from the central backs to the forward players. 

Man United are not totally reliant on short passing sequences during build up play, as they could transition into attacks by launching the ball directly to the forward players from deeper regions.

 

By switching from short passes to long direct passes, the team becomes quite unpredictable as opponents may be caught unprepared to deal with such quick transition of play. This could lead to several goal scoring situations for them. 

In the scenario below, we shall see this direct approach led to a goal scoring opportunity for them: 

Man United build up play in Tottenham's half. Here their 3-2-4-1 in-possession shape is visible. 

Maguire, who is usually the one tasked with the responsibility of initiating these long balls from the defence line because of good ball playing ability, spots the space behind one of Tottenham's defenders. He then loops a through ball behind him for Dorgu the left back to chase. 

Dorgu reaches to this pass from Maguire; he plays a cross, but it was blocked by a Tottenham player.

  

      

Flaw

   

Lack of productivity at the final third is a prevalent flaw of United's during this fixture. As pointed out earlier, they had a total of 16 shots, out of which only 6 were on target. Additionally, their XG ratio was a figure of 0.97. 

In fact, this is a major cause of their bad form this campaign.

Man United forward-oriented players do not have that killer instinct to finish off several chances created by their teammates, a flaw which eventually caused them the trophy.      

   

 

TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS

Line Up 

Tottenham Hotspurs lined up in a 4-3-3 formation on paper. 

Vicario, Pedro Porro, Van de Veen, Christian Romero, Udogie, Bissouma, Sarr, Bentancur, Brennan Johnson, Dominick Solanke and Richarlison - were the first 11 for this game. 

Given the absence of key midfielders, in the persons of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, who could play as a winger and midfielder, two of their most creative players, who are vital to their attacking play - Tottenham were short on attacking personals. 

Being aware of this fact, Ange Postecoglou had a clear plan for his players - which is to become rigid and discipline defensively, while seeking to hit Manchester United on the counter.

So, they allowed Manchester to retain much of the ball, while being very mindful defensively. 

After the goal, they became overly defensive - committing nine to ten players behind the ball during their defensive phase.  

In the picture below, Tottenham have all of their outfield players participate in defensive duty when Man United were threatening.    

      

     

Although the outfield players deserve accolades for their defensive efforts, many credits should be given to their Italian shot stopper, Vicario, who made 5 important saves to prevent Man United from scoring the goal.   

 

 

CONCLUSION

       

Ruben Amorim's men displayed quite cogent structure during the possession phase of the game, but they couldn't convert the chances that were necessitated because of it. This lack of clinicality in front of goal he must deal with if his team is to compete for silver wears next season. 

  

Tottenham of the other hand relied greatly on the defensive capabilities of the outfield players and, mostly, on the goalkeeping brilliance of Vicario, to emerge winners of the Europa League for the first time in the club's history.