Atletico Madrid recorded their biggest win of the Champions League era this week against Brendan Rodgers' Celtic.
For UEFA's analyst team, the aggressive pressing of the Atlético Madrid side was a key feature of their 6-0 win in Group E on Tuesday, while an outstanding individual performance from Antoine Griezmann was also a major factor.
This 3D visualization shows the full commitment of the Atlético de Madrid players, who pressed at high pressure in Celtic's half, even including wing-backs José María Jiménez (No. 2) and Mario Hermoso (No. 22), who at times went into the opponent's territory.
As a measure of their high-intensity pressing style, the opponents were only given a maximum of two passes in 77% of the pressing actions by Atlético Madrid players located in the Celtic half. In other words, this Scottish team had little time and space to initiate an attack.
The above shows the positive attitude of the Atletico Madrid squad, with the entire team committed to the task and almost everyone, including the center back, walking into Celtic's half. The video tracks Griezmann chasing down Celtic's right-back Alistair Johnson, with Atletico
's No. 7 reached a top speed of 28 km/h in the process.
UEFA's match observer Aitor Karanka noted that despite the French player's admirable skill with his feet, he also possesses an admirable work ethic: "He runs and defends as consistently as any other player."
Karanka also emphasized the strong values of team spirit and hard work that Simeone's teams are known for, which is reflected in their collective efforts on the pitch. In breaking down Atlético Madrid's pressing style, the first of two charts shows that 69% of their attacking moves are team presses, which is a style of pressing that involves at least five players or is carried out in a high-pressure area.
The second chart repeats the statistics already mentioned above regarding the intensity of Atlético Madrid's pressing, i.e. Celtic were only allowed to pass the ball no more than twice in three-quarters of the pressing actions within their half.
The spotlight is on Man of the Match Griezmann, who played on the left side of Atletico Madrid's three-man midfield in Tuesday's game. In this second video, we can see him sprinting up the pitch and teaming up with right back Rodrigo Riquelme, together pressing the Celtic player and blocking Johnson's line of attack.
Thanks to their coordinated and diligent approach, the Los Angeles Red and White did an excellent job of cutting down the Celtics' passing options. The final chart shows the impact of the pressing actions Griezmann was involved in during his 64 minutes on the pitch. In nearly a quarter (23%) of the pressing actions the French player was involved in, Atletico Madrid regained possession by forcing Celtic to knock the ball off the touchline. And, in 31% of cases where passing routes were closed down, Atletico Madrid's pressing actions resulted in the ball going out of touch and Celtic having to restart play from a dead ball.
From the kickoff, Atlético Madrid players quickly pressed forward, putting pressure on the opposing goalkeeper and center backs to block passing routes. At the same time, Griezmann rushed to the side and forced Johnson to miss a pass.
It's worth noting that not only did Griezmann show effort on the pitch in Tuesday's game, he also scored two goals and helped Morata extend the lead to 2-0 with a brilliant long diagonal ball assist to help Jimenez head home.
He kept his position as the Atlético Madrid player advanced to the right. Remarkably, he was already assessing his options before the ball reached him and subsequently passed to the left to Riquelme.
Overall, Griezmann attempted 56 passes and successfully completed 49 of them (87.5% completion rate). In a game dominated by Atlético Madrid, he had 42 passes successfully completed in the opponent's half.
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