Porto manager Sergio Conceição managed to pull off a strategic ‘masterclass’ against Arsenal this week thanks to ‘exhaustive’ analysis from him and his team ahead of the game.
That’s according to Record, who cover the 1-0 win for the Portuguese side today and the four areas Conceição identified to help ensure victory.
The newspaper explains that Conceição and his team went over Arsenal with a fine-tooth comb ahead of the clash in the Champions League, identifying strengths and weaknesses and how they could exploit both.
The first step was admitting where Arsenal were best, something he did ahead of the game, even admitting the Gunners were strong on set pieces.
Indeed, he studied these in detail, perceiving a need for defensive ‘blocks’ who could be turned into ‘offensive’ fouls. In other words, he planned for the number of set piece fouls that were given against Arsenal in the game.
Secondly, he ‘interpreted Arteta’s formation with excellence’, making strategic adjustments to his own to allow them to gain in certain areas but required a more ‘detailed video session’ with the players.
Thirdly, his main concern was stopping Arsenal’s attacking power and in this Conceição was ‘bold’, choosing to close lines of access in the centre of the pitch and limit Arsenal’s creative players.
He pushed his defensive line higher to limit the space making it difficult for Arsenal to play between the lines and create a quick link up and instead forcing them to play into Porto’s ‘impenetrable’ midfield block.
The fourth key point was getting a performance out of Alan Varela, who as the deepest midfielder was key to everything and produced a performance which ‘bordered on superlative’.
He not only defended well and imposed himself in duels but also played key passes throughout the game too, offering security going forward while limiting Arsenal going the other way.
His display forced Arsenal to look to the wings consistently or play a more direct game, neither of which they feel comfortable with, even more against a side who were ‘short and compact’.
Thus, they struggled to create anything and Porto managed to snatch a big win, with Conceição’s tactics superb and that analysis working out perfectly.
