The second Supercopa semifinal was played between Atleti and Levante in which Atleti advanced the final with a 3-2 victory. This post will focus on the success that Atleti had building out of the back and the individual roles that Irene Guerrero and Paula Tomás played for Levante.
Atleti played in a 3-1-4-2 formation when building out of the back. In their defensive shape they would shift to a five back. Silvia Meseguer was tasked with sitting in front of the back three acting as an option for her center backs and goalkeeper in possession and a screen for the backline defensively. The photo below shows Meseguer's positioning.
The following photo shows how Meseguer was able to find space in the midfield and progress play up the field.
Meseguer's technical ability not only allows her to be press resistant in this role, but it also buys her time to make good decisions and make forward passes that break lines; all of which she did consistently throughout the game. Atleti had a successful time progressing from their defensive third forward, and their best move of the game resulted in their third goal. The following photos show how a clearance from Laia Aleixandri was brought down by Leicy Santos who found Maitane. Maitane located Amanda Sampedro in a high and wide position and Sampedro put in a good cross that went behind Levante's defenders for Ludmila to finish.
Despite the disappointing result, Levante had a couple of good individual performances. The first was that of Irene Guerrero. Guerrero grew into the game and had an impact in all areas of the field in the first half. She dropped in between her center backs to be an option or to create a man advantage. She also would position herself in between lines to provide a forward option. Guerrero had two decent long range efforts, and when Levante decided to press higher she intercepted more passes and caused turnovers in Levante's attacking third. She had a wonderful assist that came from a ball she intercepted and then split the center backs to find her teammate.
The second standout performer for Levante was left back Paula Tomás. Throughout the game Tomás intercepted Atleti's passes and used the newly gained possession to find teammates and become a forward option herself as she continued her runs. The photos below demonstrate her defensive work rate and willingness to turn it into offensive output.
Tomás also provided an option when Levante had possession in their attacking third. She made multiple overlapping and third man runs which often resulted in crosses into the box. Levante's second goal was created by Tomás when she picked up the ball not far from the half line and dribbled to the box while fighting off multiple challenges. She then squared the ball to a teammate for an easy finish. There are some raw aspects to Tomás's game, but her foundation seems to pretty solid.
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Insightful read!