Assists of the Week - Sunday 21st November 2010

Bunesliga features a lot this week, and my pick of the bunch is Christian Fuchs' 2nd assist which gave Mainz a late 3-2 victory over Monchengladbach.

Ronaldo vs Messi Attacking Statistics 2010/2011

(Click on tabs underneath to see different categories)

Real Madrid Attacking Statistics 2010/2011

(Click on tabs underneath to see different categories)



Standout attacking performances:

Angel di Maria
2 assists, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 6-1 Racing Santander (La Liga)

Angel di Maria
3 assists, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 8-0 Levante (Copa del Rey)

Cristiano Ronaldo
2 goals, 2 key passes
Real Madrid 6-1 Deportivo (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
2 goals, 2 assists
Malaga 1-4 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
4 goals
Real Madrid 6-1 Racing Santander (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
3 goals
Real Madrid 5-1 Athletic Bilbao (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
3 goals, 1 assist
Real Madrid 8-0 Levante (Copa del Rey)

Cristiano Ronaldo
3 goals, 1 assist
Real Madrid 4-2 Villarreal (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
2 goals, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
3 goals, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 7-0 Malaga (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
4 goals
Sevilla 2-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Emmanuel Adebayor
3 goals, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 8-1 Almeria (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
3 goals
Real Madrid 4-0 Getafe (La Liga)

Cristiano Ronaldo
2 goals, 2 assists
Real Madrid 8-1 Almeria (La Liga)

Gonzalo Higuain
1 goal, 2 assists
Real Madrid 6-1 Deportivo (La Liga)

Gonzalo Higuain
3 goals, 2 assists
Valencia 3-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Kaka
2 goals, 2 assists
Valencia 3-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Karim Benzema
3 goals, 2 assists, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 8-0 Levante (Copa del Rey)

Karim Benzema
2 goals, 1 key pass
Racing Santander 1-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Karim Benzema
1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes
Valencia 3-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Marcelo
1 goal, 2 assists
Real Madrid 7-0 Malaga (La Liga)

Mesut Ozil
3 assists, 1 key pass
Sevilla 2-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Mesut Ozil
1 assist, 2 key passes
Real Madrid 8-1 Almeria (La Liga)

Sergio Ramos
2 assists, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 8-1 Almeria (La Liga)

Xabi Alonso
1 assist, 2 key passes
Real Madrid 6-1 Deportivo (La Liga)

Xavi Hernández Career Assists

Currently the world's best playmaker (and arguably one of the greatest ever), Xavi Hernández has led both club and country to unprecedented levels of success. In the space of just 2 years, he has managed to conquer every single major trophy on offer: World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Primera Division and Copa del Rey, in addition to several other domestic, continental and intercontinental titles.

Under the management of Pep Guardiola, Xavi has been given far greater freedom of the midfield and without the presence of Deco and Ronaldinho he has flourished. Not only a fantastic technician and ball hoarder, he also possesses a deadly killer ball and over the course of his career has directly set up over 150 goals for club and country.

Here is a 3-part video celebrating his fantastic vision and creativity:

Lionel Messi One-Two Goals

Following Lionel Messi's brilliantly-worked first goal against Villarreal last weekend, here is a video showcasing one of the strongest aspects of his game, the one-two (or give-and-go if you're American).

Assists of the Week - Sunday 14th November 2010

Some outstanding choices this week, including Angel di Maria's outside of the boot cross, Samuel Eto'o's mazy footwork, Pedro's brilliant one-touch passing and Matt Phillip's backheel.

Assists of the Week - Sunday 7th November 2010

Barcelona Attacking Statistics 2007/2008

(Click on tabs underneath to see different categories)



Standout attacking performances:

Bojan
2 goals, 2 assists
Barcelona 4-1 Real Valladolid (La Liga)

Giovani dos Santos
3 goals
Murcia 3-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 key pass
Barcelona 4-1 Real Zaragoza (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes
Barcelona 6-0 Valencia (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 assists, 1 key pass
Murcia 3-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Ronaldinho
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao (La Liga)

Samuel Eto'o
3 goals, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-1 Levante (La Liga)

Samuel Eto'o
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Murcia 3-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
3 goals
Levante 1-4 Barcelona (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 6-0 Valencia (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Murcia 3-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Barcelona Attacking Statistics 2008/2009

(Click on tabs underneath to see different categories)



Standout attacking performances:

Andres Iniesta
1 assist, 2 key passes
Barcelona 4-1 Numancia (La Liga)

Andres Iniesta
1 goal, 3 assists
Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla (La Liga)

Bojan
2 goals, 1 key pass
Basel 0-5 Barcelona (Champions League)

Dani Alves
1 goal, 2 key passes
Barcelona 4-0 Valencia (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist
Sporting Gijon 1-6 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 assists, 1 key pass
Barcelona 3-2 Real Betis (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
1 assist, 2 key passes
Barcelona 6-0 Real Valladolid (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
1 goal, 2 key passes
Barcelona 5-0 Deportivo (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 4-1 Numancia (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
1 goal, 2 assists
Basel 0-5 Barcelona (Champions League)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Barcelona 4-0 Bayern Munich (Champions League)

Lionel Messi
3 goals
Atletico Madrid 1-3 Barcelona (Copa del Rey)

Samuel Eto'o
3 goals
Barcelona 5-0 Almeria (La Liga)

Samuel Eto'o
4 goals
Barcelona 6-0 Real Valladolid (La Liga)

Samuel Eto'o
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 6-0 Malaga (La Liga)

Samuel Eto'o
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 4-0 Wisla Krakow (Champions League)

Samuel Eto'o
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-2 Lyon (Champions League)

Thierry Henry
3 goals
Barcelona 4-0 Valencia (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
2 goals, 1 assist
Atletico Madrid 4-3 Barcelona (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla (La Liga)

Thierry Henry
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 5-2 Lyon (Champions League)

Xavi
1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes
Sporing Gijon 1-6 Barcelona (La Liga)

Xavi
2 assists, 2 key passes
Barcelona 6-1 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)

Xavi
1 goal, 3 assists
Barcelona 6-0 Malaga (La Liga)

Xavi
4 assists
Real Madrid 2-6 Barcelona (La Liga)

Xavi
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Basel 0-5 Barcelona (Champions League)

Assists of the Week - Sunday 31st October 2010

This week's assists feature a few solo dribbles, but for me the best set-up was made by Fernando Torres with his excellent flick through the legs of Bolton's Gary Cahill for Maxi Rodriguez's goal. Mark Noble a close 2nd with either of his two great assists.

Barcelona Attacking Statistics 2010/2011

(Click on tabs underneath to see different categories)



Standout attacking performances:

David Villa
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
3 goals
Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla (Supercopa de Espana)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-0 Sevilla (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos (Champions League)

Lionel Messi
1 goal, 2 assists
Getafe 1-3 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
3 goals, 2 assists
Almeria 0-8 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 assists, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist
Osasuna 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-0 Real Sociedad (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 assists, 1 key pass
Espanyol 1-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
1 goal, 2 assists
Deportivo 0-4 Barcelona (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
3 goals, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-0 Real Betis (Copa del Rey)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Barcelona 5-0 Almeria (Copa del Rey)

Lionel Messi
3 goals
Barcelona 3-0 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)

Lionel Messi
2 goals, 1 assist
Barcelona 3-1 Almeria (La Liga)

Pedro
2 goals, 1 key pass
Espanyol 1-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Thiago
3 assists
Barcelona 5-1 Ceuta (Copa del Rey)

Xavi
1 assist, 2 key passes
Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos (Champions League)

Xavi
1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass
Espanyol 1-5 Barcelona (La Liga)

Arsenal 1-0 West Ham: Analysis of Arsene's new-look midfield

For the 2nd Premier League game running, Arsene Wenger chose to field a Denilson-Song-Fabregas midfield three but unlike the City game last weekend, Arsenal had to make do with playing against the 11 men of West Ham in a fixture that has been quite tight and low-scoring in recent years.

As such, this was the first true test of this new midfield's ability to break down a deep-lying defensive team. A similar system was in place against Partizan with Denilson the deepest midfielder and Song more box-to-box, but on that occasion Jack Wilshere played as the attacking midfielder in place of the injured Cesc Fabregas. Wilshere was of course suspended for this fixture and the one at Eastlands, had he been available it's likely we may not have seen this novel midfield system in place.



Arsenal's midfield setup vs West Ham: Denilson (yellow) held, Fabregas (blue) attacked and Song (green) alternated in between. It should be noted though that Denilson was subbed off after 67 mins, after which Arsenal set up camp in the final 3rd. The average positions of Fabregas and Song may therefore appear to be higher up than they actually were while all 3 players were on the pitch together.



With Denilson holding the midfield and Fabregas supporting Chamakh in attack, Song was free to roam in between and contribute to both defence and attack. Much like Yaya Toure, Song is a player valued for his physical and defensive qualities but with the technical ability and intelligence to play higher up the pitch in a more direct and creative role. Potentially he's the best box-to-box player in the squad given his all-round abilities, intelligence and discipline (although Wilshere has also impressed so far this season), but the problem for Arsenal is that he's also by far the best holder. The question is which is better - Song holding/Denilson passing or Denilson holding/Song box-to-box? Wenger has opted for the latter in the last few games they've played together. Song brings added dynamism to the attack compared to Denilson, but at the same time still gets back to form a double defensive shield when the opposition have the ball in Arsenal's own half, so his re-deployment further forward may not necessarily weaken the defence.

Although each of the midfield trio had individual roles, there was considerable interchange with all 3 being comfortable playing deep or closer to the opposition box (Denilson less so). This seems to be a conscious decision by Arsene Wenger in an attempt to find new ways of breaking down the dreaded "parked bus" which has often been the scourge of this possession-based Arsenal side. With players moving out of their natural zones, they can lose their markers, draw players away from team-mates, and arrive un-noticed in dangerous areas. In particular, if the deepest midfielder - who often has no specific marker - is given the license to get into the opposition box, then that adds a whole new attacking dimension to this Arsenal side.

Of course this requires discipline and understanding between the midfielders in order not to leave the defence uncovered, this was painfully apparent against West Brom but on Saturday this didn't seem to be a problem.

As usual, some video evidence to summarise the key features of the new-look midfield: