Beyond Stats

Fact of the week

Passing maestro Gündogan stars in final third

FC Barcelona’s new recruit, who is blessed with sublime vision, is proving to be a game changer when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities. With the first three rounds of league action done and dusted, Ilkay Gundogan lies second in the charts for the most completed passes in the final third, with an average of 24.2 per game. Meanwhile, the German features amongst the top 10 players for attempts on goal resulting from his passes, chalking up three such passes per outing. He also tops the Catalan giants’ standings for the most crosses into the area created, racking up over five per match. Finally, he is sitting pretty in sixth spot in the league standings for the total number of high-impact attacking actions.

There is no doubt that the statistics corroborate the overall impression that the all-action schemer has created in the early weeks of his Barça career. The Azulgranas can rest assured that in Gundogan they have a player who is guaranteed to create a raft of goals this term.

Remarkable Coach

Xavi gets fresh-faced, quality squad firing

Barcelona play a combination game, but the passes that are a central feature of the club’s iconic playing philosophy have some specific characteristics. One such element is that they often go forward, with the Blaugranas leading the league charts for forward passes, posting over 400 per outing and an 86% success rate with such passes. Forward passes are an effective tool in the build-up phases, as they succeed in progressing play into the final third, where Xavi’s charges are the top-ranking team in the division when it comes to attempts on goal (20 per match) and attempts on target (eight). As if that weren’t enough, no other team complete more passes in the attacking third than Barcelona, who average 169 per game.

Key Player

Azpilicueta is build-up-phase king

Cesar Azpilicueta has been brought to Atletico Madrid not only to defend but to distribute play, too. Although he didn’t feature in Los Colchoneros’ outing against Rayo, he has recorded some eye-catching stats since checking in at Atleti. Indeed, he features in the LaLiga EA Sports top 10 for successful through-balls, with five per match. However, he really excels within the team charts, where he shines in terms of high-impact actions (top three), attempts on target and completed passes (top two). Meanwhile, he is top of the class for the total number of successful through-balls and features in the top two for the total number of attacking actions, with an average of 55, placing him behind Rodrigo De Paul. He is the team’s top passer and none of his teammates play more or complete more long balls than the former Chelsea stalwart.

It is no coincidence that Azpilicueta has established himself as one of the focal points in Los Indios’
set-up and is largely responsible for the team’s ability to play the ball out of the back and overcome the opposition’s first line of defence.

The Match up

Real Madrid v. Getafe: radar analysis of regional derby

Any analysis of Real Madrid has to involve a mention of the in-form Jude Bellingham, who tops the goal charts in the Spanish top tier and the league’s attempts-on-goal standings. However, our interest in this section lies in comparing the Matchday 4 opponents through a radar chart. We can instantly see that the two Madrilenian sides adopt rather different playing styles. It is worth noting that Getafe play more long balls than their regional foes and the high percentage that such passes account for within their total. This clearly reflects the direct playing style implemented by Jose Bordalas’s boys. Meanwhile, Real Madrid record higher figures in the attacking build-up (passes per possession), in possession and when it comes to ball recovery rate. Given Los Blancos’ penchant for building play up by stringing long passing sequences together, the onus will be very much on them to raise their tally of quick recoveries in this derby showdown.

Remember his name

Isco shines in stats stakes

The former Spain international lies top of the Betis charts for high-impact actions and fifth in the league overall, with a return of almost four per match. What’s more, as we can see in the video and the graphic, he clinches the final LaLiga podium place for passes resulting in attempts on goal.

If we shine the spotlight on Isco’s influence in the Betis side, there are a series of statistics that speak volumes. He features amongst the top three players for completed passes (46), is top for successful through-balls (five), is the runner-up for the number of passes played in the attacking third (12) and dribbles (three). In addition, he is top dog for the total number of attacking actions (60) and passes in the final third (12). All of these figures relate to his average per game, apart from those that are noted as being totals.

Metric of the week

Press after losing possession

The press after losing possession involves a team trying to win the ball back immediately after it has been lost. As we can see in this video, this is one of the hallmarks of Real Sociedad’s game. Indeed, the Basques lie at the top of the LaLiga EA Sports pile for the number of recoveries after losing possession.

There are a number of ways in which a team can go about trying to regain possession and a whole host of sides are dependent on success in this area in order to implement their playing style. Possession-based outfits must have the tools to hold on to the ball for as long as possible, with the ability to win the ball back quickly after possession has been relinquished being a key element within this strategy.

Beyond Stats ofrece métricas increíbles en la industria del fútbol: no se limita a recopilar los datos que se suelen usar para los análisis estándarque llegan a los aficionados, sino que va más allá, recopilando una cantidad ingente de información durante el partido, casi en tiempo real, gracias a la herramienta Mediacoach de LALIGA, que es capaz de revelar nuevas percepciones sobre el juego a un nivel más profundo permitiendo trazar patrones y obtener proyecciones de futuro.

Los datos brutos recogidos (Raw Data) son tratados para su análisis por un equipo multidisciplinar compuesto por expertos en Business Intelligence & Analytics y análisis futbolístico de LALIGA a través de procesos de Machine Learning e Inteligencia Artificial que se han hecho posibles gracias a la tecnología Azure que provee Microsoft, capaz de procesar grandes volúmenes de datos. Tras su tratamiento, se genera un algoritmo que permite la visualización de las métricas que llegan al aficionado por medio de Beyond Stats. Estas estadísticas permiten a los aficionados entender mejor por qué su equipo ha ganado un partido, lo ha perdido, o tener una visión panorámica de su rendimiento y expectativas, lo que permite una inmersión inédita en la experiencia del espectador de fútbol.

En todos los estadios de LALIGA encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico que siguen en el terreno de juego la situación de jugadores, árbitros y balón, recogiendo datos físicos y técnico-tácticos a un ritmo vertiginoso de 25 veces por segundo.

“Encontramos hasta dieciséis cámaras perimetrales fijas de alta resolución para el tracking óptico”

Estos dispositivos permiten la integración, a través de la herramienta de análisis Mediacoach, de dos tecnologías: tracking y eventing. El tracking se apoya en la información de seguimiento recogida por las cámaras perimetrales del estadio, y permite elaborar métricas como las referidas a distancia recorrida, velocidad máxima y media, o número de sprints. Mediante el eventing se registran los eventos más objetivables: número de pases, córners, o faltas cometidas y recibidas. La información captada a través de tracking y eventing se integra y almacena en el sistema formando un conjunto de datos de gran volumen.