Match Analysis: Lille & Udinese's Home Form Halted

WhoScored’s early-week round-up of those significant streaks that have ended in Europe’s top five leagues takes place in Ligue 1 and Serie A this week. In France, champions Lille lost at home for the first time in eleven matches, while Udinese’s unbeaten 2011/12 home record finally came to an end, as champions Milan triumphed 2-1 to climb to the top of the table:

Obravniak Downs Brave Lille - Match Centre

Bordeaux ripped up the form book in an astonishing nine-goal thriller at Lille. With six wins and four draws in their previous ten home games, the champions were firm favourites for this one. Factor in Bordeaux’s single win in their last eight on the road, and an away victory was far from expected.

Lille tend to boss home games, with an average of 57.8% possession, and this game was no exception; indeed, with 67% possession, they far exceeded their season average. Bordeaux left-back Benoît Trémoulinas made the most passes (29) for the visitors - when you consider eight of Lille’s starting outfield ten players made more passes, it’s easy to see just how much the home side were in command of the ball.

In spite of this, Bordeaux’s 5-3-2 formation clearly proved hard to break down; only two Lille players – Dimitri Payet and Joe Cole - made more than a single key pass, with 2 each.  Playing in a 4-3-2-1, even Eden Hazard struggled - he made 71 passes but created a single goalscoring opportunity for the hosts.

With so little of the ball, it’s no surprise to see Bordeaux make more tackles, as they attempted to wrestle possession from their opponents. Their midfield three of Landry N'Guémo, Jaroslav Plasil and Ludovic Obraniak made 11 tackles and 13 interceptions between them. In comparison, Lille’s midfield three made 4 tackles and 5 interceptions combined. The Bordeaux back-line made 33 clearances between them during the 90 minutes, an indication of the concerted pressure they were under throughout.

The main story of the game centred on Lille’s extraordinary comeback. The host side were 4-1 down with just half an hour to go but, after levelling matters in the 90th minute through strikes from Hazard, Debuchy and Roux, they watched on as the visitors raced up the park to steal an unlikely victory. Though Lille had more goal attempts, by 15 to 11, both sides had 7 shots on target.

For the visitors, Nicolas Maurice-Belay and Ludovic Obraniak showed some clinical shooting. The former had 3 shots, all on target, scoring twice in addition to producing 4 successful dribbles in his role up front; with a rating of 9.64, Maurice-Belay was the WhoScored man of the match. Obraniak also grabbed a couple, including the last-gasp winner, from a total of 4 shots, with 3 on target. Lille’s biggest goal threat proved to be Gianni Bruno. On as a sub in the 52nd minute, he managed 4 goal attempts but his only effort on target failed to find the net and perhaps summed up the difference between the two clubs on Sunday afternoon.

El Shaarawy Shines Again for Milan - Match Centre

With just 2 points dropped and 5 goals conceded in their first eleven home games of the season, Udinese were far from the underdogs as they squared up to Milan. The visitors arrived in patchy form, with 2 wins in their last 5 in the league and, having also suffered a home defeat in the Coppa Italia to Juventus on Wednesday, would have perhaps been happy with a draw here.

Milan dictated the game, with 61% of the play - this was very much in line with their usual 58.9% average away possession. Sitting in front of the back-four in a 4-1-2-1-2, Massimo Ambrosini made 84 passes, the most of any player on the pitch. Ambrosini’s 87% pass accuracy was indicative of his risk-free passing; he played just 6 long balls, choosing to keep matters simple when on the ball. Ambrosini’s coolness in possession saw him fouled 9 times, as the frustrated home side attempted to win back the ball.

Robinho created the most goalscoring opportunities for the visitors; the Brazilian made 3 key passes, from a total of 35 passes. For the home side, Pablo Armero (27) also produced 3 key passes. Playing wide left in a 3-5-1-1, Armero – as the average position map (below left) shows - pushed high up the pitch, roving into central positions when on the ball, and made 31 passes, in addition to 4 successful dribbles - the highest number of any player.

In terms of tackles, it was a dead heat, with 17 apiece. Ambrosini - once again - stood out here. The midfielder managed 7 tackles and 7 interceptions, breaking up the play time and again. Thiago Silva, with 12 clearances, a tackle and 3 interceptions, was a rock at the back for Milan, while left-back Djamel Mesbah also impressed, with 4 tackles and 3 interceptions.

 

With Milan attacking down their left side 40% of the time, it was no surprise to see much of Udinese’s defensive work coming from their right. Dusan Basta (8) - 3 tackles and 5 interceptions - and Almen Abdi (23) - 6 tackles and 1 interception - had their work cut out in the five-man midfield. As a result, the player position map shows Mehdi Benatia (17), playing on the right of the back three, dropped deep, in comparison to his fellow central defenders, allowing Clarence Seedorf (10) to drift left and exploit the space rather than remain central.

Despite their lack of possession, Udinese just edged the number of goal attempts, by 16 to 15. With 63% of their attempts inside the penalty box, compared to Milan’s 40%, they clearly produced the better quality of opportunities, but poor finishing let them down in the end. Antonio Di Natale may have given his side an early lead but he was also the chief culprit here - he had 4 shots, with his goal being the only 1 on target. Centre-half Maurizio Domizzi also had 4 shots with 1 on target, but failed to find the net.

For the visitors, Stephan El Shaarawy again impressed. The teenager, playing alongside Robinho in light of Ibrahimovic’s suspension, had scored in midweek against Juventus in the cup and once again found the net. He had 4 shots – the most of any Milan player - and managed 3 on target, in addition to providing 1 key pass. Robinho failed to have a single attempt on goal and was subbed off a couple of minutes before the end.
 
The introduction of Maxi Lopez proved the turning point in the game. On as a 66th minute sub, he managed 2 shots and 2 key passes, grabbing a goal with just 13 minutes left before setting up El Shaarawy to net a late winner, as Milan fought back to stun their hosts and leapfrog Juventus at the top of the table, albeit with 2 more matches played.