As previously indicated, Alvaro Arbeloa uses his best passers outside the opponent’s shape. The goal is to take advantage of the likes of Arda Güler and Thiago Pitarch’s passing skills to zip through, around, and over.
The use of both is contextual. From starting positions, Thiago Pitarch and Arda Güler operate as situational fullbacks. For the fullbacks, Fran Garcia’s best attribute is his ability to constantly provide service via runs. By doing so, he attacks spaces behind the opponents’ backline,
or he stretches their lines vertically, allowing Real Madrid to combine through. For Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid tends to overload the play on the left and isolate him on the right, supplying him with space on the far side to create chances:
When the play is funneled toward the left, Arda Güler takes the position of Fran Garcia, who tends to push on and challenges defenses via his runs. Meanwhile, Pitarch serves as a pivot alongside Tchouaméni. The same dynamics occur when Real Madrid progresses down the right side:
At the start of the Madrid Derby, Pitarch narrows inside, taking Lookman with him. That frees up Rudiger on the right side to receive Güler’s switch:
The German center-back capitalises on Atlético’s need for time to shift across and finds Pitarch coming short. The White team has the numerical advantage to work the ball back to the left side and make use of Atlético’s late lateral shifting:
Hence, Arda Güler has time and space to break down Simeone’s side and pick out Brahim Diaz dropping deeper:
Two minutes later, Real Madrid recycled. Atlético Madrid jumped out from their zonal block. Meanwhile, Arda Güler dropped in toward the left flank, dragging Cardoso with him. The Turkish midfielder immediately picked out Vinicius Junior. The pair swapped positions down the flanks, whereas Brahim Diaz manipulated his marker to give the Brazilian space to drift infield. Across the visitors’ backline, Valverde functioned as a false nine, pinning Ruggeri in the middle of the park and vacating the space on the right side for Carvajal to receive Vinicius’s switch. As a result, Atlético’s space between the lines was stretched for Carvajal, Valverde, and Brahim Diaz to navigate passes and figure out a way to penetrate the box. However, Brahim Diaz found himself surrounded by numbers inside the area.
Four minutes later, Real Madrid’s setup in possession exposed Atlético’s high press. Julian Alvarez cut off the passing lane between Antonio Rudiger and Andry Lunin to force funnel the play toward the touchlines. Antoine Griezmann gets tight on Aurélien Tchouaméni. By filling the right-back spot, Thiago Pitarch caught Ademola Lookman’s attention, whereas Matteo Ruggeri jumped onto Dani Carvajal:
By pinning the winger and right-back near the touchlines and Brahim Diaz anchoring Koke in midfield, Tchouaméni skipped past his compatriot, advancing in space to pick out Federico Valverde in a one-on-one situation against David Hancko:
The Uruguayan midfielder dribbled past Atlético’s center-back and capitalized on Brahim Diaz and Arda Güler, pulling Cardoso and Le Normand out of their positions. That saw Valverde sprint into the space behind, entering the box and firing the ball toward the far post:
After Alvaro Arbeloa took off Thiago Pitarch and Dani Carvajal, Arda Güler played more next to Tchouaméni. Trent Alexander-Arnold has an elite passing range to distribute from deeper positions, as well.
In the buildup to Real Madrid’s third goal, Alexander Sørloth cut off passing lane between Andry Lunin and Dean Huijsen, attempting to channel the play toward the right side. Nico Gonzalez followed his teammate by jumping onto Antonio Rudiger. Koke and Julian Alvarez marked Real Madrid’s double pivot. As Güler bounced the pass off to Arnold, Koke shifted toward the English right-back, whereas Alvarez did the same by taking charge of Güler. By holding onto the ball, Atlético Madrid’s trio retreated, and therefore, Arnold was able to switch the play to the opposite side:
As Fran Garcia received, the visitors tended to lock the ball side, but the Spanish left-back spotted a free space inside to get out of Atlético’s trap. Real Madrid looked to progress around as the visitors withdrew. In the meantime, Brahim Diaz pulled wide. As a reaction, Nico Gonzalez blocked the passing lane between the Moroccan and Arnold. The latter, with a dummy body orientation toward the flanks, deceived the Argentinian, making him lean toward the right. That widened the gap between Koke and Nico Gonzalez for Arnold to carry the ball down the right half-space. Meanwhile, Mbappé attacked depth, dragging Llorente with him and evacuating the space on the left. Enter Vinicius Junior, who cut in and curled the ball toward the bottom right of the net:
In settled possession, Arda Güler and Thiago Pitarch narrow inside to operate in the left and right half-spaces, respectively. Fran Garcia offers under/over-lapping runs service, whereas Vinicius Junior alternates positions with Real Madrid’s left-back depending on the situation. In the central channel, Brahim Diaz has the license to roam.
Here, the Moroccan tilting toward the left side overloaded Atlético Madrid’s midfield. Around the visitors’ 5-3-2 low block, Fran Garcia drew Giuliano Simeone, allowing Arda Güler to shift across and drag Johnny Cardoso with him. Vinicius Junior, hugging the touchlines, pulled Marcus Llorente wide, whereas Valverde tied the center-backs’ hands. That saw Fran Garcia sprint to attack the space between Llorente and Le Normand, taking Simeone with him and evacuating the left half-space. Hence, Brahim Diaz was able to plug the gap and thread passes with Arda Güler and Vinicius Junior. Cardoso, being tasked with tracking Güler and offering Llorente support against Vinicius, gave the Turkish midfielder time and space to break Atlético’s lines. Meanwhile, Valverde came short alongside Brahim Diaz, outnumbering Koke. Resultantly, he generated a shooting angle; however, Cardoso was able to quickly recover and disrupt the Uruguayan’s preparation.
The wide connection serves Real Madrid well in this scene to access the space behind Simeone’s side. To elaborate, Arda Güler is free behind Atlético’s block. Fran Garcia narrows inside and ties Giuliano Simeone with him. The Spanish left-back points with his hands for Güler to pick out Vinicius Junior, who is isolated against Marcus Llorente. In the meantime, Valverde pins the center-backs:
As Llorente steps up onto Vinicius, Fran Garcia proceeds with a run between Atlético’s right-back and center-back. Simeone supporting Llorente near the flanks forces Le Normand to keep close tabs on Garcia. Hence, the gap between Hancko and Le Normand is expanded for Valverde to race out. However, Vinicius Junior’s pass is overhit:
In this example, Real Madrid’s positional rotations become clearer. Same positions are filled by different players. Arda Güler provides width on the left, and Vinicius Junior offers depth. Pitarch and Tchouaméni swap positions with Valverde behind in the right half-space. Carvajal pulls out Ruggeri, and Tchaouméni encourages Hancko to shuffle across. As a reaction, Cardoso steps back to cover the space between the center-backs. As he passes to Tchouaméni, Valverde heads toward the space behind Hancko. He drives toward the byline to cut the ball back; however, his delivery rolls across the goal with Brahim Diaz and Vinicius Junior, arriving late at the edge of the six-yard box and the far post zone:
It’s fair to say that Alvaro Arbeloa platforms well the players he has in his hands. Not only that, but he successfully integrates Castilla players into the first team. That is an achievement that adds up to Arbeloa’s balance with Los Blancos and may increase his chances of continuing as Real Madrid’s manager.
