A short analysis of BVB-RBL 2017-2018 match. As always, Leipzig displayed their well-known 4-4-2/4-2-2-2 shape. The two forwards started from Dortmund’s 6 space and kept trying to block the access to the center as well as developed the press to force long balls from Dortmund’s backline or Roman Burki. In the development of the match, Leipzig pressed with an asymmetrical 4-3-3. A similar basic shape to Monaco’s last season. The right-10 (Sabitzer) was higher than the left one (Bruma). Sabitzer picked up Toprak if the ball was played to the Turk but he also had to keep Zagadou under control by putting the left back behind his cover shadow. With Bruma deeper with access to the hosts’ right back, this indirectly created the pattern of Dortmund circulation. Sokratis was the more visible option. Sometimes, Dortmund managed to bypass the press by playing it long to Toljan, on the right, or Zagadou, on the left. But, it did not always run as expected. Despite managing to access Zagadou, in many occasions Dortmund were forced to play it back as the Leipzig press was able to shut down the progression lane. On other occasions it was the lack of strong spacing that failed Dortmund to progress the attack. For example, after a pass from Sokratis to Toljan, Dortmund couldn’t make a clean progression through the right area because Yarmolenko was positioned too high and made it hard for Toljan to easily access him. With the proper timing, Dortmund could still progress through the wing. One pattern example was the combination between Zagadou with Gotze. Zagadou moved into the half space utilizing the space created by Gotze who moved wide. Full link http://outsideoftheboot.com/2017/10/17/tactical-analysis-borussia-dortmund-2-3-rb-leipzig/ at @OOTB_Football Thanks for reading.