Copa Libertadores 2022: Flamengo vs Athletico Paranaense

Category: Team Analysis

We take an in-depth look at the Copa Libertadores final between Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense.

Published:27/10/2022

The Copa Libertadores final will be the fourth in a row to be won by a Brazilian team and the third in a row to be played by two Brazilian teams. It is the summary of the economic and footballing power with which Brazil dominates South America, distancing itself more and more from all other countries. A gap that seems to be opening up more and more and that translates into football at the highest level: the Copa Libertadores, which will be played this weekend by Flamengo, two-time champions and one of the biggest clubs in the world, and Athletico Paranaense, the great revelation of the tournament, led by the eternal Luiz Felipe Scolari, the great Fernandinho and the emerging talent Vitor Roque.

They also clash, two styles, two ways of understanding the game, with Flamengo betting on an attacking, elaborate football, inherited from the work carried out by Jorge Jesus and now maintained by Dorival, facing a much more compressed Athletico Paranaense, which competes from inferiority, with a very strong mentality, characteristic of Luiz Felipe Scolari, world champion and double Libertadores champion, and whose differences in performance and style we can see in these two radars. There are vast differences in individual and collective quality between the two.

We are talking about a team used to dominating all their games through the ball and looking for quick recovery in the opposition half. As reflected in the two maps below, Flamengo recover quickly in the opposition half far more than in their own, while their opponents, subdued by the pace Flamengo impose, are only able to recover quickly in their own half, very little in the opposition half.

One of the key players in the final is Gorgian de Arrascaeta, perhaps the best playmaker on the continent: skilful, creative, decisive when approaching the finish or the final pass, intense, he is Flamengo’s engine, Mengao’s most different player and Pedro’s best assistant. No other player of his position in this Copa Libertadores produces more passes to the opponent’s area per 90 minutes, as well as in expected assists, being the second in generating xG through the shot or the last pass. The final could go through his boots.

In addition to Vitor Roque, the great young phenom of the competition, and Scolari’s lesser-known young block, the figure of Fernandinho is of vital importance in Athletico Paranaense’s plans. The team from Curitiba has experienced a very important competitive leap with the former Manchester City player, who reflects what happens when he is on the pitch and what happens when he is not part of the team. In this visualisation we wanted to show how the statistics increase or decrease with or without Fernandinho as a midfielder. In all metrics related to defence or playmaking, Fernandinho has a direct impact on all of them.

Finally, the ability of Flamengo to convert the chances they do have seems crucial, with Pedro at an enormous level, while Athletico Paranaense have been very solid at the back in preventing expected goals and saving those that clearly should have been goals. The match, in principle, plays in favour of the all-conquering Flamengo but Scolari’s side will have their chance.

We are Driblab, a consultancy specialized in the statistical analysis of players and teams; our work is focused on advising and minimizing risk in professional football decision-making in areas related to talent detection and footballer evaluations. Our database has more than 200,000 players from more than 180 competitions, covering information from all over the world. Here you can learn more about how we work and what we offer.

Autor: Alejandro Arroyo
For Team Analysis we also recommend you:

Jan Oblak, the last great goalkeeper to improve his ball-playing

We look at how Atlético de Madrid and Jan Oblak have changed the way they play, getting the Slovenian more involved and more accurate with his feet.

The new injury time and its impact on the game

How is the new rule related to injury time affecting the new rule? We take a closer look thanks to our database.

Five MLS U-20 talents to watch closely

We uncover five MLS U-20 talents with different potentials to keep a close eye on in the upcoming transfer markets.

Xabi Alonso and his new Leverkusen

We analyse Bayer Leverkusen’s shocking change of style in Xabi Alonso’s second year as the team’s coach.

The importance of own half passes

Passing in one’s own half has become more and more frequent or more and more important. We take a closer look at this trend with facts and ideas.

Huddersfield Town A.F.C and Driblab sign partnership agreement

Huddersfield Town A.F.C and Driblab sign partnership agreement

Fantastic (very young) goalkeepers and where to find them

We go to those places with the greatest capacity to develop goalkeepers of great stature and technical potential to find U21 goalkeepers.

Brighton 23/24: How far away is the Champions League?

Brighton have started the season by far surpassing their own standards of play and doubling in many statistics and metrics the best teams in the Premier League.

SPVGG Greuther Fürth and Driblab signs partnership agreement.

SPVGG Greuther Fürth and Driblab signs partnership agreement.

Left-footed centre-backs for back three

We are looking for left-footed centre-backs with great ball handling, a profile that is increasingly in demand due to the proliferation of back three systems.

Driblab

Información corporativa

Somos una empresa con sede en Madrid fundada en 2017 por Salvador Carmona y Cristian Coré Ramiro. Desde nuestros inicios nuestro trabajo se ha centrado en el análisis estadístico de datos para ayudar a los clubes en la planificación deportiva. Somos una consultora big data que ofrece servicios personalizados para cada cliente y defiende un modelo de gestión mixto y una comunicación constante para acompañar el día a día de las instituciones. Nuestro punto fuerte es la más amplia cobertura disponible en número de torneos profesionales y juveniles. Para más detalles, póngase en contacto con nosotros.

Colaboramos con:

           

Hemos aparecido en: