{"id":1445726,"date":"2026-04-29T23:50:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T22:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1445726"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:33:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:33:31","slug":"post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal analysis: How control shifted due to out of possession strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are all square after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, drawing 1-1 at the Metropolitano.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the first half, Arsenal went 1-0 up through Viktor Gyokeres from the spot, having had more control in the half (52% possession), taking more shots (six) and generating 1.23 Expected Goals to Atletico&#8217;s 0.21 xG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Atletico Madrid took over in the second half, holding 55% of the ball, taking 13 shots, creating three big chances and generating 2.00 xG to Arsenal&#8217;s 0.27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><h2>In this article, we&#8217;ll cover<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"#h-atletico-s-passive-approach\" data-level=\"2\">Atletico&#8217;s passive approach<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-declan-rice-s-important-role\" data-level=\"2\">Declan Rice&#8217;s important role<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-atletico-s-man-to-man-shift\" data-level=\"2\">Atletico&#8217;s man to man shift<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-atletico-s-passive-approach\">Atletico&#8217;s passive approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Atletico Madrid started the game with a more passive approach despite being the home side, dropping into a back five off the ball and looking to limit Arsenal&#8217;s space to operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1445745\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-356x267.png 356w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-267x200.png 267w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-80x60.png 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245-150x113.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224704\/TACTICALista_20264292245.png 1760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Giuliano Simeone dropped into the last line to form a temporary back five off the ball, allowing Marcos Llorente to shift inside, becoming the right-sided centre-back and allowing Atletico Madrid to match up five against five with their back line against Arsenal&#8217;s front five on the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both of Arsenal&#8217;s full-backs would move high into the halfspaces, which also dragged Ademola Lookman deeper and narrow to track Ben White, isolating Noni Madueke out wide against Matteo Ruggeri 1v1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1445746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-356x267.png 356w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-267x200.png 267w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-80x60.png 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246-150x113.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224710\/TACTICALista_20264292246.png 1760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal were able to easily build out against this passive 5-3-2 press of Atletico Madrid, allowing them to gain control of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr \/>\r\n<h2>SpreadEx Sign-Up Offer:\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n<p>SpreadEx are offering new customers the chance to get \u00a360 in free bets when they join and place \u00a310 in qualifying bets.<\/p>\r\n<p>To claim this offer, follow these steps:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Create your account by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/go\/spreadex?q=gb-all-con-wof-s-spo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this 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It only takes a few minutes.<\/li>\r\n<li>Make your first deposit then place a \u00a310 single or \u00a310 each-way fixed odds bet at minimum odds of 1\/2<\/li>\r\n<li>Get 3 x \u00a310 free fixed odds bets, 3 x \u00a35 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x \u00a35 Winning Favourites spread bets on consecutive days and a \u00a31 racing Race Index spread bet<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1393518\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-1024x523.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-1024x523.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-300x153.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-768x392.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-400x204.png 400w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-392x200.png 392w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-118x60.png 118w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-150x77.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86-40x20.png 40w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2025\/08\/06142720\/image-86.png 1338w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"bookmaker-review\">\r\n<div class=\"bookmaker-review__bet\">\r\n<div class=\"warning\">\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Spread betting losses can exceed deposit. 18+ www.gambleaware.org. Place a \u00a310 fixed odds single or \u00a310 each-way bet at minimum odds of 1\/2 and get 3 x \u00a310 free fixed odds bets, 3 x \u00a35 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x \u00a35 Winning Favourites spread bets and a \u00a31 racing Race Index spread bet. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-declan-rice-s-important-role\">Declan Rice&#8217;s important role<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Declan Rice was key to Arsenal gaining control in the game, as his role in possession was to drop into the first line along with William Saliba and Gabriel, giving Arsenal the 3v2 overload against Atletico&#8217;s front two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While this was a clear advantage in the early stages for Arsenal, allowing them to have settled periods of possession on the ball, it was the out of possession advantage it gave them that made the tactical choice stand out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lookman is Atletico Madrid&#8217;s biggest transition weapon, looking to run beyond when the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez can make it stick on the break, drawing bodies towards them before finding the runner in behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1445748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-356x267.png 356w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-267x200.png 267w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-80x60.png 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248-150x113.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29224847\/TACTICALista_20264292248.png 1760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Nigerian winger also has the pace and ability to carry it himself in transition, which could have caused Arsenal some problems, as White was advanced in the right pocket in order to pin Atletico back and give Madueke 1v1 opportunities out wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the decision to have Rice move over to the right channel (almost as a right-sided centre-back in settled possession further forwards) was clever, ready to protect against Lookman in transition and shut down attacks before they could fully start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rice made four ball recoveries, winning two of his three ground duels and making one tackle, with the majority of his defensive actions coming in that right channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-atletico-s-man-to-man-shift\">Atletico&#8217;s man to man shift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the second half, Atletico came out with a change in their approach, now trailing by a goal in their home leg, Diego Simeone shifted from his more passive 5-3-2 shape into a man to man approach across the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This entailed both of the forwards picking up a centre-back each, Johnny Cardoso now jumping onto Rice in the last line to make it a 3v3 against their first line in the build, with Koke tracking Martin Zubimendi in midfield and David Hancko jumping out onto Martin Odegaard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simeone was subbed off at half-time, with Llorente shifting forwards into the right midfield position, Pubil shifting over to right-back (now tracking Gabriel Martinelli man for man) and Robin Le Normand going into centre-back, tracking Gyokeres and marking him tightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1445749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-356x267.png 356w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-267x200.png 267w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-80x60.png 80w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252-150x113.png 150w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29225238\/TACTICALista_20264292252.png 1760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tacticalista.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Image via Tacticalista<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This shift in approach allowed Atletico to wrestle control of the game in the second half from Arsenal, winning the ball back, having more periods of settled possession and allowing the likes of Griezmann to get on the ball more in little pockets of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simeone will feel hard done by that his side couldn&#8217;t find a winner in the second half to take back to the Emirates, but their second half approach could inspire the Spanish side heading into the second leg next week, which will make it even more interesting to see which approach both sides opt for in the match as they attempt to reach the Champions League final.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/champions-league-tips\/\"><strong>Champions League predictions &amp; tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/outright-markets\/champions-league-outright-odds-qualification\/\"><strong>Champions League outright odds <\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are all square after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, drawing 1-1 at the Metropolitano. In the first half, Arsenal went 1-0 up through Viktor Gyokeres from the spot, having had more control in the half (52% possession), taking more shots (six) and generating 1.23 Expected Goals to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3107,"featured_media":1445739,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1445726","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal analysis: How control shifted due to out of possession strategy | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal analysis: How control shifted due to out of possession strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are all square after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, drawing 1-1 at the Metropolitano. In the first half, Arsenal went 1-0 up through Viktor Gyokeres from the spot, having had more control in the half (52% possession), taking more shots (six) and generating 1.23 Expected Goals to...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Squawka | EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-30T09:33:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29222739\/DeclanRice290426_ID3ECAW1N-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@squawka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Holden\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/445e73decc43605cbf2878fdb0a67bcf\"},\"headline\":\"Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal analysis: How control shifted due to out of possession strategy\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T22:50:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-30T09:33:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\"},\"wordCount\":757,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29222739\/DeclanRice290426_ID3ECAW1N-scaled.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"accessibilityFeature\":[\"tableOfContents\"]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\",\"name\":\"Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal analysis: How control shifted due to out of possession strategy | Squawka | EN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29222739\/DeclanRice290426_ID3ECAW1N-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T22:50:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-30T09:33:31+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/post-match-analysis-atletico-madrid-vs-arsenal-29-04-26\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29222739\/DeclanRice290426_ID3ECAW1N-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/04\/29222739\/DeclanRice290426_ID3ECAW1N-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"3ECAW1N Madrid, Spain. 29th Apr, 2026. 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