Liga Portugal · Manager Marco Silva · Nominal 4-2-3-1 (Opta team sheet)
Sample: last 7 league matches — v Academico Viseu 2-2, @ Casa Pia AC 7-0, v Estoril 2-1, @ Maritimo 3-0, @ Moreirense 4-0, v Gil Vicente 3-1, @ Porto 1-3
Build-up5-2 / 6-1
Progression2-4-4 / 2-4-3
Final third2-7 / 2-5-1
Rest defence3+1 / 3+2
In possession
attack → · shapes are phase snapshots, not formations
IP · 01
Build-up
5-2 / 6-1
MEDIUMSTRONGLY INFERRED6-man first line in 2/7 · per match: 6-1, 6-1, 2-2-3, 1-3-1, 3-2, 4, 5-1
First line: Dahl, Lenglet, Barrenechea, Araújo and Bah; Prestianni and Pavlidis next. Barrenechea drops into the first line.
Own-third passes / match 118.6long 15%goal kicks short 81%
IP · 02
Progression
2-4-4 / 2-4-3
HIGHSTRONGLY INFERRED2-man first line in 5/7 · per match: 2-5, 2-4-3, 2-4-3, 2-3-3, 4-4-1, 4-4, 2-4-2
4 on the highest line (Prestianni, Sudakov, Pavlidis and Rafa).
Middle-third passes / match 284.4into final third / match 55.6
IP · 03
Final third
2-7 / 2-5-1 · 2 box
LOWINFERRED2-man first line in 3/7 · per match: 2-7, 1-7, 1-5-1, 2-5-1, 2-5-1, 1-1-6, 5-2-2
5/5 lanes occupied, width from Dahl and Bah. Box presence: Prestianni and Pavlidis.
Box touches / match 48.6crosses 10.3shots 19.1
IP · 04
Rest defence
3+1 / 3+2
LOWSTRONGLY INFERRED3+1 in 2/7, 3+2 in 2/7 · game-state dependent (players shift 8.9m on average when trailing)
Across 225 sustained final-third attacks, Araújo, Lenglet, Dahl and Barrenechea took the ball outside the final third (pooled 3+1). Per match: 2, 3+1, 2+2, 3+2, 3+1, 3+2, 4+2 — 4 behind the ball in 3/7.
Opp. fast-break shots / match 0.4opp. shots 7.9
Out of possession
positions = where each player makes his defensive actions
First engagements high: Prestianni 17%, Rafa 15%, Pavlidis 14% of the team's actions in the final 40%. Line structure: insufficient evidence (defensive actions sit where the ball is; no tracking).
PPDA per match 8 / 9 / 9 / 8 / 9 / 8 / 17high regains / match 15.0actions in final 40% 26%
Deep defending led by Lenglet 24%, Araújo 20%, Dahl 18%. Formation: insufficient evidence.
Def. actions in own third 42%per match 43.6
OOP · 04
Rest offence
1 HIGH
MEDIUMMEASURED34 outlet balls in the sample
Outlet after a deep regain: Prestianni 26% of the balls played out beyond halfway.
Deep regains / match 27.4played beyond halfway ≤3 passes 18%
Transitions
the first seconds after the ball changes hands
TR · 01
Defensive transition
CONTROLLED COUNTERPRESS
LOWINFERREDpooled 406 losses · mode agrees in 3/7 matches
Controlled counterpress (inferred from thresholds): 42% of losses won back within 5 s, opponent reaches their half within 10 s after 13%. Per match: hybrid, controlled counterpress, aggressive counterpress, controlled counterpress, hybrid, aggressive counterpress, controlled counterpress.
Losses (front 60%) / match 58.0won back ≤5s 42%tactical foul ≤5s 6%
TR · 02
Attacking transition
CONTROLLED
LOWINFERREDpooled 319 regains · style agrees in 3/7 matches
Controlled (inferred): first pass forward 33%, long 12%. Forward receptions: Pavlidis, Prestianni and Sudakov. Per match: direct, hybrid, hybrid, controlled, controlled, hybrid, direct.
Regains → final third ≤10s 18%shot ≤15s 3%
Involved — median spot of his actions in the phaseOccupation zone (25th–75th pct)Rarely involved — overall positionForward receptionsLoss not won backLoss won back ≤5s
Tactical phases · Benfica1 / 2
Tactical phases · 2026/2027
PHASES OF PLAY
Set pieces · Tactical summary
Benfica
Sample: last 7 league matches — v Academico Viseu 2-2, @ Casa Pia AC 7-0, v Estoril 2-1, @ Maritimo 3-0, @ Moreirense 4-0, v Gil Vicente 3-1, @ Porto 1-3
Set pieces
goal at the top · corners shown from the right
SP · 01
Corners for
CENTRE
MEDIUMMEASURED
Deliveries: near post 36% · centre 43% · far post 21%; 18% played short.
Corners / match 7.3shots from corners 19goals 1
SP · 02
Corners against
1ST CONTACT 45%
LOWMEASUREDmarking scheme: UNVERIFIED
Win the first contact on 45% of corners against. Event data can't show the marking scheme — the dots show where they clear it.
Corners against / match 1.7shots conceded / match 0.9
SP · 03
Free kicks for
CROSS
MEDIUMMEASURED
Of 32 free kicks in the final 40%: 11 crossed, 9 short, 5 shot direct.
Set-piece shots / match 4.6from these FKs 10
SP · 04
Free kicks against
20 FACED
MEDIUMMEASURED
20 opposition free kicks in the final 40%; 5 led to a shot within 12 s.
Set-piece shots conceded / match 2.0
Involved — median spot of his actions in the phaseOccupation zone (25th–75th pct)Rarely involved — overall positionForward receptionsDelivery → shot / contact wonNo shotOpp. delivery
Tactical summary
phase map · confidence · evidence
Phase
Structure
Recurrence
Confidence
Evidence
Game state
Build-up
5-2 / 6-1
6-man first line 2/7
MEDIUM
STRONGLY INFERRED
consistent across game states (max avg shift 4.9m)
Progression
2-4-4 / 2-4-3
2-man first line 5/7
HIGH
STRONGLY INFERRED
game-state dependent (players shift 8.4m on average when trailing)
Final third
2-7 / 2-5-1
2-man first line 3/7
LOW
INFERRED
game-state dependent (players shift 8.0m on average when trailing)
Rest defence
3+1 / 3+2
4 behind in 3/7
LOW
STRONGLY INFERRED
game-state dependent (players shift 8.9m on average when trailing)
High press
PPDA 9.2 · formation n/a
pooled
LOW
MEASURED
not tested
Mid block
insufficient evidence
pooled
LOW
MEASURED
not tested
Low block
insufficient evidence
pooled
LOW
MEASURED
not tested
Rest offence
1 high
34 outlet balls
MEDIUM
MEASURED
not tested
Defensive transition
controlled counterpress
3/7 matches agree
LOW
INFERRED
not tested
Attacking transition
controlled
3/7 matches agree
LOW
INFERRED
not tested
Set pieces
corners mostly centre
51 corners
MEDIUM
MEASURED
not tested
Match sample
opponent context from the Opta feed
Date
Opponent
H/A
Score
Pass share
Nominal (Opta)
Opp. PPDA
Reds for/against
Game-state minutes
2026-08-09
Academico Viseu
H
2-2
62%
4-2-3-1 v 4-3-3
23.0
0/0
level 41′, leading 58′
2026-08-17
Casa Pia AC
A
7-0
64%
4-2-3-1 v 4-2-3-1
15.9
0/1
level 3′, leading 92′
2026-08-31
Estoril
H
2-1
65%
4-2-3-1 v 3-4-3
22.1
0/0
level 40′, leading 57′
2026-09-05
Maritimo
A
3-0
59%
4-2-3-1 v 4-3-3
12.9
0/0
level 7′, leading 88′
2026-09-09
Moreirense
A
4-0
73%
4-2-3-1 v 4-2-3-1
18.5
0/0
level 49′, leading 52′
2026-09-13
Gil Vicente
H
3-1
64%
4-2-3-1 v 5-4-1
15.4
0/0
level 66′, trailing 24′, leading 8′
2026-09-20
Porto
A
1-3
56%
4-2-3-1 v 4-3-3
10.5
1/0
level 35′, trailing 66′
Limitations
No tracking / freeze-frame data: positions are where players take part on the ball, not off-ball spacing.
Out-of-possession formations cannot be read from event data (actions sit at the ball) — reported as insufficient evidence.
7 matches: game-state splits compare player displacement; late-game (75'+) splits are too small to report.
Corner in/out-swing and marking schemes are not in the feed (UNVERIFIED).
Transition labels are threshold classifications calibrated on a small set of teams.
Sources & method
Opta event data (every on-ball event, x/y, qualifiers)
Match data: fixture list, crest, club colour, manager
Shapes = median on-ball location per player per phase; lines by optimal 1-D k-means
Confidence = agreement of single matches with the pooled structure + sample size
