La Pausa

Some news: I've written a book about how football has evolved over the last fifteen years or so. It's called The Spectre of Pep: How Guardiola haunts modern football tactics. It's out in August and you can pre-order it right now from this link: geni.us/TheSpectreOfPep

@jamiemkemp Gonçalo Guedes + Pellegrino Matarazzo = fast breaks = goals

Gonçalo Guedes, scorer of two more goals last night, has been one of the stars of 2026 in LaLiga. Over on our Substack - @jamiemkemp on GG's renaissance under Pellegrino Matarazzo, and what's behind his electrifying form: lapausapodcast.substack.com/p/welcome-back…

Thiago Pitarch with just one misplaced pass in that half and he has been everywhere. Constantly offering Madrid a +1 in the middle. Arriving in the final third when Madrid need to stretch it and dropping into defence when needed too. Valverde is putting on a masterclass but Pitarch is conducting a clinic.

In summary: 1) Real Madrid still not very good 2) Real Madrid still have players at both ends that can win them the #UCL in spite of 1)

Thibaut Courtois in #UCL knockout stage matches, since the 2022 final (via Opta): 25 xG on target faced 18 goals conceded (excluding OGs) --- +7 goals prevented (most of any GK)

Atlético swung back to dismal at Rayo yesterday, but the arrival of Ademola Lookman should help them with their wider goals this season (what's left of them). Analysis of his start & why he already looks necessary for Simeone's side (by @jamiemkemp): lapausa.digital/p/ademola-look…

Aware it's been a while on the Substack front, and we're determined not to let it die despite not having as much time to work on it as we'd like... Almost at the 1,000 subscribers mark, with all that said. Should hopefully be more where this came from!

Since taking over in mid-December, they are averaging 2.3 points per game (W4 D2 L0) in the league compared to just one point per game under Sergio Francisco (W4 D4 L12). @robbiejdunne analyses the data from his reign so far. theanalyst.com/articles/real-…

1) Jon Gorrotxategi is very good 2) Playing like this in big games in his first season is very promising 3) Athletic's intensity/press effectiveness is on the wane

62/67 passes for Jon Gorrotxategi last night (92%). The only Real Sociedad player with 50+ completed passes and a >90% completion rate in a match at San Mamés on record (since 2006-07).

🫵 Pellegrino Matarazzo... we salute you. Not only getting these performance levels out of the team, but doing it with Turrientes and Gorrotxategi in midfield together. Rejoice all believers!

Real Sociedad took Febas out of the game completely and only left Peña with intermediate passing options that were just far too risky. He ended up with 29 long passes and completed just nine of them.

The players looked to really be enjoying this too. They were taking an extra step to make sure they didn't just default to the safe/easy option. They ran Betis ragged.

🔴 Every Atlético player bar Juan Musso was involved in their second goal at Betis last night 🔴 They had 24 sequences of 10+ passes in the match; their most away from home all season Some of the best football they have played in a long time... especially outside of Madrid.

@janufooty Was very tempted to say the same! Wasn’t ready to witness those combinations and speed of passing in a game (theoretically) as challenging as this.

@lapausa_fc I'll call it since no one else wants to, that's the best half of football from a team that I've seen all season

Wow Atlético... as good a 45 minutes of dynamic, associative football as you'll see this season. Difficult to call it exactly but feels like a 4-3-3 in possession. The combo between Baena at LCM and Lookman peeling off to LW has clicked instantly (+ Ruggeri's overlaps).