Why do teams continue to play the ball out of the back? ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s ProVision platform to examine the numbers:

“Playing out from the back is why teams press

Let's begin exploring this by laying out some basic data:

- On average, teams in Europe's Big 5 leagues this season average 94.8 possessions per match and begin 7.5% of them, about 7.1 per game, in the attacking third. They score about once every 32 times on these, or about 0.03 goals per possession. If they start a possession here because of a ball recovery, defensive action, dispossession or take-on, the odds increase to 0.04 goals per possession, or one in 23.

- Teams start 38.8% of their possessions, 36.8 per game, in the middle third and score once every 61 times, or about 0.02 goals per possession.

- Teams start 53.7% of their possessions, 50.9 per game, in their defending third and score once every 89 times, or 0.01 goals per possession.”

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses the ProVision platform and graphics to dissect Sergiño Dest’s first season at Barcelona:

“Among the 150 big-five full-backs and wing-backs with at least 750 league minutes this season, Dest's pass completion rate (90.4%) ranks first, as does his completion rate into the attacking third (90.0%). No, these have not been long-distance passes, and yes, a lot of these passes have gone to Lionel Messi, which is to say they are high-percentage opportunities. But his accuracy and his speed on the ball get the ball where it needs to be almost every time. He's also in the 99th percentile in completion rate from the middle third (92.8%) and in the 93rd percentile from the defensive third (82.6%).”

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Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s ProVision platform to generate graphics and notes for his mid-season Premier League awards and Best XI:

“LB: Joao Cancelo, Manchester City. He's played left back and right back. He generated five scoring chances in two matches on the right wing. His pass map is one of the most ... comprehensive you'll see.”

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Bill Connelly examines the numbers behind Liverpool’s dip in form, using TruMedia’s ProVision research platform:

2018-19: 15.1 shots per match, 0.14 xG/shot, 17% of shots coming with 3+ defenders between the shooter and the goal, 28% with 0-1 defenders

2019-20: 15.6 shots per match, 0.13 xG/shot, 18% of shots coming with 3+ defenders between the shooter and the goal, 24% with 0-1 defenders

2020-21: 15.4 shots per match, 0.14 xG/shot, 19% of shots coming with 3+ defenders between the shooter and the goal, 17% with 0-1 defenders

Last 3 matches: 15.0 shots per match, 0.11 xG/shot, 33% of shots coming with 3+ defenders between the shooter and the goal, 13% with 0-1 defenders

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s research tool and ProVision graphics to show how Paul Pogba’s role has changed since Bruno Fernandes joined Manchester United…

“Since his return, Pogba's role has shifted quite a bit. He's more involved on the defensive side of the field, and he's been more involved in build-up play. He's attempting more backward passes and more passes into the attacking third but fewer from inside the attacking third. He's all over the map.”

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses ProVision heat maps to show how Christian Pulisic’s role is different with Chelsea and Dortmund, and the research platform to find statistically similar players to Pulisic…

“By the end of his time in Germany, Pulisic had combined the attacking numbers from his first full season with the ball-advancement numbers of his second. During that season in the Bundesliga, only four players averaged at least 0.35 goals per 90 and 0.35 assists over 900+ minutes: Sancho, Pulisic, BVB's Mario Gotze and Eintracht Frankfurt's Sebastien Haller, who moved to West Ham United for £45 million last summer.”

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s research tool to examine who should be in the United States’ player pool for World Cup qualifying, including…Julian Green?!

-- [Green] averaged 4.2 cross attempts per 90 with a completion rate of 31%. Among the primary central midfielders in the U.S. player pool, no-one attempted more, while only Pomykal and Sebastien Lletget had a higher completion rate.

-- He turned into a very dangerous corner-taker, creating 0.9 chances per 90 from set pieces with a 40% completion rate on corner crosses. Among the primary MLS midfielders in the talent pool, Lletget's 0.48 chances per 90 ranked the highest (but still dramatically below Green's), and only Pomykal and Lletget had higher completion rates.

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ESPN’s Ryan O’Hanlon uses TruMedia’s research platform, metrics and graphics to examine which Premier League teams and players have been the unluckiest over the past decade…

Unluckiest Shooting Season, Individual: Christian Benteke, 2017-18

[Benteke’s] 17-18 Premier League season was the worst finishing season in what we'll call the expected goals era. He got on the end of chances worth 11.8 expected goals, but only three of his 60 shots ended up in the net. That's a 5% conversion percentage; league average is more than double that.

The year before, Benteke also trailed his expected goals (15 goals to 18.06 xG) but in his five combined Premier League seasons before the infamous 2017-18 campaign, he was actually slightly ahead: 66 goals on 64.35 xG. After 17-18, though, he lost his place in the Palace starting XI and his shooting boots still haven't come back: he's scored two goals on 7.33 xG over the past two years. Now, his finishing hasn't been good, but it hasn't been this bad, either.

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s research tool to explore how relatively small clubs like Atalanta compete with the richest teams in the world…

“Atalanta ranked eighth in ball recoveries (58.3), fifth in possessions won in the middle third (28.3) and seventh in possessions won in the attacking third (5.5). Lazio averaged the seventh-fewest possessions per match at 88.3. (Granted, this was higher than either of the other main competitors in Serie A this year: Juventus was at 84.9, Inter Milan at 86.2.) They had the 12th fewest possessions with 0-2 passes, and they were 13th in average possession time.

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly looks at the future of the Premier Leagues “Big 6” teams, using TruMedia’s research tool and expected-goals model…

“Arsenal’s biggest concern: Do these attacking pieces actually mix? After averaging at least 0.9 xG per 90 minutes every year from 2015-16 to 2017-18, Aubameyang's average fell to 0.79 last season and 0.46 this year. Lacazette has been at 0.44 each of the past two years after four years over 0.5. They could be on the downward portion of their respective careers.

Meanwhile, Pepe is basically Trae Young in soccer form: he's over the ball a lot and constantly aims for the one big pass or glorious long strike. Since Jan. 1, his average xG per shot is a ghastly 0.09, compared with 0.28 for Nketiah, 0.26 for Lacazette or 0.19 for Martinelli. He's also taken more shots than anyone but Lacazette.”

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ESPN’s Bill Connelly uses TruMedia’s research tool and graphics to explore how Tottenham has changed under new manager Jose Mourinho:

“Pochettino had to fight injury issues, and Spurs' roster was perhaps a bit too stagnant at times. Still, considering how assertively they had played in the Champions League this fall -- it's a small sample, of course, but they managed 1.67 points per match, 11.2 chances and 9.8 chances allowed per 90, 3.2 possessions won in the attacking third -- you could deduce that effort and intensity were at least part of the problem in league play.”

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ESPN’s Ryan O’Hanlon uses TruMedia’s research tool to analyze previous Champions League winners and project this season’s champion…

“…using domestic-play data from TruMedia, we can look at the statistical profiles of the past nine winners, see what the minimum benchmarks have been and compare them to all 16 remaining teams in this season's competition. We'll go through a number of categories and eliminate the 2020 teams that aren't up to snuff before landing on our One True Champion.”

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