[RonMexico1992]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brahvocado

Your specific example is wrong, because Villarreal is an extremely aggressive team that plays with a heavy press. Also, the Prem is not the most fast-paced or intense league, that is a myth perpetuated by Sky Sports. We SEEM fast because Prem teams regularly bypass the midfield completely by spraying balls out wide and avoiding it. In fact, one of the biggest reasons Prem teams struggle in Europe (and also one of the biggest reasons Spanish teams dominate) is because our teams DON'T close down opposition on the ball enough. When teams like Barca or even Sevilla/Villarreal lose the ball they immediately swarm trying to win it back, something English teams don't do with any regularity. Last year, the only player on Leicester that heavily pressed off the ball was Kante. The rest of the team sat back in a structured shape inviting pressure out wide (since Kante made it impossible to play through the middle), allowing their ogre-ish robo-defense to clear away any crosses that came in.

Good points. I would still say Barclays is a faster league and more physical than Spain, Spain slower and more advanced in actual footballing.

Villarreal switched managers in August I think it was. I haven't seen them play this year yet, and WhoScored has them as a team that like to play in their own half and non aggressive & thats what I was going off of.