How Rapidul reached tactical bankruptcy » 3 explanations after the defeat with U Cluj

In front of the “Red Caps”, a mobile formation, aggressive in duels and with exceptional positional coverage, the problems became impossible to repair, although Constantin Gâlcă has been facing them since the start of the second phase of the competition.

Dorin Codrea (17') was the only scorer of the match, after a corner executed by the Ivorian Issouf Macalou.

• “It's all about tactics” is a GSP project that aims to analyze how coaches choose to approach key matches tactically. To determine the most important data, we use the Wyscout platform, which provides parameters and relevant information collected by 250 experts from all over the world.

Quick, again no offensive build

In an obvious attempt to solve the chronic problems in the attack, Constantin Gâlcă chose to place his formation in 4-4-2, with the aim of numerically supplementing the compartment. Thus, Daniel Paraschiv and Borisav Burmaz played offensively, neither of them a classic peak, who turned out to be, until the end, the players with the worst individual performances on the field.

The point was clear. More players close to the box, more support points, so also a superior presence between the central defenders of U Cluj (4-2-3-1).

At the same time, Cristiano Bergodi allowed himself the luxury of starting the game with Jovo Lukic, the championship's top scorer, on the bench. In his place, Virgiliu Postolachi was preferred for more mobility, for the ability to go down and participate in combinations, but also to rest the Bosnian for the decisive assault in the last two rounds.

It can be said that the Cherries have evolved without a striker capable of fixing and tying up the game, so the whole game has become predictable. They built almost exclusively in the center, took the ball into congested areas and constantly looked for short releases to the extremes Hazrollaj and Moruțan, the type of football that suited the University of Cluj, master of the counterattack.

If Burmaz is still wanted after the serious injury, Daniel Paraschiv became, without any excuse, the perfect image of offensive failure. Almost absent from the game, with no impact between the lines and no real connection with the midfielders, the striker was constantly floating in a dead space. The ball rarely reached him, and when he did get possession, the phases of the game were already off.

10Daniel Paraschiv had a total of 15 successful passes in the 69 minutes of play

19touches of the ball ticked, of which only 3 in the opposing box

Giulești had the ball only where U Cluj wanted

Cristiano Bergodi's team showed, again this time, what they have demonstrated almost all season, an excellent ability to cover the field. From this point of view, U Cluj is very similar to the University of Craiova. They are two teams that do not impress with sterile possessions or aesthetic dominance, but with the way they close the spaces and move the opponent to the favorite area.

Instead of widening the game and forcing duels at speed, Giulio preferred to come towards the center, build slowly, even in the middle of the field, and allow the students to permanently establish their defensive density.

Once U Cluj set its benchmarks, everything became simpler.

This is where the Hazrollaj problem comes in. Used in the left lane, he entered possession very hard and constantly went down, most of the time receiving the ball with his back to the opposing goal. In many moments, Rapid needed a man to break the lines, but the Kosovar's game was much too static for the team's needs, an aspect that also affected Sălceanu's mobility.

• Andrei Borza made his appearance on the field in the second half, replacing Hazrollaj. So, a new move of Gâlcă out of the desire to give a plus to the attack, given that Petrila was unavailable.

0shots on goal out of 12 were sent by the Giulești team. 3 were jammed and the remaining 9 missed their target

On the other side, without Dobre, even if he is in a slump, Rapidul did not have the element that could destabilize the defense structure of U Cluj. Gâlcă lacked the player capable of accelerating regularly, attacking the outer space and forcing the full-backs to retreat.

In addition, Rapidul exposed from the first minutes a major vulnerability to losing the ball. The team climbed unprotected behind the balloon, and the distances between the compartments became enormous as soon as the U recovered and accelerated.

Cluj University was the larger team. He occupied the field wide, constantly created passing lines and, above all, won his one-on-one duels. It was dynamic and very lucid in choosing the moments when it had to accelerate.

The contrast between the two playing styles or even capabilities, better said, was also seen in Sălceanu's performance. In front of Macalou, the left back did not offer much offensively. His role was to block the space and reduce the impact of the direct opponent.

One of the most important tactical images of the match. U Cluj, on the counterattack in three against two, in a phase that completely exposed Rapid's defensive organization. Giulești full-backs, nowhere to be found. Photo generated in the Wyscout platform

Again, innings at opposite poles

If they didn't exist in the first half, the second half was better for Giulești. The team moved up the lines, were more aggressive in pressing and pushed the game closer to the opposition goal. Here comes one of the Rapid's biggest problems this season: inconsistency.

It's a team that has long stretches of games where it just doesn't matter.

Periods where the tempo drops, the connections are non-existent, and the opponent feels they can easily control the direction of the game. The speedster had brief moments of dominance, but rarely looked like he could stifle the opposition long enough to turn the tables.

On the other side, U Cluj continued to be extremely dangerous on the counterattack, the weapon that, theoretically, defines Rapidul in the current season. The phase in the 72nd minute is eloquent. Mendy escapes in transition, Onea intervenes as a rescuer, and Rapidul escapes a moment that could definitively close the duel.

49of duels U Cluj won. Quick, 40

It's exactly the tactical irony of the match. The team built for speed and quick transitions was dominated by this type of football.

In fact, one of the defining images of the game comes from the action of Miguel Silva. The sequence says almost everything about the difference in offensive sharpness between the two teams. After Chipciu's entry, Miguel Silva became the left midfielder and produced one of the smartest individual actions of the match.

He overcame Kramer not by physical explosion or devastating sprint, but by offensive technique. He manipulates it out of the body, throws it off balance and centers it decisively. The goal was disallowed by VAR.

Miguel Silva, assist for Jug Stanojev. The goal is disallowed for handball. Photo generated in the Wyscout platform

U Cluj – Rapid was the match in which you could see, with the naked eye, the difference between a team that knows what type of actions they are looking for and one that attacks from inertia.

This victory brings us to the 2nd place and we secure at least the European cups, and then we will see on Wednesday, after the final, another championship match with the title on the table. I'm really pleased with how the boys handled themselves, especially in the first half. Some players have played less and now they have done very well. In the first half we could close the game, we controlled and we could close earlier. In the second they came at us, passed better and, frankly, we suffered.
– Cristiano Bergodi, U Cluj coach

U Cluj – Rapid match figures

We started the first half timidly, we had no success, many mistakes, we were doing all the controls behind them, we were giving them time to settle down, they had another opportunity near the goal. The second half we controlled the match, but we didn't have any goals in front of the goal. Many absences, but we have to count on those who have suitcases, we had to hope that we would get a good result, but it didn't happen. U Cluj is a mature team, which closed the spaces, we dominated in the second half, but we didn't have great opportunities.
– Constantin Gâlcă, coach Rapid