Champions League Performance Insights: The importance of counterattacks
Monday, March 9, 2026
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UEFA's game insights unit reflect on the importance of counterattacking ahead of the Champions League round of 16.
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As the UEFA Champions League round of 16 gets under way this week, one particular feature to look out for is the quality of the counterattacking.
That is the view of the UEFA game insights unit, who, in their analysis of the play-offs for the knockout stage, were struck by the speed with which teams attacked, particularly on transitions. To highlight this point, as displayed below, 24 of the 64 goals scored in the play-offs were from transitions – a 37.5% slice of the total.
Overall, there were more goals in the play-offs – four per match – than in the league phase, where we saw 3.4 per game. It is intriguing to ask whether transitions were a factor in the higher number of goals as teams got forward at speed and exploited spaces in the opposition area. As an additional data point, 95% of goals in the play-offs were scored in the opposition area, an increase on the league phase (82%).
The UEFA game insights unit identified a number of goals which illustrate this tendency, starting with the three in the video below – from Bodø/Glimt, Leverkusen and Monaco.
Counterattacking speed proves crucial
The first clip features Bodø/Glimt's second goal of their second-leg success at Inter. It follows a spell of more than a minute of Inter possession after which the Norwegian side are superbly incisive. There are four forward passes in quick succession, with no player touching the ball more than twice each time, before Håkon Evjen’s finish.
"Creating something when needed is our team's characteristic."
"Effective" is how Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen described his team's overall approach.
He said that when outlining the plan for the away leg, as he explained that "we can’t just defend low" but "need to also try to have a medium block, a high block and defend well and hopefully we can always get some counterattacks." As the video clip displays, Bodø/Glimt executed the plan in impressive style, just as they had in their 3-1 home victory.
Bodø/Glimt were not alone in countering to excellent effect. Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick's terrific goal following a transition at Olympiacos features in clip two while the third clip above shows Folarin Balogun's opening strike in Monaco's 3-2 home loss to Paris Saint-Germain. As Paris coach Luis Enrique said: "The first two times they overcame our pressure, they got into our half of the pitch and scored."
The speed of these attacks is emphasised by the graphic above which shows it took Leverkusen nine seconds to advance the 70 metres before Schick scored. In Monaco's case they needed ten seconds and four forward passes. For Bodø/Glimt, it was 11 seconds as they progressed the ball 74 metres into the Inter goal.
Forward runs and the link man
"It sounds very basic but the key to the game is one-twos, third-man runs and forward runs behind." Those were the words of Michael Carrick, now interim head coach of Manchester United, when analysing Paris' win at Barcelona in the league phase, and they are applicable to another aspect of the attacking play noted by UEFA's game insights unit during the play-offs.
As the clips in this second video show, several goals came through a crucial touch from a link player, feeding the ball to a runner from deep, together with good opposite movements.
That is the case with each of the efforts by Juventus, Qarabağ and Bodø/Glimt. From a coaching perspective, the key word here is efficiency. In the first goal, by Juventus' Teun Koopmeiners against Galatasaray, Weston McKennie does not dwell on the ball but plays it immediately back into the path of Koopmeiners as he surges upfield.
Meanwhile, Qarabağ coach Gurban Gurbanov praised his side's "well-organised attacking" after their 3-2 reverse at Newcastle United and that was certainly true of the Camilo Durán goal featured here, which follows the quick flick forward by Joni Montiel – another example of one-touch link play.
Finally, we return again to Bodø/Glimt, this season's surprise package, and their opening strike at home against Inter. Kasper Høgh has a focal role in the move as, with his back to goal, he produces a fabulous flick for Sondre Brunstad Fet to break into the box and score.
Knutsen, the Bodø/Glimt coach, said: "It shows forward football and power and teamwork."
Sporting CP, their round of 16 opponents, can't say they don't know what's coming when they travel to the knockout stage's northernmost outpost this week.
Coaching reflections – Bodø/Glimt and lessons in counterattacking
As a final word on Bodø/Glimt, it is worth delving deeper into how they have elevated their counterattacking game to make history for Norwegian football in the Champions League this season.
For coaches seeking lessons on their approach, the way they win the ball back warrants attention first. They look to "defend as a team all over the pitch", coach Knutsen has explained, with proactive and aggressive defending seen as the first piece of their attacking jigsaw. "When we're on the attack [defensively], it's all-hands-on-deck. That's the mentality and mindset we have when it comes to developing the defensive side of the game."
Spaces and distances are a key factor. In interviews, Knutsen has spoken about Bodø/Glimt targeting spaces "where we can break through and go forward" and thus he highlights to his players the importance of being "focused on the distances" when both attacking and defending.
Next, their all-in approach when defending applies again once they have won the ball back. "We can attack with a lot of people and a lot of intensity," he told one reporter recently. To another, he added: "We win the ball in good positions so we can make the counterattacks and we’re really good if the opponents give us space."
Finally, Bodø/Glimt are a team who have increased their intensity levels impressively, responding to the lessons of defeat against Tottenham in last season's UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
After beating Inter, Knutsen reflected on how his players had developed the intensity required to perform their rapid raids against recent opponents. "I think we've taken a new step in terms of our intensity [and] moving quickly," he said, and this has included more intensity on the training ground and more strength training to enable his players to win the ball back and spring forward with both speed and courage.
"It takes tough training," explained Knutsen. "You have to work on the field functionally and with high intensity as often as you can."
And for coaches, his words provide a particular tip regarding the importance of loose balls and second balls. "The physical side of football is really prominent – football is getting faster and faster," he said. "In each practice, we count to three and then go for the loose ball because we want efficient training sessions."
Keys to counterattacking
- First pass out of the counterpressure
- Speed through forward passes
- Intense forward runs
- Technical detail of execution
- End product - finish the action
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