Champions League Performance Insights: Full-backs showcase attacking fluidity
Monday, October 12, 2026
Article summary
This week's Champions League action should feature plenty of attacking fluidity, according to UEFA Technical Observer Kieran McKenna.
Article top media content
Article body
More than once in recent times, UEFA's game insights unit has lauded Paris Saint-Germain's wonderful fluidity, yet as we look forward to UEFA Champions League Matchday 2, it is not just Paris who will be worth watching for this.
As UEFA Technical Observer Kieran McKenna explains, in elite football attacking fluidity has become "a clear strategy to disrupt the opposition's defensive organisation. It can be particularly effective against high pressing and man-to-man marking defensive strategies."
How to define fluid football
The freedom of movement within an attacking system. The aim is to be unpredictable for the opponent and, therefore, harder to defend against.
Marcos Llorente's versatility
Matchday 1 offered several examples, starting with Atlético de Madrid's fluid structure at Liverpool, highlighted by the sight of wing-back Marcos Llorente running infield to break behind Liverpool's centre-backs and score – as shown below.
For much of the first half, Liverpool struggled to press in the middle owing to Atleti's midfield overloads, which allowed the visitors to connect in and exploit spaces wide and inside Liverpool's structure.
Speaking to Movistar+, Llorente explained that Atleti – who this week face another English side in Manchester United – have "well-worked" positional interchanges and that coach Diego Simeone "knows and trusts us to perform in various positions, and today I was at the back, out wide and in the middle".
Archie Brown also shines
Llorente was not the only full-back or wing-back to display his attacking threat on Matchday 1, as the graphic above illustrates. Another was Fenerbahçe's English left-back Archie Brown, who is featured below concluding the move for their equaliser against Roma.
When we talk about fluidity, it's important to consider the impact on the opposing team and, as McKenna observes, Fenerbahçe sought to disrupt the man-to-man defensive organisation of Gian Piero Gasperini's side with movement in midfield and centre-forward Vedat Muriqi dropping deep.
Brown's strike had similarities with Atleti's goal, in that we see a full-back finishing with "impressive quality and composure", according to McKenna, who praised his "willingness to stay in the centre-forward position and be available for the final through pass".
Sporting CP's clever movement
A third example comes from Sporting CP's comeback win against Galatasaray. Among the rotations in the video, McKenna highlights left-forward Luis Guilherme moving out to the right to "draw the opposition midfielder away from the central space", enabling centre-back Eduardo Quaresma's penetrating run.
Fittingly, a full-back plays a central role again, with Maximiliano Araújo crossing for Geny Catamo's goal – and look at his fellow full-back, Giorgios Vagiannidis, also up in the area as the ball comes in.
Coaching reflection: How to achieve attacking fluidity
UEFA Technical Observer Kieran McKenna points to several factors for coaches to consider:
- Player awareness to capitalise on the disruption within the opposition's defensive structure.
- Coaches need to develop players' competences and understanding in a wider variety of roles, both when attacking and defending.
- Consider the impact of positional fluidity on your own 'rest defence', ensuring players understand their roles on losing possession.
Appointed first-team coach at Manchester United aged just 31, Kieran McKenna subsequently spent five years as manager of Ipswich Town from December 2021 to June 2026. He led them from mid-table in League One to the Premier League in 2024 following back-to-back promotions. After a single season in the top flight, he subsequently guided the club back to the Premier League in 2025/26, securing his third promotion in his first four full campaigns as a manager.
More like this