Half-Space LabFootball analysis built on data.https://halfspacelab.net/Messi's 17 seasons in one map: winger, false nine, playmakerhttps://halfspacelab.net/analysis/messi-17-seasons-role-map/https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/messi-17-seasons-role-map/Where Lionel Messi received the ball in every La Liga season for Barcelona shows three roles: a right winger until 2009, a false nine who lived in the middle, and finally a playmaker who started more of his work in his own half.Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBarcelona had the ball. How did Real Madrid win El Clásico?https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/barcelona-real-madrid-big-chances/https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/barcelona-real-madrid-big-chances/Barcelona attempted 62% of the passes and outshot Madrid 18 to 10, but Madrid created twice as many big chances, and Kylian Mbappé finished two of them.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTwo ways to go unbeaten: how Arsenal and Leverkusen protected their leadshttps://halfspacelab.net/analysis/two-ways-to-go-unbeaten/https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/two-ways-to-go-unbeaten/Arsenal's Invincibles and Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen both went a league season unbeaten and both finished on 90 points. Arsenal managed games once they were ahead; Leverkusen kept attacking, won every match they led and took nine extra points after the 75th minute.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDid the red card beat Milan, or had Bournemouth already won?https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/bournemouth-milan-red-card/https://halfspacelab.net/analysis/bournemouth-milan-red-card/Bournemouth did their best work in the 27 minutes of 11 against 11. The red card gave them the ball, but it did not give them more chances.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhat expected goals (xG) is, and what it isn'thttps://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-xg/https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-xg/xG puts a number on how good a chance was. At Women's Euro 2025 it tracked how often shots actually went in at almost every distance.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMTHow to read a shot maphttps://halfspacelab.net/explainers/how-to-read-a-shot-map/https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/how-to-read-a-shot-map/Where shots came from, how good they were and which went in, all on one pitch. The Euro 2025 final shows how much a shot map adds to a 1–1 scoreline.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTHow to read a pass networkhttps://halfspacelab.net/explainers/how-to-read-a-pass-network/https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/how-to-read-a-pass-network/Dots for where players stood, lines for who passed to whom. Spain's network from the Euro 2025 final shows a team built on its centre-backs and right side.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTWhat PPDA measures, and how to read ithttps://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-ppda/https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-ppda/Passes per defensive action is the simplest number for how hard a team presses. At Women's Euro 2025, Spain allowed opponents the fewest passes before stepping in.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMTWhat is a half-space, and why do coaches want players there?https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-a-half-space/https://halfspacelab.net/explainers/what-is-a-half-space/At Euro 2024, players who received the ball in a half-space had nearly twice as much chance of being free as in the centre, and set up or took a shot three times as often as on the wing.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT