The first ten minutes of a new shape

The first Champions League matchday is here. -2-6 Real Madrid against Inter at the Bernabeu. A fixture that tests full-back positioning early.

Watch where the Inter wide players stand when Madrid have possession. If the full-backs push high and the wingers stay wide, the half-space opens. That is where someone like Tonali can operate if he drifts into that channel.

The first ten minutes show you if a team can compress the space between the lines. If that gap is too big, the ball moves through too easily. Watch the first phase, not the first goal.

Let the opening minutes tell you if the pre-match read was right.

Question: Which player do you watch first to judge if a team's shape is holding: the deepest midfielder or the widest forward?