Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37077779›Full record

ArticleBiology of sport2023

Factors affecting match running performance in elite soccer: Analysis of UEFA Champions League matches.

Toni Modric, Sime Versic, Marko Stojanovic, Paweł Chmura, Marcin Andrzejewski, Marek Konefał, Damir Sekulic

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology of sport, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Measured vs. Estimated V˙OSports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Toni ModricFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.
Sime VersicFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.
Marko StojanovicFaculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia.
Paweł ChmuraDepartment of Team Games, Wrocław Univeristy of Health and Sport Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
Marcin AndrzejewskiDepartment of Methodology of Recreation, Poznań University of Physical Education, Poznań, Poland.
Marek KonefałDepartment of Human Motor Skills, Wrocław University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
Damir SekulicFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Split, Split, Croatia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the independent effect of different match-related factors on match running performance (MRP) in elite soccer. Players' MRPs (n = 244) were collected during UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage matches in the 2020-21 season. All MRP data were collected by the semi-automatic optical system InStat Fitness (InStat Limited, Limerick, Republic of Ireland). Match-related factors included match outcome, team quality, match location, opponent quality and difference in team quality, while MRP included cumulative and relative measures of total distance (TD and R-TD), low-intensity running (LIR and R-LIR) (≤ 4 m/s), moderate-intensity running (MIR and R-MIR) (4-5.5 m/s) and high-intensity running (HIR and R-HIR) (≥ 5.5 m/s). Linear mixed models were used to examine the collective effect of match-related factors on MRPs when controlling for between-player, between-playing position and between-team variation. The main findings were that match outcome was associated with reduced HIR (d = -0.38, p = 0.04), match location was associated with increased TD, R-TD, LIR and R-LIR (d = 0.54-0.87, all p < 0.01), while team quality, opponent quality and difference in team quality were not associated with MRP. These results show that (i) winning UCL matches was not strongly influenced by players' physical performance, (ii) away UCL matches were characterized by a slower match pace and greater match volume, and (iii) players' physical performance was similar irrespective of playing either in or against high- or low-quality teams. The findings from this study may help soccer coaches to ensure optimal physical preparation of players in elite soccer.

Indexed as

Contextual factorsFootballLinear mixed modelsPhysical demandsSituational variables

Identifiers

PMID37077779
PMCPMC10108755

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-SA
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.