ArticlePloS one2023
Differences in playing style and technical performance according to the team ranking in the Spanish football LaLiga. A thirteen seasons study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- From playing styles to game model: deconstructing the paradigm through analysts' perspective.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Influence of competitive level and playing position on the physical and technical demands of professional men's football.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Possession in motion: a five-season analysis of running in-possession and out-of-possession with match outcomes in the English Premier League.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Comparative Analysis of Passing, Possession, and Goal-Scoring Trends in Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Locomotor characteristics of intense accelerations according to the playing position in top Spanish football teams during competition.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Contextualized acceleration and deceleration profiles of elite soccer players during English Premier League match-play. The effect of possession, positional demands and opponent ranking.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- The impact of team quality, match outcomes, and match location on pitch-passing networks.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Impact of defensive team variables on goals conceded in the first division of the Spanish soccer league: a 10-year study.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Contextualized high-speed running and sprinting during English Premier League match-play with reference to possession, positional demands and opponent ranking.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Validity of Coupling TRACAB's Gen5 and Mediacoach Systems to Calculate Accelerations and Decelerations in Professional Football.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Technical, Tactical, and Time-Motion Match Profiles of the Forwards, Midfielders, and Defenders of a Men's Football Serie A Team.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The numbers behind success: key metrics for advancing in male EURO 2024.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Physical match performance of elite soccer players from the English Championship League and the English Premier League: The effects of opponent ranking and positional differences.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Effect of match location on the playing style of teams coached by 'Pep' Guardiola.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study aimed to explore the differences in playing style and technical performance according to the ranking level in Spanish football teams. The sample comprised 38 professional teams that competed in LaLiga from 2008/09 to 2020/21, with a total of 4940 matches. The teams were grouped by their final ranking position: Champion (1st); Champions League (2nd-4th); Europa League (5th-6th); middle teams (7th-17th); and relegated teams (18th-20th). Linear mixed models were used to examine the effects of the team ranking on variables related to playing style and technical performance. The F2 statistic was calculated as effect size (ES). Regarding the style of play, the Champion teams initiated offensive sequences from a more advanced field position than the remaining ranking groups with a descending effect as the ranking position decreased (p < 0.001; ES = medium). The sequence duration and passes per sequence showed a decreasing effect across ranking groups (both p < 0.001; ES = small). In contrast, the direct speed showed an increasing effect as the ranking position decreased (p < 0.001; ES = small). A decreasing effect was observed in the number of sequences ending in the final third as the ranking position decreased (p < 0.001; ES = large) while no effect was found for the sequences ending in a shot. There was a reduction effect in ball possession, passing accuracy, through balls and crosses as the teams' ranking decreased (all p < 0.001; ES = small-to-large). In summary, higher-ranked teams had an advanced starting position, longer offensive sequences, slower progression speed, more ball possession, higher passing accuracy, and more crosses and through balls than lower-ranked teams. Football coaches should consider that adopting a playing style focused on regaining the ball possession in advanced field zones and using long passing sequences can be an effective tactical strategy to improve the teams' ranking during the season.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.