The present study aimed to determine the physical-tactical profiles of elite football teams and individual players according to final league rankings. A total of 50 English Premier League matches (n = 100 match and 583 player observations) were analysed by coding the player`s physical-tactical actions through synchronising tracking data and video. Final league rankings were categorised into Tiers: (A) 1st-5th ranking (n = 25), (B) 6th-10th ranking (n = 26), (C) 11th-15th ranking (n = 26), and (D) 16th-20th ranking (n = 23). One-way analyses of variance were used to compare match performances between different Tiers, and effect size (ES) was determined for the meaningfulness of the difference. Tier A teams covered 39-51% more high-intensity distance for `Move to Receive/Exploit Space` (ES: 1.3-1.6, P < 0.01) and `Run with Ball` (ES: 0.9-1.0, P < 0.05) than Tier C and D, and 23-94% more distance for `Over/Underlap` (ES: 1.0, P < 0.01), `Run in Behind/Penetrate` (ES: 0.7,P < 0.05), and `Break into Box` (ES: 0.9, P < 0.05) compared to Tier C. Central and Wide Defensive Players in Tier A covered 65-551% more high-intensity `Move to Receive/Exploit Space` distance compared to other Tiers (ES: 0.6-1.0, P < 0.01). Moreover, the additional options within the physical-tactical actions and zonal differences unveiled more meaningful insights into `HOW` the top Tier teams physically and tactically perform. Thus, the amalgamated physical-tactical data help improve our understanding of a team`s playing style relative to their competitive standard.
© Copyright 2023 Biology of Sport. Termedia Publishing House. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.