MANCHESTER CITY VS SPURS TACTICAL ANALYSIS MINI THREAD:
As usual, City dominated and controlled the ball. But conte had a plan that centered around the world class, Harry Kane. This short thread will be going through some key aspects of the match! Enjoy!
City lined up in their usual 4-3-3 with the wingers on their natural sides and Bernardo as the false 9. Cancelo on the left to create overloads with Walker staying central.
Spurs lined up in a 5-4-1 which transformed into a 3-4-3 whenever they had possession of the ball.
Conte's classic buildup:
Conte went with the buildup structure he used at Chelsea with a 3-2 shape, both wingbacks slightly deeper with an emphasis on baiting the City high press and finding the striker who dropped deep. The overload + movements made it a safe and smart approach.
The overload in the buildup is also another way to cover for the techincal defincies in some of the Spurs backline. Compared to his time at Inter where he used a 4-2-4 buildup shape as he trusted the likes of Brozovic, De vrij, Handanovic under pressure.
CONTE'S AUTOMATISM:
Conte utilizes automatisms which are repeated patterns drilled into the players to help reduce the amount of thinking made by the players which could lead to costly mistakes. In this case, it's exactly like his 16/17 Chelsea which is pass from wide CB to cf.
The 1st goal as shown above, clearly shows how Son was used as a decoy to gain the attention of Rodri. Once Son made the run-in behind, the trigger was set for Kane to drop and receive from the LCB Davies. These movements left Rodri and co in "no man's land". Bravo Antonio!
#ManCity players held a frank discussion in the dressing room after the defeat to Tottenham. The conclusion was that their biggest problem lay in deciding whether to follow Harry Kane as he dropped into the No 10 role.
[via @mcgrathmike]
City themselves knew he was the problem!
City's shape and Conte's adjustment:
City mainly built up with a 3-1 shape, Rodri as the lone pivot with Walker inverting. Gündo, Foden, Bernardo BTL with KDB deeper in the right half-space. Conte addressed the danger of Cancelo by assigning a man-to-man role for Kulusevski.
City struggled to find their men in the halfspaces which are known to be a pathway to attack for Guardiola's sides. Spurs created a box-like shape with wide CBS aggressive and the wingers and double pivot wary of any movements between them.
Once again, Conte's automatism create a goal!
1 pass from deep to Kane, bypassed 5 City players as Kane received deeper. This triggered the run from Son and the ball far WB Sessegnon who was free. Kane's technical quality was a major reason why Spurs found it easy to transition.
The lack of a goal threat for City:
It was obvious City lacked a major goal threat throughout the match. With 3 cb's this meant that Spurs had more than enough cover around the goal and were comfortable against any cut backs etc.
In conclusion:
The technical quality was simply out of this world from City but Conte had a plan, which was to utilize Kane and Son to the maximum. His instructions to his players off the ball also proved vital as they managed to leave the Etihad with 3 points!
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