Borussia Dortmund marked the return of the Bundesliga with a convincing victory in the Revierderby against FC Schalke 04. Our professional coaches assess 👇
Dortmund were organised into a 3-4-3 formation, led by the potent front three of Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard and Erling Braut Haaland, during the periods they had possession #BVB
That 3-4-3 became a 5-4-1 when they defended, largely through Raphael Guerreiro and Achraf Hakimi withdrawing into defence #BVB
The movement of Brandt and Hazard was used to create an assymetrical structure in their pursuit of overloads on one side of the pitch #BVB#BVBS04
Dortmund’s wing-backs, central midfielders and wider central defenders combined to negate the potential attacking treats posed by Suat Serdar and Daniel Caligiuri #BVB#BVBS04
Schalke adopted a 4-1-5 while they had possession; Weston McKennie represented their sole central midfielder, and was often stretched #BVB#BVBS04
For the periods they were defending they reorganised into a 5-4-1; Jonjoe Kenny withdrew into defence, and Benito Raman became their lone striker #BVB#BVBS04
The hosts regularly succeeded in drawing Schalke’s defenders out of position – particularly towards the right – and therefore creating spaces in the final third #BVB#BVBS04
For the second half, the visitors adopted a back four and a diamond midfield, improving their management of space and the threat Dortmund posed #BVB#BVBS04
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Our UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed Tottenham's narrow victory over Manchester United... ⚪️🧐
🔋 @Wyscout
#THFC • #MUFC
With Spurs working the ball across the pitch with relative ease, Fernandes and Garnacho found it difficult to cover the wide spaces.
This meant that even when the away side defended well, Spurs could get out to the wide areas. Spence in particular had joy on the left... 🧵🧐
Spence often carried the ball into the vacant wide-left areas.
With Son staying near the touchline, pinning his marker Dalot, Spence could then drive inwards on to his stronger right foot. Maddison, meanwhile, dropped to the left from within Spurs’ 4-3-3 structure... 🧵🧐
Manchester City’s 4-3-3 started on the front foot as Arsenal initially attempted to press into the host’s half, in a 4-4-2 shape. Arsenal went player-oriented in the wide areas, with Declan Rice and Thomas Partey tracking Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gündogan’s forward runs. However, Silva’s wide runs to City’s right-side created space for Savinho to drive inside, penetrating against the aggressive jumping of Arsenal’s left-back, Calafiori. This helped disrupt and stretch Arsenal’s back line in the early stages, including when Haaland was slid in-behind to calmly open the scoring... 🧐🧵
It wasn’t long before Arsenal formed a low block, while City responded with a 3-1-5-1 shape. Josko Gvardiol moved into a left-side number eight role from full-back, with Gündogan as the central option underneath Haaland. Rodri – soon to be replaced by Kovacic – acted as the single pivot. Still, it was City’s right side that proved most potent, with Silva’s wider positioning supporting Savinho’s direct movements and dribbles against Calafiori... 🧐🧵
Stemming from tweaks to the 4-4-2 formation, and initially most popular in Spain, the 4-2-3-1 grew in popularity from the 2000s onwards. It has since been used with success by many prominent coaches, including Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot and Erik ten Hag... 4️⃣2️⃣3️⃣1️⃣🧵
Central protection...
The 4-2-3-1 requires defensive midfielders who can duel, tackle and intercept in individual battles. These midfielders must be alert enough to land on any second balls. They must have good acceleration and deceleration to help with this... 4️⃣2️⃣3️⃣1️⃣🧵
Spain used a 4-3-3 structure and built play patiently from the back, despite Germany pressing aggressively from their 4-2-3-1. They moved the ball around the back line to isolate Thomas Müller, before a centre-back stepped out with the ball into midfield... 🧐🧵
Olmo continued to move inside and Asensio dropped deep, in the process pulling Süle out of his position in Germany’s back line. This helped Spain to build out from the back and get around Germany’s increasingly effective high press... 🧐🧵
Traditionally, full-backs are the widest players in a back four, and as a result they attack and defend mostly in the wide areas. However, full-backs who move inside into central spaces are known as ‘inverted full-backs’. This movement adds an extra presence centrally... ↩️🧐
Although Pep Guardiola is the coach most associated with the inverted full-back, Johan Cruyff used them with Barcelona many years before. Then, he often converted the 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 diamond, with one full-back inverting into central midfield... ↩️🧐