🆕 Fresh analysis! 🙌 Manchester City beat champions Liverpool to move further ahead of Leicester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Wolves. Our professional coaches assess what unfolded at the Etihad 👇
Manchester City were organised into their favoured 4-3-3 formation; on this occasion Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus formed their front three #MANLIV
While they were defending that 4-3-3 became a 4-4-2, through Kevin De Bruyne advancing to alongside Jesus, and Foden and Sterling withdrawing into midfield #MANLIV
Foden, De Bruyne, Rodri and Ilkay Gündogan formed a midfield box to encourage four-on-threes against their opponents there #MANLIV
A further approached involved Gündogan withdrawing into central defence, and De Bruyne to alongside Rodri, when they sought to build possession #MANLIV
Liverpool remained in their preferred 4-3-3 formation and, despite having already secured the title, retained perhaps their strongest XI #MANLIV
Their potent front three, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané, adopted narrower positions in their attempts to prioritise running in behind City’s defence #MANLIV
A regular move involved Trent Alexander-Arnold playing an early, long, diagonal pass behind that defence and towards Mané #MANLIV
Liverpool’s attempts to advance beyond City’s front two led to Fabinho withdrawing into defence, but a lack of movement meant they often struggled with the phase beyond that #MANLIV
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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... ↩️🧐
Manchester United were set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but Fred pushed forward from the double pivot to become a number 8 and give them a stronger attacking presence in central midfield. Bruno Fernandes then adapted his positioning, moving into the left inside channel... 🧐🧵
The hosts eventually pushed both full-backs higher, primarily working around the outside of Tottenham’s wing-backs. United’s wingers then came inside, with the freedom to rotate with Fred and Fernandes, as long as both inside channels were always occupied... 🧐🧵
Barcelona were set up in a 4-3-3, against a Madrid 4-4-2 defensive block. Torres moved inside to support centre-forward Aubameyang. De Jong and Pedri widened to support through the inside channels, with Busquets left as the single pivot ahead of the two centre-backs... 🧐🧵
Busquets dropped into defence to draw one of Madrid’s central midfielders up, and Pedri drifted wider to drag the other out. This often left De Jong as the free man to receive in the inside channel when Barcelona’s back line could access him... 🧐🧵
4-4-2 is made up of three distinct lines. The back four including two centre-backs and two full-backs. Ahead of them, a midfield four features two players in the middle and one on each side. Then the front two in attack who provide both height and goalscoring threat... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵
In the 1950s, Viktor Maslov developed another variation of the 4-2-4, in which the two wingers dropped back alongside the two central midfielders. So originated the 4-4-2, which worked to overload opposition midfields with traditionally fewer numbers... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵