• Using Pedraza more attackingly than defensively
• Moreno and Lo Celso playing between the lines
• Foyth staying back for security to construct as a back-three
Villarreal held a compact structure to deny spaces in the centre while keeping the block high to win back possession higher up
Even when Juventus shifted out wide to try and play around the structure, Villarreal's 4-4-2 would shuffle across as a unit to create a man-oriented overload to try and win the ball back high up in the opponent's half
The use of Pedraza more as a winger than a fullback was a significant feature of their game model. He constantly created overloads high up in the outside channel along with Moreno which forced Cuadrado, the LWB to defend lower
Here we see how high up Pedraza has pushed to apply pressure on Cuadrado while the rest of Villarreal engage in a man-oriented high press in the final third
When in possession, the high positioning of Pedraza would allow Moreno to receive in the pockets and Danjuma to make runs against the disrupted backline. His high and wide position also allowed him to win the second balls and attack inside immediately
This meant if Cuadrado was through on the outside channel, Parejo and Pau Torres had to close down defensively since Pedraza couldn't reach back to his position as LB in time
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Barca's defensive dominance against Napoli:
[visual THREAD]
Barca looked far superior out of possession in comparison to their previous big games yesterday, particularly in the first half because of:
• High press
• Counter-pressing
• High defensive line
In this short thread, I've highlighted multiple instances where their pressing worked to perfection in winning the ball back, closing all the outlets for Napoli to build up and compressing the space required to defend in the middle. Let's examine how it worked: 👇
Counter-press case 1:
• Pass played to Frenkie about to result in loss of possession in zone b5
• Alba, Pedri and Busi positioned close to be able to press and cut passing lanes
• Overload created by numerical superiority, Alba intercepts, possession won back in b4 #Barca
It relies on the brain's ability to perceive similar patterns of play and situations through experience while correctly adapting to new circumstances that may arise. The skill of predicting what is going to happen gets better through experience.
B for Body.
Body oriented correctly while receiving the ball, playing and in duels makes a big difference to the individual's game and of the team. It buys you time. The 'sword and shield' principle: At any moment, you can either deal with the ball or the pressure, not both.
There's a problem with the traditional model of viewing a game of football as four distinct phases of open play - Attack, Defence and Transitions - and set pieces. Instead of looking at a team as a set of 11 players, we view it as one being. I elaborate on some details around it:
The traditional model of breaking down the game into four phases, primarily two - one with the ball, and one without the ball - and the two transitions between them, assumes that the team behaves as a whole in any instant independant of it's individual players.
But each individual player goes through his/her own phase depending on their positioning, the part of the pitch, the profile of the player (attack/defence minded). Thus at any moment, you have a number of players in a particular phase, and you average the team's phase from them.
How are spaces interpreted during the game? How different is it to the way coaches and analysts depict it on a tactic board? How far does science interpret it the same way as players. I explore these topics in my latest article:
Success in executing the game model or plan also demands that the whole team interpret the same spaces in the same way. If you want to convey your ideas using the lexicon of space in football, you must understand their natureto achieve similar consistency in their interpretation.
The issue with attempting to achieve an objective analysis of space in football is its abstractness. Space on a pitch doesn’t exist the way it is usually depicted by coaches on a tactic board. Every player who has played the game understands this.