Thread by @NickSmoothy

Another (belated) tactical thread from the weekend, this time #SLBenfica vs #SportingCP in #LigaPortugal

A tactical story of high press vs build up, with lots of action in between ⚽️✍️

Read below 👇

#Benfica #SLB #Sporting #SCP #RogerSchmidt #RubenAmorim #footballtactics

The 1st half was a tale of BEN high press vs SPO trying to play out, with both teams finding success.

BEN high press had a slight variation depending on whether SPO were trying to play out via their right-hand side (RHS) or left-hand side (LHS) - with exceptions to the rules too

Here's an animation showcasing BEN's high press, including the variations on RHS & LHS.

Plus, an example of their high block. From here the press would be triggered from a backwards SPO pass for example.

Note: these were the most common roles of the BEN high press...

...there were some exceptions to the high press 'roles' depending on how play had developed / players positions.

E.g. the BEN RHS high press, Bah (6) wouldn't always jump up to engage the SPO LWB

But the general 'roles' appeared to be;
- front 4 covering the backline + GK
...

...double pivot splitting, w/ the ball-side CM pushing up to engage his opposite CM & the other deeper to cover behind
- back 4 covering the 3 SPO forwards (Grimaldo locked on Edwards & Bah + Antonio S swapping on Trincao)
- BEN aimed to lock on SPO & force their passing options

If BEN were not able to execute their high press immediately, they would use a 442 high block:
- FOR line (88 & 27) drop in front of SPO double pivot
- 8 & 20 drop into MID line (as SPO WBs advanced)

From this block, BEN players would be primed to jump to trigger the high press

So that's v.briefly covered BEN's high press & block, now let's look at how SPO tried to play out from the back

Here's an animation showcasing some of the tactics SPO used to help break the BEN high press.

The main aims seemed to be to find their two 10s (Edwards & Trincao)...

..& once SPO found their 10s, they would then look to attack the spaces (lots of it to exploit) either directly in behind or switching play to the BEN weak side for the opposite wingback

Here's another example of SPO using Edwards who in the 1st half, in particular, was very effective in his role.

Both from the POV of receiving with his back to goal, controlling with an opponent tight to him, turning & then progressing the ball up the pitch via carries

When BEN were def own half, they collapsed into a 442 - but a reg issue was who picked up Trincao (17)

In BEN high press, 17 was shared by Bah & Antonio

But in a mid/low block, Bah's job was to cover LWB, so 17 found himself in space btween Florentino (RCM) & Antonio S (RCB)...

Despite BEN's high press, SPO managed to break it multiple times before eventually going 1-0 up (27 mins)

But BEN persisted & more importantly, better executed their counter press. The latter contributed to their equaliser w/ SPO unable to get out their half (+ def mistakes)...

Before briefly covering the 2nd 45, here's an animation to show what BEN did with the ball vs SPO without

BEN
- built in a 2431 shape (4231)
- FBs provided width
- 3 behind Ramos playing between the lines

SPO
- tended to drop into a mid-block
- w/ players having specific roles

Onto the 2nd half, which began in similar theme - SPO patterns of play to move the ball thru the 3rds caused BEN issues & helped lead to them winning, & scoring, a pen early on

But after going 2-1 down, BEN controlled the remainder of the game w/ their counter press being key...

...BEN made it 2-2 by playing through SPO mid-block, creating an overload on the LW & then crossing for a Ramos tap-in

Again, there was some poor defending by SPO, especially Reis who seemed to be a) at fault in both goals & b) targeted by BEN (he got subbed 67 mins)...

...in the 2nd half, Rafa was more effective in possession / attacking & SPO became more stretched without the ball

The game finished 2-2 - despite SPO having a big opportunity on 92 (Chermiti choosing to shoot instead of passing to Goncalves) - but a draw felt a fair result...

A final observation - from a purely subjective POV, as opposed to a focused Talent ID lens - was the performance of Ugarte 👏

Often post-match stats shared on social can be misleading, as no context provided. But in this case, they were spot on

https://twitter.com/squawka/status/1614770274322317312?s=46&t=JhzoXS8laOlxgXp0-pVqUg