Defensive back 5 vs Nottingham Forest at Home.

For Manchester United, a team with a history of wingers & counter attacks.

I don’t get it. 4v1 when defending the back post & not enough numbers in Midfield so the CF has to drop all the way back.

Modern, elite level football in one picture.

Nearly every defending team plays 4-4-2, presses high & jumps a CB into Midfield.

This means there is space to play into the Striker & then in behind the back 3/4.

This is one of the reasons why possession stats are down slightly. Centre backs get little protection/screening at the moment. This means they have lots more decisions to make with regards to jumping or staying.

If they aren’t covering & there is space in behind then why play short?

Going into the final, I thought I would give my honest opinion on Southgate as a Manager

Squad harmony/togetherness - Southgate has excelled in this area & the group appear closer than ever

Press/Media - Southgate speaks incredibly well & is a great ambassador for the country Team selections - I think we could all argue for 1 or 2 other players to be selected but in the main he is picking the ‘best’ players & has consistently given chances to players from all clubs (levels..)

Tactics - Defensively we are always well set up as are we from set pieces.

Factoring in how the Spanish defend, Harry Kane - and his link up play/passing ability - could well be England’s key player in the final.

There should be plenty of room to play into his feet.

I will go into more detail later on. Let’s look at where the space is vs Spain and how the match is likely to go (when England have the ball).

Spain will probably look to block off Stones & Rice & try to force the ball to Guehi (right footed left CB) like they did to Saliba vs France.

Arsenal vs Villa was an interesting tactical battle because:

Arsenal force the oppo to build down their LHS. Odegaard is one of their better pressers & - on regains - the ball is close to their 2 playmakers (Saka/Odegaard) w/ their transition winger free (Martinelli/Trossard) And Villa prefer to build down their LHS through Pau Torres (and in this game Tielemans & Digne).

Two styles collide.

And as the match progressed it was Aston Villa who came out on top - in part - due to the constant decision making that was required of Odegaard & Saka.

As Chelsea are set to appoint a set piece coach I thought I would explain the problems they have had defending corners so far this season (lots).

They are a fairly small side - which doesn’t help - but their set up doesn’t adequately protect the near post, far post or edge. They generally have:

• 2 players zoning the near post area (1 goes out short)

• 1 zonal player around the centre of the goal (6yrd box)

• 1 zonal player towards the back of the goal (6yrd box)

4 zonal players leaves 6 markers/blockers/edge

Let’s look at the problems

Man Utd’s defensive shape/tactics meant it was fairly straight forward for Bayern to open them up & penetrate the spaces in behind, especially on Bayern’s RHS.

Man U were 4-1-4-1 out of possession with both CBs asked to follow Kane/Musiala deep into Midfield.

Amrabat was free I was surprised at this defensive shape as Amrabat didn’t drop into the back line to make a 5.

As Bayern form a box with Kane/Musiala/Kimmich & Goretzka there were rarely players in his zone.

He could’ve been the one to press in those spaces like what Alvarez did vs Brighton

For analysts, the first 2-3 minutes of a game are gold dust. They act as a window into the last couple of days on the training ground.

Let’s look at the first 20 seconds of NUFC vs Man Utd.

Man Utd press high, man to man in midfield w/ their ball far winger inside (to press CB) Miley drags Mainoo away & Isak drops short. Newcastle Utd outnumber McTominay - 2v1 in midfield - & are out on the opposite side.

Shaw didn’t follow Isak into midfield (worried about Maguire as last man?). This happened throughout the match.

Isak received lots of balls to feet.

I keep getting DMs about how to analyse football so this is what I do:

(This will focus on one team but you can do it for both)

Identify how a team plays:
• in possession
• out of possession
• How they attack & defend transitions
• How they attack & defend set pieces What I look for In possession:

• Shape from GKs (dead ball).

Who do they look to get the ball into? Who comes short vs who stays long? What sides does the GK prefer to kick too? Which side do they build down?

If I look at Man Utd’s squad:

- There are question marks around Onana. Inter’s 5-3-2 helped cover some of his deficiencies whilst his ball playing stood out. With less tactical structure (simple options) even this is becoming a concern. - Martinez, I imagine, is first choice CB yet his profile (small CB) affects the rest of the back 4 & Midfield. Ideally his partner is tall/dominant in the air, plus at least one full back & midfielder - otherwise the team will struggle when defending set pieces.

Man Utd have the same defensive problem every game.

If we start from the back…Martinez steps out into midfield to help Casemiro which means Man Utd then defend with a back 3 (narrowing of full backs).

But they are poor at preventing balls into the oppo’s full backs. 1 minute into the Bayern match (ONE MINUTE).

Bruno has chased the ball & Man Utd are out of shape. Casemiro is deep. Rashford tucks in to help Eriksen not be isolated but that means easy pass to Bayern RB.

Reguilon cannot press because he has to narrow off (Martinez steps out)

The diamond formation was far from ideal against Brighton.

Fernandes (10) was outnumbered by Brighton’s two DMs & Casemiro was badly isolated (as McTominay/Eriksen were covering Brighton’s full backs).

ETH’s defending of wide areas is poor,
which affects the middle later on. How to beat Man Utd’s ‘press’ in 4 easy steps.

Step 1.

Pass to a CB.

Rashford is trying to block off the middle as Eriksen is 2v1.

CB receives the ball.

Burnley's defensive set up against Villa, whilst common, is the opposite of what ideally should happen

They protected the centre when the ball was in Villa's defensive 3rd but left it exposed as Villa advanced up the field

Benson (RW) pressing Torres caused a cascade of events Once Benson (RW) pressed it caused Cullen (right side DM) a problem as he needs to deal w/ Luiz & McGinn.

14 (Roberts, RB) will press high onto Digne.

This type of press is fine when the LB (Digne) & the ball are in deep areas but has big problems as they advance up the field.

I thought I would give my own answers to this Sky Sports tactical piece..

skysports.com/football/story… Tactics - in the sense of the method used to move the ball from one end of the field to the other - have really developed over the last 20 years. Especially from dead ball situations (GKs/deep FKs).

Watch a game from the 90s & it is surprising how stop/start they are.

Brighton need a left sided CB to replace Colwill.

Profile:

• Under 24
• Left footed
• Athletic (can press high/play in a high line & win duels)
• Comfortable with the ball (preferably playing for a possession focused side)
• Can cover at LB if needed.

Who we got? ⤵️ Some of your budgets need adjusting 😂

Newcastle Utd’s press caused Brighton big problems. They didn’t allow them to get into their favoured shape (with the CBs around the half way line) & Brighton’s first phase build up proved difficult.

Nice analysis by my guy @martics97 below ⤵️

https://twitter.com/martics97/status/1659530570508926985

In the first half Brighton made a deep back three with their GK but it was still fairly easy for Newcastle Utd to force them to one side, trap them and force a turnover.

In the second half RDZ dropped his midfield even deeper to help out 😳

When playing the standard 4-3-3 formation, the key relationships were often between full back, CM & Winger.

This triangle was the creative hub and - with successful switches of play - it was possible to work 3v2 down the flanks.

Opposition teams got wise to this. Last season, Guardiola often fielded a 2-3-5 w/both full backs inverting (like against Real Madrid).

You can see the three players on City’s LHS but Foden eventually passes all the way back to the left CB (who stays back to cover Benzema).

In the new shape the CB pushes up.

The best way to break down a deep 4-5-1/5-4-1 (Roca following De Bruyne) is usually cut backs to the penalty spot (between defence & midfield) or passes to the edge of the box (like Gundogan’s goal).

I assume that is why Foden & Alvarez started. It’s interesting from an Expected Goals perspective as those Gundogan goals (slow, nicely weighted passes for a fairly free shot) are high quality chances against this type of opposition.

Often better than swinging crosses into the box.

Cruyff et al figured this out ages ago.

De Zerbi had a fairly simple solution to Erik Ten Hag’s narrow defensive shape last night.

In the first half Brighton were generally their normal build up shape with the full backs fairly deep & slightly inside.

Brighton tried to play through the small spaces. In the second half - when possible - Dunk & Webster played slightly further apart, with the full backs higher & wider. This opened up the middle of the pitch & gave Man Utd’s Wingers a problem.

Caicedo often pushed on with Buonanotte inside.

Man City used Arsenal pressure to create space around Partey/two CBs.

They passed at the back to encourage Odegaard to press then went long to Haaland.

B.Silva came inside to create the box (better chance of 2nd balls )& drag Zinchenko with him.

Grealish wide to isolate CBs When Odegaard pressed a CB (Dias) Partey pushed forwards so that Xhaka wasn’t 2v1.

City’s back 4 meant Arsenal’s Wingers stayed wide so that they could cover the full backs.

In the more static box shape KDB would be picked up by Gabriel (who tries ⤵️) or Zinchenko coming inside

Arsenal are 6 points better off than last seasons points total with 15 still to play for.

They have improved their starting XI & certain areas of their squad.

Regardless of whether they win the league or not this season should be viewed as a big step in the right direction. Injuries unfortunately happen. City had some (like Dias) earlier in the season & Pep kept rotating his defence until he found a different way.

Arsenal coped well with the loss of Jesus but less so with the loss of Saliba (CBs are so important for how these teams play).