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3-1-3-3 in possession.
The importance of ball playing defenders.
Touch. Composure. Decision Making. Execution.
A thread
1/
The importance of ball playing defenders.
Touch. Composure. Decision Making. Execution.
A thread
1/
City’s current set up sees Cancelo moving into midfield in possession and the defence splitting across the pitch 2/
Chelsea generally sat off Dias when he had possession. But we often saw them press the first pass. In this case Dias passes to Stones.
Chelsea press and Stones doesn’t have a simple pass on with everyone marked. Dias can’t vacate his central role to support Stones 3/
Chelsea press and Stones doesn’t have a simple pass on with everyone marked. Dias can’t vacate his central role to support Stones 3/
Sterling shows for it down the line. Stones makes the pass and Sterling wins a throw. It’s crucial in these situations for players to show for the pass ahead of the wide defender 4/
United deployed a more aggressive press at Old Trafford last week. Here, early in the match, Steffen is pressed and his options are limited 5/
He finds a pass to Stones who’s now under extreme pressure. He needs an option ahead of him but United have closed the passing channels. He tries to drop a pass into an area for Sterling and Mahrez to compete for 6/
Shaw wins the battle and passes to McTominay. He draws Fernandinho and plays in Fernandes. Stones returning from a wide position can’t get to him quickly enough. It takes a great save from Steffen to keep the scores level 7/
The 1st half against United was the first time we’ve seen a high press against this set up. And these are the dangers it poses 8/
Consistently we saw Stones and Zinchenko put under pressure often without an obvious outlet.
They adapted, sometimes opting to lump it down field to avoid a high turnover - even in Guardiola teams there’s occasionally no other option 9/
They adapted, sometimes opting to lump it down field to avoid a high turnover - even in Guardiola teams there’s occasionally no other option 9/
What was noticeable all evening though was Stones and Zinchenko’s ability to take a good touch, compose themselves, assess their options and more often than not make the right choice 10/
Not many teams press City but the inclusion of Zinchenko vs Chelsea and United ahead of Mendy is possibly a nod to his touch and decision making in possession.
Stones suits the role well. Despite highlighting his mistake here, he’s comfortable on the ball and a good passer 11/
Stones suits the role well. Despite highlighting his mistake here, he’s comfortable on the ball and a good passer 11/
Ruben Dias takes the central role at the back. If we look at the average positions from Old Trafford we can see that Dias is generally sat deeper than Stones and Zinchenko 12/
Dias looks perfectly suited to this role. From a central position he is in charge of the line, can marshal the whole defence and is best placed to make decisions on when to engage. As a natural leader he looks a great fit 13/
The big question with this set up is whether City can field 3 centre backs. Ake played the left back role against Newcastle in the first half, dropping into a back 3 in possession. Since then Ake and Laporte have both been injured 14/
Laporte could be an option in the left back role. He’s played left back in some big matches in seasons gone by. Dropping into a back 3 in possession should suit him well. He has the touch, composure, decision making skills and pass execution required to play under pressure 15/
Laporte’s ball playing skills stood out in this thread from just a couple of weeks ago. His ball progression numbers and his ability to switch play could add another weapon to City’s arsenal against teams who don’t press as well 16/ https://twitter.com/city_tactics/status/1345283015484837888
This set up could be his route back into the starting 11.
Thanks for reading 17//
Thanks for reading 17//
