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@_invertedwinger
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Football coach. Opposition scout. Holistic football analysis.
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🚨🚨 Here we go!
The first two parts of my comprehensive analysis of Ruben Amorim's Sporting CP.
🟢 General tactical style / 3-4-3 system and broad issues that arise
⚪️ 4-2-2-2 build-up vs man-marking and hybrid presses
🟢 New triple pivot this season
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Never got to watch Mozart compose or Picasso paint but this is as close as it gets.
It wasn't just a 5-1 victory over River Plate, it was an exhibition of pure football. O jogo bonito.
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Tottenham having to bring on a striker to avoid bringing on an 18 year old CM. To replace a winger playing CM. This is what Pochettino has to work with. It's a miracle they're even in this position.
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Villa signed ex-Midtjylland set piece coach Austin Macphee last summer and they've constantly been innovative with set plays since. Here's 3 that stood out vs Leeds:
1⃣ Opposing + double movements
2⃣ Screens
3⃣ Attackers holding defenders rather than the other way
👇 See below
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I'm only a bit into the Brighton game and I can't believe what I'm watching. Every single possession has purpose and intent with clear principles for every player.
Attract pressure + find the free man ➡️ Drive/pass forward while supporting players attack the next line ➡️ Repeat.
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Pep's adjustments to beat Sporting's narrow 5-2-3:
🔵 FBs wide, not inverted
🔵 KDB and Silva on their natural sides as 8s
🔵 Foden occupying nearby players as f9
🔵 Designed to create wide overloads, either to penetrate down the near side or switch and underlap on the far side
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Some interesting new rotations in possession in this new 4-diamond-2 but it's impossible to press. Front 3 can't control CBs + double pivot, the 3 behind can't get out to FBs while protecting the middle.
Cant be a top team while playing this passively out of possession.
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Cesc Fabregas on perception and non-verbal communication on the pitch.
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How Tuchel nullified Tottenham with his pressing scheme:
1⃣ Avoid a 3v4 underload centrally with asymmetric pressing scheme
2⃣ Clear dual role for Jorginho to protect his weaknesses
3⃣ Easily adapt to Spurs ‘back 4’ build up
Short thread 👇
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*NEW*
A look at how Chelsea's inverted wing backs destroyed Leicester today.
@ReneMaric
's quote in the pictures is relevant. No matter how opponents set up, their positional play and decision making based on clear principles ensures they find solutions.
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*NEW*
An in-depth look at Tuchel's tactics and positional play at Chelsea so far:
- Deep overloads in build up
- Out-to-in vs in-to-out patterns
- Box midfield
- Development as Havertz as a
#9
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If your pressing structure leaves a gap, Mount will find it. If your pressing structure doesn't, Mount will create one.
It's nice that the 2 goals today showed his quality in the final third and progression phase, but he's also been instrumental in deep build-up / 1st phase too.
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🇪🇸 3-0 🇭🇷
🇭🇷 had good spells but lost due to their OOP play (+ being weak in the boxes & transition).
4-3-3 vs 4-3-3 can be tricky to match-up in midfield as the oppo's
#6
is naturally free initially.
But Dalic's plan killed Modric and didn't suit his player profiles.
🧵 1/5
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Pochettino proving he's still one of the best in these one-off games.
Set up perfectly to exploit the space behind City's midfield, both during their high press and their mid-block press. Palmer is key and James' positioning and timing creates doubt for Gvardiol to follow.
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Leeds had run 11km more than Chelsea at one point yesterday.
But their win wasn't solely down to effort and intensity. Their pressing was smart and organised:
1⃣ Pressing trap on Cucurella
2⃣ Protect the centre
3⃣ Adapt to Chelsea's adjustments
Short thread (1/4)👇
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Bernardo Silva is simply on a different level right now. His movements as a false 9 were the starting point for City's moves in the middle third, as exemplified by the first 3 goals.
1⃣ Creating central overloads
2⃣ Free man in build up
3⃣ Creating wide overloads
👇 See below:
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Promising that United can compete like that while being so far from their ceiling tactically.
ETH has only markedly improved MU's 2nd phase / structured poss. Still a lot to go w/ build-up + pressing.
Rest of the improvement has been non-tactical (mentality, confidence etc).
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Brighton have defended with a (genuine) back 3 a lot this season, which is amazing.
See below their 3-4-2-1 in a set shape - no one has jumped to press (Mwepu about to), it's just their standard mid-block positions.
But Marco Silva had a plan for Fulham to exploit this.
👇
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Remember what Pep said about Madrid being amazing at defending the space in front of the back line?
Barcelona playing with zero width, trying to progress exclusively through the centre, is unsurprisingly not working.
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🔜🔜🔜 👀👀👀
Dropping my next big project over the weekend: An in-depth assessment of Ruben Amorim's game model over the last 4 seasons at Sporting and how it might potentially scale up to a top tier team.
🧐
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Ahead of their game against Liverpool later tonight, I look at why Wolves have been so successful in games against the top 6 this season. Includes back 5 vs back 4, pressing traps, their effective mid-block and wide overloads.
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I spent a few weeks in Brazil and watched Fluminense play 4 times at the Maracanã.
It was nothing like I've ever seen before.
In this opening piece, I discuss how Diniz challenged some of the most fundamental assumptions we've developed about how football could be played.
*NEW*
Another excellent debut as
@_invertedwinger
joins the Caño Football team with this superb piece of work:
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Hungary with a good set-up: Compact 5-2-3, block centre/HS, access to Kroos (unlike 🏴), aggressive DEF line stepping out.
But Germany are just finding so many solutions. Gundogan's off-ball movements have been instrumental in opening up diagonal passing angles inside the block.
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Really hope Joao Felix surpasses Mbappe and Haaland. Nothing that cool about a super athlete being the best player in the world for me.
A little technician gliding between defenders is always better aesthetically. You sit up every time he gets the ball.
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I feel like it's unappreciated how Pique and Ramos have to defend 50 metres of space behind them every game, often in 1v1 situations too. They both get slaughtered for the odd mistake but what they do 99% of the time is so difficult.
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Weghorst ending up in some pretty funky positions due to Ten Hag's man-marking approach in midfield.
I imagine it's likely in order to get Fred higher and on the front foot pressing De Jong.
He spoke before the game about the importance of stopping Frenkie.
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"Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Moving on from the big news on the other side of North London, I looked at the issues within Arsenal's 2-0 loss to Leicester and where they fit into the more overarching problems at the club.
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Really good game tactically.
ARS setting up with an asymmetric press with a trap on Digne. VIL proposing a few different solutions:
⚫️ Torres taking the goal kick
⚪️ McGinn moving wide to pin White and engage long ball
⚫️ Find ways to outplay the press on the right side
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Pretty sure almost all of Rashford's goal contributions this season have come from RW.
This idea that he's a cut-inside-and-shoot LW must be one of the biggest myths in football now. Like Ndombele being an athletic box-to-box etc. Biases based on player profile.
Still not quite sure why Rashford plays right and Sancho left at the moment.
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Jorginho often pushing much higher as the pivot than normal today:
1⃣ Pins back FOR ST, creating space for CBs (good passers) or Mount to dictate from deep
2⃣ Occupies Freuler, opening passing angles into Havertz
3⃣ Enables him to receive facing forward + make third man patterns
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Portugal and Switzerland were robbed of a fantastic tactical 0-0 by Ramos' incredible finishing. But the tactical battle for the opening 15 mins was excellent.
Switch in formation, high pressing, solutions in build-up. It had everything. I analysed it 👇
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Didn't realise how good this game was tactically until I re-watched it. Lots of cool stuff:
- Nagelsmann's 3-3-3-1
- Leipzig's wide overloads
- Laimer's dual role as a RWB and CM
- Late switch to 5-3-2 checkmates Atletico
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Martinez taking off Vitinha for Jota was a terrible decision. Like he's playing FIFA aged 13 and thinks more attackers = better attack.
Bruno playing deep has killed Portugal. No connection in midfield. Neves for Vitinha looks defensive but would've improved their attack.
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Seems like a good time to plug this:
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Trying to defend in a 4-2-4 but with limited intensity and really poor compactness between the lines vertically.
Leads to the 2 CMs being responsible for huge amounts of space.
Denmark's 2 10s doing a great job of pulling them apart. Wind receives here in a dangerous position.
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Why are Liverpool interested in Ruben Amorim?
Part 2 of my 4-part series analyses in-depth his build-up play.
🟢 4-2-2-2 with attracting pressure and vertical play
⚪️ Difficulties in accessing the centre from isolated wide areas
🟢 Evolution to 4-3-2-1
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It's well known that Villa look to create a central 4v3 in possession and it's ETH's OOP preparation that lets the team down again.
The 8s man-mark the double pivot as usual but there's no clear division of responsibility for dealing with the 2 10s. Hesitation everywhere.
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*NEW*
Part 3 of my deep dive on Ruben Amorim is out looking at how Sporting create chances:
🟢 Hybrid
#8
/10 to overload 6v5 - the 'Nunes role'
⚪️ Double threat through coordinated movements
🟢 Adjustments this ssn
🔴 Similarities to Liverpool's attack
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2⃣ Simple free kick routine to play a runner down the line
🔴 Decoy runs
🔴 Screen set up on the edge of the wall to prevent them from getting out quickly
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*NEW VIDEO*
How Tuchel dominated Mourinho tactically yesterday:
- Switch to 3-4-1-2 attacking structure
- Exploit Tottenham's man-marking to free Mason Mount to dominate
- High WBs to stretch Tottenham's back four (5v4)
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Bernardo Silva basically goes to RB in build up whilst Cancelo plays RCM. Proper galaxy brain stuff.
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Foden's ability to receive, turn and get up to top speed instantly, all in one motion, is so good. Attackers who can turn and dribble from all angles anywhere on the pitch are so rare. Mount also has this quality but not quite as quick as Foden.
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1⃣ Buendia, Watkins and Digne all play a role in creating a free header 5 yards out for Mings
🔴 Start close together (first pic)
🔴 Opposing movements to separate defenders and open space
🔴 Double movement from Mings to lose his own marker
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Hard to know but don't think Arsenal have planned to be as passive OOP as they are (26% poss, even though it creates space to counter).
City have largely forced this through changed roles for Kovacic + Silva, dropping deep to start attacks, making Arsenal scared to jump out.
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Graham Potter obviously using MNF to showcase himself but not sure he's doing the best job.
Zero charisma or energy, even when explaining plays of his own teams. Gary O'Neil, Thomas Frank and even Jesse Marsch were all incredible at transmitting their philosophy on the show.
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If ETH survives the intl break, away at Fenerbahce is going to be some spectacle.
Turkish European night with Mourinho in charge. 38 year old Edin Dzeko is gonna be rolling back the years. Allan Saint-Maximim vs Mazraoui. Fred running rings around Ugarte in midfield.
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Bielsa with an absolutely textbook destruction of a 4-4-2 defence. 3-3-3-1 with two key tactical advantages:
1) 3v2 on the first line, with wide spacing and CBs that are happy to dribble and step in. Ayling does so, and under no pressure, plays over the top for the first goal.
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Short thread with video: Man City's 3-4-2-1 vs Sheffield United's 5-3-2. Man City recently tore apart two 5-3-2 systems (Everton + AV) but Sheffield Utd were incredible last night. Immense work rate from the front 2 and disciplined positioning from the 3 CMs behind.
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Werner's a great example of how if you keep making runs in behind as a striker, you can keep your place in the team, even when you're in a bad run finishing-wise.
So many offsides today with bad timing, but in the end his willingness to run got them their 92nd min winner.
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3⃣ Creating space for a cutback and a cross to the back post
🔴 Screen + late run to clear the edge of the box
🔴 Attackers fix defenders in the box to stop them from moving towards the ball, opening up space at the back post
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Nice initial set-up from Italy. Turkey man-marked Jorginho so Locatelli dropped alongside to offer another central passing option.
Barella pushing higher has helped to pin Turkey back on that side, creating space for Florenzi to get further forward as the half went on.
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Evan Ferguson is that good in the air whilst also being so quick and powerful on the run. A ridiculous base level to build from because he can already hurt deep teams in the box whilst also threatening higher lines with his channel runs.
Has such a high ceiling.
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Joao Pedro was excellent with his off-ball movement yesterday, providing balance to Mitoma really nicely.
Estupinan also rotated between left half space and left wing smartly.
A couple of times, both Pedro and Estupinan moved wide to open up the inside channel for Mitoma.
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Anyway some news from earlier in the week. Will try to post more coaching content and ideas as I go through it.
Big season ahead.
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So unfortunate for the rest of PL that City kept Bernardo. Unrivalled tactical flexibility in an era when in-game changes are so important.
Which other player can you start RW and then move to left
#8
to provide the technical security needed to calm a man-marking high press?
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*NEW*
A look at off-the-ball movements in attack, using Havertz and Mount on Sunday as an example.
- Havertz responsible for dragging Lokonga and Holding out of position.
- Mount pinning Xhaka and Tierney.
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I've never seen a GK do so badly that the commentator seriously suggested that he should get his eyesight checked. New low for Kepa.
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For me, that was the first title race game this decade that has matched the Man Utd vs Arsenal/Man Utd vs Chelsea battles of the 2000s. Importance, intensity, swings in momentum, avoiding the centre of the pitch like it's lava. All there.
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Spurs perhaps don't have the best profiles to attack Villa's 6-2-2 but the deeper players can definitely take more responsibility in driving with the ball.
The ball-far half space is also exposed (Villa winger drops early into DEF line rather than late) so Gil could be key.
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Nice segment on MNF by
@Carra23
on Pep's latest solution to man-marking his 8s: Stones/Rodri deep runs from the double pivot.
He's always liked pulling his 8s wide to open the centre (like I wrote about vs Monaco 2017 or Watford 2019 below) but this is a great new evolution.
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Can't complain, Arsenal played United off the park tactically. Always created + found the free man in build-up whilst pressing high themselves to successfully stop United building.
Then able to counterpress and create that insane period of sustained pressure in the last 20 mins.
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My biggest takeaway from Arsenal's improvement is the dynamic between the forwards. Laca-Auba and Ozil-Nelson combinations.
When Laca/Ozil drops, Auba/Nelson make the opposite run in behind. Timing, positioning and execution excellent. Just like Silva-Sterling at City.
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Main rotations from Utd to create 3v2 overload on first line:
1⃣ Malacia drops into first line, with Eriksen / Sancho rotating into the space left wide to go around SOU block
2⃣ McTominay drops to stretch Southampton with 2 wide FBs
3⃣ Dalot drops to attract press from Armstrong
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Ten Hag's set-up was naturally well suited to attack Spurs' 5-3-2.
🔴 FBs inside in half spaces to attack exploit Spurs MID 3
🔴 Wingers wide but inverted (opposite strong foot) to pin WBs and also find a route back inside
🔴 Fluidity with who drops into 1st line to create 3v2
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Can't generate the free man in build-up around the ball and the forward players ahead of the ball can't create separation to receive longer passes through/over the press.
United have had this problem for 10 years and somehow never gets resolved no matter who gets signed.
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Zidane always used to talk about how Real Madrid "know how to suffer". They are absolutely unrivalled in that aspect.
I don't think Madrid have dominated one single big game this season. Not a single one I've watched in CL or the Liga anyways. It's scary.
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Arsenal managing to get some control over City's build-up with an aggressive 4-4-2 press vs City's 3-2-5.
Requires a lot of intensity as it can leave players free BTL if there's no compactness or pressure on the ball.
Leeds did similar vs MU but couldn't maintain intensity.
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Ugarte conceding 6 fouls in an hour with 65% possession vs Barnsley was all I needed to see.
So flat-footed that League One players were running away from him. No need to embarrass him now against top tier athletes.
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How is this even possible? Matic even looks at Gundogan, Lindelof is pointing (and presumably telling him), there's no pressure on the ball (big trigger when defending 18-yard box). What else could he possibly be thinking about?
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We're used to seeing Firmino dropping in from
#9
to create diamond structures for Liverpool but today it's AOC coming inside from LW to link play between the lines in almost a free role.
Mane operated in similar areas but he never had Nunez pinning the DEF line for him ahead.
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The new CB-moving-into-midfield thing was fun for about 5 minutes, but the same problem remains from last season: There's no one to progress the ball from deep.
In fact, he's removed one ball progressor (Eriksen) and is having Mount stand BTL.
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Klopp was so worried about Brighton's central square that he risked pressing w/ 7 players centrally.
Brighton found ways to play around and then it's the same again: Find free man [Gross], attract pressure [March], runs beyond the next line [Lallana].
@_invertedwinger
Still think Klopp use of Trent to jump to Estupian affected Liverpool control of the game on first press,
It had created a lot of 3 v 3 at the back with March, Mitoma and Ferguson
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Fred is going to be unleashed under Rangnick as an energetic, front foot presser with box-to-box freedom in possession.
Give him a smaller space to cover, instead of errr the whole midfield, and his acceleration and energy is so effective.
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Tuchel matching up to Leverkusen in a 3-4-3 showed a lot of respect but has limited Bayern in poss.
No free man vs Leverkusen's 5-2-3:
🔴 Can't penetrate centrally vs narrow block
🔴 Can't progress left with right footed Kim/Boey
🔴 Only option is Upamecano stretching wide right
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Graham Potter being Graham Potter, going for a man-marking defensive scheme, even in a mid/low block.
LCB Burn stepping into midfield to press Bernardo, Dunk following Foden dropping off, so often the deepest player ends up being CM Gross following Gundogan back.
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Timber might be the best inverted FB in the world. Can receive and pass at any angle. Looks so natural in the double pivot yet can also play in more conventional CB/FB areas.
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If you don't interview yourself in the shower/on the toilet about your FM save, you're not really a football manager.
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What a signing Szoboszlai has been.
Has the essential Henderson energy levels for that right
#8
position, but can also receive in different areas / at different angles which helps to maintain balance within the fluid TAA-Salah-RCM triangle, and then has amazing ball striking.
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Fluminense vs River Plate.
Martín Demichelis is the first manager in South America that I've seen wear a suit.
Good tactical battle. River Plate defending narrow 4-3-3 to try and block Flu's fluid rotations in the half spaces and maintain pressure on the ball.
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Jackson's movement in behind is probably his biggest area for improvement.
Clearly should have made a diagonal left run on that counter attack. His straight run killed the angles for Sterling.
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Japan have been so well coached in attacking movements. Most intl teams just make straight runs in isolation because of lack of time to train coordination.
But Japan make lots of diagonal runs, reverse balls and rotations, to attack the blind side and disorganise the def line.
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Pochettino on Mbappe in a recent Athletic article. First thing I thought of after the two goals.
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Calafiori was one of my favourite players to discover live this season. Impossible to miss even from the nosebleed seats above the Curva Sud.
What a tournament he's having.
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Haven't thought about it at all so could be completely wrong but Cancelo getting dropped has made me wonder if a single Man City star has played well this tournament?
Difficulty transitioning from playing Pep's rigid system every week?
Excluding Laporte maybe (similar system).
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*NEW*
A quick video showing how Rangnick's 4-2-2-2 high press worked vs Palace's 4-3-3.
It only lasted 10-15 minutes before Palace started going long but it was a good indication of the fundamental ideas that Rangnick wants to implement.
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*NEW* My take on the CL final and Pep's adjustments.
Seen a few posts but don't think any have focused on what I thought was the main aim of Pep's switch to 3-🔷-3: Opening better access to Haaland by...
🔵 Pulling out the WCBs
🔵 Extra central player
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One of the moves that will define Arsenal's season.
Every FB wants to jump when they see that straight pass played down the line to keep the winger facing backwards.
But Arsenal are one step ahead and Saka's movement inside leaves the FB off balance or simply on the floor.
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The best thing about Mourinho joining Sky Sports is that you get to witness first-hand his ability to explain complex concepts simply. What takes bloggers a paragraph to say or Neville five minutes on MNF, he can explain with clarity in a single sentence.
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Switzerland have that Croatia gene that gets them through intl' tournaments because they have so much technical security in deep areas that they can control large periods vs superior but passive opposition.
Feel like Yakin has elevated them tactically to strengthen this further.
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Messi and Ronaldo changed everything. Before you could get away with just being a wonderful footballer. Pogba would be treated like Zidane if he played in the 2000s.
But now, after Messi/Ronaldo took their stats to insane levels, everything is measured by G+As. It's a shame imo.
Just a reminder that Gervinho has more goals and assists in Serie A than Zidane does, despite playing less games and playing for Roma and Parma. Meanwhile Zidane played behind Inzaghi and Del Piero for Juventus.
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Interesting views from Wenger on Ramsey's recent improvements. Ind. qualities like that are never analysed/considered important on Twitter.
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Gvardiol has shown his quality in defending large spaces this WC, especially using his body positioning and the touchline to crowd out attackers.
Messi made him look like Gabriel Paulista allowing Adebayor to run half the pitch for Palace's goal in Arsenal 1-1 Palace (15/16).
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Gyokeres ⚽⚽⚽🅰️ tonight but still not sure if he scales well to top PL teams with his heavy reliance on physical dominance over weak/slow defenders (although it's incredible to watch live).
But he does have top box movement, ball striking and shot generation (making a yard).
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Potter has tried to match up to Arsenal's midfield with this 4-2-3-1 but Arsenal's fluid rotations and quick ball circulation across the pitch is killing them.
It also forces Chelsea to be asymmetrical, with Sterling dragged inside to Zinchenko, leaving acres of space out wide.
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Chelsea really struggling vs Luton's man-marking. But since the formations don't match, the asymmetric way Luton are jumping (in particular RCB --> Palmer) left a key weakness.
Both goals came from situations where Mengi (RCB) couldn't jump to Palmer, leaving him free.
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The World Cup is just unrivalled. 39-year old Atiba Hutchinson is counterpressing and covering ground in midfield like prime Fernandinho or something.
The level of passion and commitment when these smaller nations play is just on a different level.
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