THREAD:

With some simple adaptations to one's formation, creating space against low blocks can be made easier.

This is a 4-3-3 formation against a 4-3-3/4-5-1 which is a deep block in a 6-3-1 setup.

Study the image and note down the spaces.

Initially, you may think that a pass into the CF is feasible due to the space he has. However, that space he controls in the box only exists if the ball is played over the top.

In most cases, it will be played directly to him. The result?

He is closed down.

So, what a team should do instead is begin by withdrawing their deepest midfielder. This is because he will essentially make another CB which pushes the other two CBs wider, creating a three-man defence.

Then, the FBs can push up without having to worry about the space they have left as it will be covered by the two wider CBs as well as the LCM and RCM.

Once the FBs push up, the wingers can play as inside forwards which will create more space on the inside for Team Red.

With the FBs pushing up higher it will force the opposing wide midfielders to track them into deeper positions the further they go. This gives more space to the LCM and RCM to fill. Likewise, it gives more space to the LW who can drift into the space that has slightly opened.

With that dynamic, the CF can drop into the space left by the Yellow RCM who, of course, begins to close down the movement of the Red LCM.

I have made the GIF a bit robotic just to emphasise the point. In real life, the movement would all be more fluid.

Now, Team Red has created more space against Team Yellow via small pockets which they can manipulate with more central runs.

Here, the Red LW draws out the RB and the Red CF takes up that space to receive a through pass.

[I accidently animated this part too quickly].

Alternatively, the LCM can shift the ball out wide to the LB knowing that the opposition RW will have to follow him. This will open space in between the LB and the LW for the LCM to drift into if he so chooses — an underlap.

This exercise is, of course, robotic but I chose to demonstrate it like this to emphasise the point of territory vs a low block. If there is a block of 6 — something we face often — then using the FBs to create width is compulsory.

Thereafter, it is about quick, fluid movement.

These two Pitch Control (PC) images demonstrate (1) an increase of PC from 73.8% to 75.6% and (2) greater PC down the wings and on the inside with the LW and CF against the defence.

There are two last points to mention.

Firstly, Manchester United do not often have an issue with pass progression. Their issue is, in fact, a territorial one in that each time we pass forward the ball is either returned, lost or, in the uncommon situation, retained.

This is because offensive players often have a lack of options. How many times do we see Martial lose possession when there is no one next to him? It is easy to criticise him and say “he should hold onto the ball”. Rather, he should be supported positionally so he can lay it off.

When you push your FBs up the pitch, you allow your wingers to position themselves closer to the forward. This allows for them to combine with him in small pockets and we have three players who can combine very well.

Secondly, and lastly, it is important to recognise starting positions. Often, our offensive movement is easy to read because we are not high enough when we start to move. So, the opposition defence can set themselves up and prepare for us.

However, if we are already lined up against them with our forwards and we are stretching them with our FBs, we give them much less time to think which will result in more instinctive defending that often leads to spacing errors — think about diving in and how detrimental it is.

This was just a short exercise to emphasise the point. Hopefully in the future we will revisit this topic and use actual game footage from other teams to demonstrate how it plays out in action.

I hope you benefited.

End of Thread.