EPL TACTICAL ANALYSIS GAMEWEEK 1: PEP’S INVERTED FULL BACKS AND MORE

Welcome to the first review of the 2016/17 English Premier League season.

In this article, we would look at Guardiola’s use of inverted full back, Conte ‘s dynamic twin strikeforce amongst other things from the first week of EPL games.

PEP GUARDIOLA’S USE OF INVERTED FULL BACKS

Guardiola’s debut at MCFC was hugely anticipated by pundits, analysts, and enthusiasts who waited to see what he would do with the squad. Guardiola is heavily influenced by Juego de Poiscon (Principle of Positional Play) and has displayed tactical flexibility in his selection and teams  mid game or from game to game.

On paper, he went with a 4-1-4-1 however it turned out to be a 3-2-2-3 which he used to exert control of possession against Sunderland and to deal ith the counter-attacking threat of Defoe.

The No 8s in Guardiola’s 4-1-4-1 are usually playmakers instead of Box-to-Box runners (think Iniesta and Xavi or Kross and  Sweingsteiger) so he went with De Bruyne and Silva. Fernando played as the No 6. At the back, He played Kolarov in the LCB role alongside Stones at RCB with Clichy and Sagna in the FB roles. Out wide, new signing Nolito played on the left, Sterling on the right and Aguero at centre forward.

It was interesting to see the positioning of the full-backs in the build-up phase when MCFC had the ball. Note that both Kolarov and Stones are comfortable playing at LFB and RFB so Fernando dropped in between them to receive the ball, therefore, creating a situational back three. However, instead of the full backs pushing high and wide as we are accustomed to, Clichy and Sagna came infield and played as situational holding midfielders.

FIRST STARTING APPEARANCE OF CLICHY AND SAGNA UNDER GUARDIOLA

LAST STARTING APPEARANCE OF CLICHY AND SAGNA UNDER PELLEGRINI

The situational positioning of Sagna and Clichy allowed De Bruyne and Silva to push higher up to support Aguero and exploit the gaps in the half spaces. Sterling and Nolito hugged the touchline, therefore, keeping the Sunderland full backs disconnected from their centre-backs. Also during defensive transitions, it was better to have Clichy and Sagna dealing with the threat of Defoe and Borini that to have Silva and De Bruyne defending the midfield area.

HEAT MAP OF CLICHY AND SAGNA IN FIRST APPEARANCE UNDER GUARDIOLA

It would be interesting to see if Pep would continue with this approach or would switch it around when other midfielders such as Gundogan becomes available.

ANTONIO CONTE’S TWIN STRIKEFORCE ENSURES LATE VICTORY

Antonio Conte is especially known for the 3-5-2 (3-3-4) system of play with the Juventus and Italian national team, however, he chose to deploy a 4-1-4-1  system of play. Chelsea took the lead with a Hazard penalty however West Ham equalized through James Collins . It was interesting to see Conte introduce Batshuayi and Pedro for Oscar and William, therefore going to a 4-2-4 to salvage 3 points. He was rewarded with an 89th-minute goal from Costa.

ITS ALL ABOUT TRANSITIONS IN ARSENAL vs LIVERPOOL

It was frantic and manic football in Arsenal vs Liverpool as both teams grabbed several goals but didn’t defend well. Klopp is a known proponent of transitions with his gegenpressing philosophy. However, Arsenal also deployed a high pressing tactic in this game thus leading to a frantic and high paced game. Both teams were most vulnerable when they had possession of the ball. Expect more of gegenpressing from Klopp’s Liverpool.