“We like to talk about tactical systems but we often forget that the effect of a defensive system depends heavily on its animation. »
This phrase from Roberto Martínez, Belgium coach and UEFA technical observer, appears in an analysis of the three-man and five-man defenses of l’UEFA Champions League of last season, which can be found in the Technical Report of the 2021/22 competition, which has just been published.
Read the full UEFA Champions League technical report!
Martínez’s words hit the nail on the head for pointing out everything that can be hidden behind a system, depending on how it’s set up. While the most common systems in 2021/22 were 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2, seventeen of the teams involved from the group stage started at least one game with a three-man defense – and their coaches have taken varying approaches.
Among the teams that have regularly played three in the middle or five behind, Atlético de Madrid holds the role of symbol for its way of approaching its quarter-final against Manchester City when, as the report notes, “its 5-3-2 turned into 5-5-0 at times”. With that, City had just two strikes to spare when their 1-0 victory in the first leg.
During the second half of the return matchAtlético players actually attempted 13 shots against just one in the first half, but suddenly, according to Martínez, “they were transfigured”, prompting further debate: one observer described the previous 135 minutes as ” being mainly about limiting potential damage”, while another saw logic in coach Diego Simeone’s approach, as maintaining the intensity of the end of the game for longer against City would have been “impossible” .
As the report points out, Simeone’s men had shown against Manchester United in the previous round the attacking potential of their system when, to quote the report, “the two full-backs almost played like strikers in the build-up” at times.
five ahead
The report isn’t just about five-man defences. He also talks about five-man attacks. UEFA technical observers offer the example of Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern Munich, last season’s best attack with 31 goals, who settled into a 3-2-5 in attack. A system also called “five lanes”.
“They had five attacking players in the final 30 yards, two wingers, two forwards between the lines, and Robert Lewandowski up front,” the report explains, “and as their goal tally shows, this tactic gave them the ability to crack.” or circumvent the opposing block”.
“The flexibility of today’s teams means that others have found themselves in a similar system, notably the English champions Manchester City whose starting system of 4-3-3 has turned into 2- 3-5 in possession involving, as the report put it, “a line of two centre-backs followed by single pivot Rodri and full-backs alongside him, playing inside in the half-spaces. Further up the pitch, their talented attacking players come into their own in this setting, with City making more passes in the final 30 yards (1,955) and attempting more direct passes (28) than any other team. »
City had the advantage of being able to rely on Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva between the lines when the ball passed through their area and the report seeks to explain the impact of those number 8s, who “were quickly looking to create the overcumbent with their winger or were looking to make runs behind the back of the defense in the area between the full-back and the centre-back”.
“Alternatively, if either of those 8s came down, it had the effect of pushing an opposing centre-back out to create space for a winger to rush into. »