After finishing sixth in the Allsvenskan last season, Elfsborg has had a tremendous start to the 2023 season. Jimmy Thelin‘s side is currently in second place, two points back of Malmö.
However, going into last weekend’s matches, they were top of the Swedish league before dropping points to Djurgåden.
With that being said, Elfsborg still possesses one of the best attacks and defences in the Allsvenskan, with this tactical analysis taking a look at some of Jimmy Thelin’s tactics this season with the Swedish side.
Jimmy Thelin formation and style of play
The image above shows the formations that Jimmy Thelin has used so far early in the new Allsvenskan season.
As we can see, he has heavily used the 4-2-3-1, and this is the one fans of Elfsborg should expect going forward in this campaign.
When it comes to a particular style of play, under Jimmy Thelin’s coaching style, Elfsborg is a side that does not necessarily always control the majority of possession throughout a match.
Instead, they often look to win possession back in the midfield areas and transition quickly, with Elfsborg looking to catch opposition sides pushed up in advanced areas.
Thelin also looks for his side to press and put the opposition under pressure when their centre-backs have possession and are looking to build out from the back.
The end goal is Elfsborg trying to catch an opposition player in possession, force them into an errant pass that will allow them to win a loose ball, or get a throw-in in an advanced attacking area of the pitch.
Looking to create chances through transitional moments
When it comes to how Jimmy Thelin’s Elfsborg side looks to create chances, the main thing they try to do is attack quickly in transitional moments when the ball is turned over in midfield.
Many of these attacking transitional moments originate from Elfsborg’s use of pressing in these advanced areas, which will be covered in more detail later.
The image above shows the progressive passes of Elfsborg so far in this young Allsvenksan season so far.
As we can see, the majority of the Swedish side’s progressive passes have come from the wide areas.
This is rather typical for Thelin’s side, with Elfsborg looking to shift the ball out to the wide channels once they gather possession in midfield in transitional moments.
This allows the Swedish side’s attack to hopefully gain a numerical advantage with numbers forward in these areas due to the likely possibility of the opposition’s fullbacks being pushed higher up in advanced areas.
Elfsborg can then penetrate opposition defences more efficiently, with them resorting to the wide areas.
The image above shows the first part of a transitional attacking moment from Elfsborg that results in the ball being shifted out wide to create a potential goalscoring chance.
As Malmö look to build into midfield, the Elfsborg defence attempts to close down the ball receiver, with them succeeding in this goal.
One thing to notice is the positioning of the wide midfielder from Elfsborg located on the far sideline.
Even though the Malmö fullback is pushing into an advanced position, the wide midfielder from Elfsborg does not track him.
He anticipates receiving the ball if Elfsborg is able to win back possession, which they succeed in doing.
The image above shows the second phase of this transitional attacking moment once Elfsborg are able to gather possession.
As previously mentioned, the ball was shifted out wide to the winger, who was able to get into space with the fullback advanced.
As a result, the Malmö central defender is forced to move out of position to try to engage the wide midfielder before he gets to the penalty area.
However, the Elfsborg attacker is able to get past the defender, allowing him to drive towards the byline.
The central defender’s move out of position allows Elfsborg to overload the penalty box, with the wide midfielder looking to take advantage.
His ensuing cross is played towards the penalty spot, but unfortunately, no attacker is able to get onto the end of the ball.
The image above shows another transitional attacking moment, this time resulting in Elfsborg creating a good chance from wide areas.
Preceding this image was the Swedish side again forcing a turnover in midfield, allowing them to use quick passing sequences to transition quickly and progress the ball into the position it is currently.
After winning possession, the first pass is played to the Elfsborg striker, who positioned himself between the lines.
His ensuing pass is played to Jeppe Okkels, the left-attacking midfielder, who made a diagonal run across the field to occupy the position where he is currently in possession.
This run behind the fullback attracts the attention of one of the opposition centre-backs, who moves wide to engage, vacating his position in the process.
This allows the ball to be played to new Royal Antwerp signing Jacob Ondrejka, who former Barcelona and Bayern Munich player Mark van Bommel has signed to join Royal Antwerp next season.
Ondrejka has drifted unmarked into this space.
He is able to get a shot off, but unfortunately, the central defender, who slides over to get into the shooting lane, blocks it.
Also, notice how Elfsborg still commits numbers forward into the box in preparation for a potential loose ball in the penalty area.
The ball ricochets out for a second phase, with Elfsborg able to keep the pressure on the Norrköping defence before eventually hitting a shot wide of goal.
This section has highlighted how Jimmy Thelin’s coaching style looks for his Elfsborg side to create chances.
They are a dangerous side in transitional attacking moments when they can shift the ball out wide to create numerical advantages or send the ball into the box to their target men.
Creating pressing triangles
Another thing to look at that Elfsborg looked to do under Jimmy Thelin’s tactics is to press the opposition.
In fact, so far this season in the Allsvenskan, Elfsborg are one of the most aggressive pressing sides.
The data viz graphic above shows the number of high regains that Elfsborg has had so far this season domestically.
These numbers further highlight the emphasis on winning back possession in advanced areas and transitioning into the attack quickly.
This is emphasised by the Swedish side’s 66 dangerous recoveries this season, which show how many of their recoveries resulted in a shot within a twenty-second time frame.
The image above shows an example of Elfsborg’s ability to regain possession by pressing the opposition and forcing them into errors.
In the phase of play above from their recent match against Norrköping, the Elfsborg players’ ability to put the opposition under pressure allows them to force an error and begin a transitional attacking moment.
As the ball is played out wide to the fullback, the trio in Elfsborg’s midfield create a triangle, preventing the ball from being played centrally to the opposition midfielder.
This means to progress the ball forward, the fullback really only has one option.
With the wide midfielder putting pressure on the opposition fullback, his only option is to attempt a pass down the line to the winger.
The Elfsborg player reads this and jumps in front of the pass.
As a result, Elfsborg regained possession and was able to start a transitional attacking move due to the large number of numbers still in advanced positions.
The image above again shows the shape that Elfsborg shifts into when opposition sides are looking to build out from the back.
As the phase of play above shows, the Swedish side has formed almost two triangles with their press, essentially limiting the ability of the centre-backs and fullbacks to play the ball centrally into their defensive midfielders.
This eliminates the midfielders as options to bridge the defence and attack, with defenders almost forced to play the ball long.
That is exactly what happens in this phase of play, with the centre-back’s only short option being the fullback nearest to him.
As a result, this is where he plays the ball, with the Elfsborg midfielders already anticipating this and moving out of the triangle to engage.
With instant pressure being applied, the fullback is forced to just play the ball long towards the Elfsborg backline, where they are able to retain possession.
As this section has illustrated, Elfsborg’s tactics of using triangles in their press to eliminate the central passing option force the opposition to play wide, and they Are able to anticipate this.
Jimmy Thelin’s side’s ability to cut off the bridge between the defence and attack forces opposition sides to play route one football, with their defensive line then tasked with regaining possession for the Swedish side.
Defensively solid
This tactical analysis will be finalised by examining Elfsborg’s solid defensive structure so far this season under Jimmy Thelin’s tactics.
Their nine goals conceded this season are the joint fewest in the Allsvenskan, level with league leaders Malmö and mid-table side Mjällby.
The data viz above shows the defensive territory covered this season by Elfsborg, along with showing their average area of engagement defensively and the average height of their defensive line.
This graphic also shows that Elfsborg is a side that will foul their opposition but still holds a superb defensive record this season.
They are quite a compact defensive side.
They will drop into a low block at times, but for the most part, they will try to play a more mid-block defensively.
The image above shows the typical defensive shape that Jimmy Thelin’s side has shifted to out of possession so far this season.
As we can see, the shape becomes more of a 4-4-2 from a 4-2-3-1, with one of the attacking midfielders pushing up to join the striker and form a front two.
We can also see that the shape is typically a mid-block, with the Elfsborg defensive and midfield lines staying compact and close together to prevent space between them but not sitting too deep.
This use of a mid-height line allows the opposition not enough space to sit on the shoulders of the last defenders and make late runs, but it also does not pin Elfsborg too deep so that they can not absorb any attacking pressure from opposing sides.
One of the main reasons that Elfsborg have had an excellent defensive record this season is the ability of their defenders to outnumber the opposition’s attackers in key areas consistently.
In the phase of play above from a recent league victory against Malmö, we can see that Elfsborg have created an overload against the Malmö attackers out wide.
As a result, the ensuing pass from the opposition player in the more central area does not find the overlapping runner but the Elfsborg central defender, who is able to gather possession and start the Swedish side on a transitional attacking move.
As this section has shown, Elfsborg has become a force defensively under Jimmy Thelin’s management style.
Much of this comes down to his defensive principles and the personnel that he has at his disposal.
All in all, Elfsborg has been a dominant side in the Swedish league from a defensive standpoint so far this season, and they should hope to continue this trend throughout the campaign.
Conclusion
As this tactical analysis has shown, Elfsborg has had a great start to the new Allsvenskan season.
While they are no longer at the top of the Swedish league, they still have an excellent chance of challenging for the title for the duration of this season.
The Swedish side’s goal should be to qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season.
Under Jimmy Thelin’s style of play this season, they are off to a tremendous start and should not be overlooked when it comes to who could win the Allsvenskan title this season.
