Luka Elsner Tactics At Standard Liège 2021/2022 – What Has Gone Wrong For Elsner? – Tactical Analysis

With Standard Liège struggling in early October, they decided to make a managerial change.

Mbaye Leye was sacked and replaced by former Amiens and current Kortrijk boss Luka Elsner.

Elsner’s tenure started off pretty well, with Standard being unbeaten through his first six matches in charge.

However, since that good early run, Standard has three wins from their last eighteen matches.

This has understandably made Elsner’s seat scorching hot, with many thinking he is on the verge of being sacked.

So what has gone wrong?

This tactical analysis will examine a couple of the struggles that have put Elsner on the verge of the sack and whether his philosophy and tactics may be to blame. 

Lethargic attacking movements leading to poor chance creation  

The biggest struggle that Elsner has faced at Standard is their poor showings in front of goal.

While they have had games in which they have overperformed xG and performed well, this is not often the case.

Standard’s xg has been 0.92, 0.42, and 0.51 in its last three league matches, against Gent, Oostende, and Genk, respectively.

Though low xG does not necessarily mean no goals will be scored, Standard did not score in any of those last three matches.

They are also the joint third-lowest-scoring team in the division with 29 goals.

Much of this could be attributed to Elsner’s attacking tactics, with Standard being relatively passive in attacking moments when they should be much more aggressive.

Some of this poor chance creation can be attributed to poor shot selection and slow transitions on counterattacks.

The phase of play above shows both of these in action.