The news that Nuno Espirito Santo would step down at the end of the current season sent shockwaves throughout the Premier League.
Daniel Levy and the board at Tottenham Hotspurs ears pricked up to the news but it has been made aware now that he is an option no longer.
The fact that he stepped down, however, was not the surprise, rather the timing of it.
He had just finished the final press conference of the season at the time the news was made official, with no talk of the Portuguese leaving.
Contact immediately began between Wolves and former Benfica head coach Bruno Lage.
Portuguese (because, of course he is), 45-years-old, and with a couple of years of managing one of the Primeira Liga’s leading sides under his belt, Lage will first have to go through the legal details of his arrival.
This analysis will examine his philosophy and determine if he is a suitable fit for the Wolves posting.
In this tactical analysis, we will assess what went right and wrong at Benfica, examine whether his tactics suit Wolves, and identify some of his key players.
System of choice & defensive setup
Bruno Lage was promoted from the B team and immediately implemented a 4-4-2 formation, which previous coach Rui Vitória had dabbled with, although primarily utilising a 4-3-3 system.
Lage introduced an intensive, very attacking approach to Benfica’s style of play that went on to completely dominate the league and win the title out of the tight grasp that Porto seemingly had at the time.
At the time of Lage’s appointment in January 2019, winning the league for Porto seemed like a formality.
This did mean that Benfica were not often finding themselves defending for extended periods.
When they were, their defensive setup stuck to a flat 4-4-2, fairly wide in shape to allow them to stretch the pitch in transition.
Initially, the strikers look to block off passing lanes from the defence to the midfield.
This was rarely, however, an aggressive press from the front.
The two strikers keep tabs on the two defenders while Seferović looks to cut off the passing lane.
Once the first line of the press is broken, the midfield duo of Gabriel Pires and Andreas Samaris in the 2018/19 season stepped out of their line to actively press their opponent.
Samaris
