FC Utrecht have been a revelation this season in the Dutch Eredivisie.
After seven rounds, the club sits in second place in the standings, with six wins and a draw and are so far off to one of the best starts in the clubs 54-year history.
After finishing in seventh place in each of the last three campaigns, they narrowly missed out on continental football on each occasion via the European play-off system used in the Netherlands between the top-ranked sides outside of the top three.
But overall, they have established themselves as quite a consistent outfit for nearly a decade now in the nation, with nine consecutive top-seven finishes, which means they are always there each year when it comes to discussions of Eredivisies potential representatives in UEFA competitions.
This season, theyre looking to make their return to the continental scene for the first time since 2019, and with the way things have started, they may end up aiming for even more at the tail end of the term.
This tactical analysis will examine closely the keys to the clubs early-season success under experienced head coach Ron Jans and how everything has come about for the club.
FC Utrecht Build-Up Phase
First, lets look at how Utrecht build out from the back this season.
The example above is from the home game against Twente.
As we can see in the picture, both full-backs, Siebe Horemans at right-back and Souffian El Karouani at left-back, are keeping a more natural position early in the build-up phase, with the ball still at the goalkeepers feet.
We can also see the near-side de
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