Silas at Sporting Portugal 2019/20 – tactical analysis

Poor early season defending and lack of initiative in attack had demoralised the Sporting Portugal fans and players. When Os Leões fired Marcel Keizer just four games into the season, rumours of José Mourinho, Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva set the Portuguese football world ablaze.

All three coaches turned down the offer, leaving Jorge Manuel Rebelo Fernandes, who goes by the name ofSilas, to step into the role. Before Silas’ appointment, Sporting had a 2-2-2 record in league play and was winless in five games (one draw and four losses with three home losses to Portuguese competition). To make matters worse, they were blitzed 5-0 by Benfica in the Super Cup and in the midst of a 10 game run without a clean sheet, their worst mark in 60 years.

Like Keizer, Silas was fired after the fourth game of the season, leaving Belenenses SAD without a goal and just two points. A creative playmaker back in his day, Silas acknowledged he wasn’t first choice for the post, but promised to play with attacking intent. Silas’ appointment has reversed those trends and re-established the Verde e Brancos attacking identity.

In this tactical analysis, we’ll take a look at how Sporting’s tactics under Silas have improved their defending and led to higher quality possessions with better scoring opportunities, all while maintaining Keizers 1-4-2-3-1. In this article, the stat comparisons between Keizer and Silas feature numbers from the four league games Keizer coached this season and the last four games Silas has coached against Portuguese competition. Looking closely at Silas’ last four games gives us an idea of the coaching philosophy he’s implemented and paint a picture of what’s to come.

Defending quickly and higher

Over the first four games of the season, Sporting had two underwhelming wins, a draw and a loss. While claiming the seven points, they managed to outscore their opponents eight to six, though that doesn’t include the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup. Seven points in four games and a +2 goal differential might not sound bad, but there are higher expectations for the Big Three in Portugal. Also, the point total masked the shockingly poor play. In those first four games, Sporting’s xG trailed behind their opponents by a total of 4.25 to 6.84.

When Silas claimed the head coach’s role at Sporting, he went straight to work correcting their defensive structure, ending the 10 games clean sheet drought in his first game. In his 16 games at the helm, Sporting has recorded eight clean sheets, four in the league and four in their various cup competitions.

Among the immediately noticeable differences he brought to the team is the adjustment to their defensive shape. Keizer’s Sporting averaged starting points of 50 metres width by 36.75 metres from top to bottom. In contrast, Silas altered the shape by about six metres in width and height, averaging 46 by 42.25 metres. Early in the season, Sporting’s width and vertical compactness possessed issues in defensive transition, as opponents effectively pressed in a 36 by 36 metre area. As opponents recovered the ball, they used their numerical advantage to quickly attack the Sporting goal.

Now, with Sporting starting with a narrower attack and more verticality, they’re able to stretch the opponent while maintaining numbers near the ball in case of a turnover. Silas emphasises the central positioning of his centre-backs and two holding mids to protect against the counterattack and complicate the opponent’s path to goal. Comparing Keizer’s four 2019-20 league games against Silas’ previous four games against Portuguese opposition, Sporting’s Passes Per Defensive Action, which help indicate tempo, improved from 8.7 to 8.2. If you take away the defensive anomaly against Santa Clara, Sporting’s PPDA was 6.67 from the other three matches.

That quick recovery is happening in a better area of the field too. In Keizer’s four games, 42 of Sporting’s 307 recoveries took place high up the pitch. That equates to 13.7% of their recoveries coming in the attacking third. In contrast, Silas’ last four games against Portuguese opposition included 59 out of 319 recoveries high up the pitch, improving the final third recovery percentage to 18.5%. Through better defensive shape, Sporting are now recovering the ball sooner and in more dangerous areas of the pitch.

In this instance, Luiz Phellype made a blind turn and Santa Clara gained possession. Due to the congestion in the middle of the field, they’re unable to break the pressure. Notice Ukra at the top right with his arm extended. He wants the ball, but the path to him is blocked.

Wendel is near the other outlet, Lincoln, leaving Santa Clara to fight off the counterpress of Phellype, Luciano Vietto and Bruno Fernandes. Notice the left-back, Marcos Acuña, holding his ground high and wide. He sees that Sporting are pressing well and have coverage if Santa Clara manage to break the pressure.