Thomas Tuchel accepted one of the toughest challenges on the international football stage: Becoming the head coach of PSG. Expectations are higher than anywhere else at PSG where nothing but the triple counts.
At his former clubs, Tuchel impressed with tactical flexibility, changing formations from match-to-match always depending on the opposition. As a head coach of the reigning French champion, Tuchel deployed a 4-3-3 formation so far. In the following, we take a closer look at the tactical setup and how this might play to the players’ strengths.
Formation
To begin with, Tuchel deployed a 4-3-3 formation for both phases, in and out of possession. The 4-3-3 contains two centre-backs distributing the ball to the midfielders. There is one holding midfielder staying in the center, mostly in the back of the opposition striker. The two advanced central midfielders have long range off-ball movements and often rotate with full-backs and wingers. We will explain this concept in detail throughout the article.
The striker either stays as deep as possible or acts like a false nine searching for space between the lines.
Half space attacking
Depicting the off-ball-movement of PSG players, it is noticeable that players rotate in order to move the opposition. The most common rotational movement happens in the half-spaces, where PSG wants to create and exploit space. While one of the central midfielders drops between centre-back and full-back, the full-back moves up along the line.
