In the 21st match week of the Allsvenskan, Norrköping hosted Malmö FF in a very exciting clash between the table toppers and the current 4th place holders. Norrkoping after starting the season with a bang and topping the table lost their edge and are currently 8 points behind their opponents.
Malmö, in an exactly opposite way, started slowly before gaining momentum after the 6th game week and is currently leading the league with a 7 point lead over Hacken (who have a game in hand). This is a matchup between 2 of the best attacks in the league and this tactical analysis, we will be looking at the tactics deployed by both the teams. Let’s begin the analysis.
Lineups
Norrköping lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation which has been their regular in this season. They made only change to their lineup that won 2-0 against Kalmar last week which is bringing Pontus Almqvist for Christoffer Nyman in the centre-forward position.
Malmö after playing a Europa league qualifying, which they won 2-0, just 48 hours before decided to give some players a rest and changed their system from a 3-4-3 to their usual 4-4-2 that looks like a 4-2-3-1 on the pitch. Totally 4 changes were made with I. Thelin, A.Traustason, Knudsen and the goalscorer Franz Brorsson coming into the lineup.
IFK Norrköping in possession
IFK Norrköping in their usual way tried to play out from the back against the Malmö press. Initially, they went out to play from the back asking their centre-backs to split and dropping one their defensive midfielder. But with Ola Toivonen marking the CDM like in the example below they had to drop another one of their advanced central midfielders to form a pivot and to effectively facilitate the play.
