Brentford vs Bournemouth: How making the pitch wide proved too much for 10-man Cherries in EFL Championship Playoff 2nd leg – tactical analysis

The 2021-22 EFL Championship season ended with the last day drama where the relegation battle went down the wire with three teams battling for safety. Derby County emerged victorious in that battle as Wayne Rooney’s men managed to stay alive. The action did not end there with playoffs taking over from where it left also with the return of fans. 

In one of the two ties, Brentford hosted Bournemouth in the second leg after losing 1-0 to their opponents away from home. Brentford were unlucky to not have come out of the game with a goal and Bournemouth were ruthless under counter. This tactical analysis will discuss how Brentford’s tactics helped them to triumph over their opponents and book their place at Wembley. Lets get into the analysis.

Lineups

Bournemouth came into the clash unchanged as Woodgate decided to retain the same lineup that won them the first leg. 

Brentford, on the other hand, made 3 changes to the lineup from the first leg. Centre-back Dalsgaard, central midfielder Marcondes and striker Mbeumo came in for Norgaard, Tarique Fosu and Marcus Forss. They retained the same system, 3-5-2, that they have been using for a long time under Thomas Frank.

Brentford’s high pressing carry on to the second leg

Brentford dominated the ball in the previous game and with the tie to be chased it was obvious that they would be wanting to have more possession in the game. So it was nicely set for both teams to play the game. Like in the first leg, Brentford continued to press high and looked to win the ball immediately. We can see an example of their high press in the image below where they have man-marked the entire Bournemouth defence and midfield.