Matchday eight of the 2019/20 FAWSL brought us a clash involving two teams from different ends of the table. Manchester City are in a tight race at the top with Chelsea and Arsenal, with none of three teams willing to concede a step in the title race. Liverpool, on the other hand, have garnered one point so far in the current campaign. With City firing on all cylinders and Liverpool struggling to find a goal scoring rhythm, a blow out seemed to be inevitable. The match turned out to be anything but that.
Through analysis, we find that although Manchester City were able to dictate possession, quality chances on goal were surprisingly lacking. Liverpool’s out of possession tactics were disruptive enough to keep the visitors in the match up until the final whistle. This tactical analysis will look at exactly how it happened.
Line ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Anke Preuss, Becky Jane, Sophie Bradley -Auckland (C), Niamh Fahey, Leighanne Robe, Jade Bailey, Rhiannon Roberts, Melissa Lawley, Kirsty Linnett, Niamh Charles, Courtney Sweetman-Kirk
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ellie Roebuck, Janine Beckie, Steph Houghton (C), Gemma Bonner, Demi Stokes, Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir, Laura Coombs, Lauren Hemp, Ellen White, Tessa Wullaert
Manchester City: building out of the back
In possession, Manchester City sought to build out of the back by using three separate lines to create overloads in the defensive third. This, combined with creating positional superiority, allowed Manchester City to build out of the defensive third fairly consistently.
A common rule of thumb when building out of the back is to position one more player in the relative area than the opposition. With an extra player, the team in possession should hypothetically be able to maintain possession and progress up the pitch cleanly. Manchester City aimed to use the goalkeeper, defensive line, and a double pivot to build out of the back. This personnel usage paired with a staggering of the lines allowed the hosts to progress up the field cleanly.
In the fortieth minute, we see Manchester City circulate the ball to the right flank. At this moment we can see that both central defensive midfielders and the entire defensive line are positioned in front of the Liverpool defensive block. One winger has positioned up the flank, but cannot be reached due to the pressuring Liverpool player’s cover shadow.
Recognizing that forward progress is not realistic in this situation, City circulates the ball from the right-back to the centre-backs.
As the ball is passed backwards, City begin to adjust their team shape. Goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck vacates her position in the six-yard box and moves to the top of the eighteen yard box to offer an angle of support. Centre-backs Steph Houghton and Gemma Bonner take up a position in each halfspace to create a triangle.
Midfield players Caroline Weir and Keira Walsh relocate to the central channel and prioritize finding space behind the Liverpool midfield line of three. Using Wier and Walsh as a reference point, left-back Demi Stokes positions herself on the same horizontal line.
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