FAWSL 2019/20: Manchester City Women vs Brighton and Hove Albion Women – Tactical Analysis

Matchday ten of the FAWSL brought us an entertaining clash with Manchester City Women hosting Brighton and Hove Albion Women. Manchester City were looking to bounce back from a loss to title-contending rivals Chelsea in a contest that saw City outshot at an over two to one ratio. Brighton took to the pitch with the aim of gaining a point or three to distance themselves from the looming relegation zone.

Could City kick their attacking tactics back into gear and get back to winning ways or would Brighton force the hosts to drop points at home? After analysis, we can see that Manchester City let it be known that they are still a squad to be feared throughout the league. This tactical analysis will tell us exactly what happened.

Line ups

Manchester City (4-4-2): Ellie Roebuck, Janine Beckie, Steph Houghton, Gemma Bonner, Megan Campbell, Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir, Jill Scott, Lauren Hemp, Georgia Stanway, Ellen White

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-4-2):  Sophie Harris, Fliss Gibbons, Danni Bowman, Aileen Whelan, Ini Umotong, Matilde Lundorf, Danique Kerkdijk, Kayleigh Green, Emily Simpkins, Victoria Williams, Lea, Le Garrec

Manchester City: Attacking structure

Manchester City manager Nick Cushing has sculpted his squad into a force that thrives on positional play. An oversimplified way to describe positional play is that a team in possession seeks to create various superiorities across the pitch through intelligent positioning of personnel to create optimal relationships between each player. Although the positional play philosophy can be fairly complex, an easy way to measure a team’s style is to look at the team’s attacking structure throughout a match.

Manchester, when in possession, sought to create an asymmetrical shape that created numerical dominance in the centre of the pitch. They also created width in attack by using players from the midfield and defensive lines. This allowed the two strikers to remain narrow and create a constant threat in the central channel

The City starting line up can be described as a 4-4-2, although when in possession, the squad could rarely be seen in true four-flat-two shape. When in possession, the City shape would morph to create staggered lines of players up the pitch. While positioning themselves at different heights up the pitch, eight of the ten outfield City players could be found within the central channel and halfspaces.

When in possession the defensive line would slide to the right with Megan Campbell aligning in the left halfspace, Gemma Bonner in the central channel, and Steph Houghton in the right halfspace. This shift allowed “right-back” Janine Beckie to push high up the right flank and create width in attack without leaving any defensive gaps behind.

Meanwhile, the midfield line saw Keira Walsh drop into the midfield pivot role with Caroline Weir pushing higher while remaining in the central channel. Right midfielder Jill Scott took position in the right halfspace, looking to move behind the Brighton line of midfield four. Lauren Hemp, who was technically the left midfielder, drifted wide and high into the left flank to provide attacking width on the left side.

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