Yusuf Yazıcı is a young Turkish player who played his whole life at Trabzonspor before moving to Lille in 2019. Last season, he scored only once and made four assists as Lille reached fourth place. He planned to do better this season and is off to a flying start.
So far, he has scored 11 times this season and has done four assists, helping Lille get through to the next round of Europa League and doing well in the league. Right now they are in second place in Ligue 1, tied on points with Lyon who is first and one point above PSG.
Yazıcı is one of the many promising talents that Lille have signed over the years, seeking to develop them further. It seems that this season is being the breakout moment for him as he has consolidated himself in the starting team and is being very influential. In this tactical analysis, we will understand why he is having such a positive effect on the team.
Since Lille play in a 4-4-2, last year he was sometimes placed at right-midfielder and these tactics did not seem to fit him well. After thorough analysis, Christophe Galtier must have realised that his best position is that of an attacking midfielder. In this scout report, we will see how Yazıcı has been greatly adapted to Lille’s formation.
Pressure
When out of possession, Lille set themselves up in a 4-4-2 formation as it is a more solid formation when trying to press. This option gives you two forwards who are essential in being the first line of pressure as they can close down the middle and passing options to the midfielders.
Lille usually play in a medium or medium-high block. They don’t usually press the centre-backs intensely and rather let them play between each other as they pose no danger to Lille doing so. Lille focus more on closing the options through the middle, as the 4-4-2 is known to be a compact formation to allow the least amount of spaces.
While the centre-backs pass the ball between each other, Yazıcı and the other forward will do either of two things. The first action they will carry out is for each forward to go to their nearest centre-back once they have the ball. The other forward will then come further inside to mark the midfielder that is trying to receive the ball and they do this movement continuously as the centre-backs pass the ball.
For example, in the image below we see how the forward that was on the left is going to press the centre-back closest to him that has the ball. At the same time, Yazıcı comes inside to mark the midfielder that is offering himself. Once the centre-back passes it to the other centre-back, it will be Yazıcı who goes to mark him and the other forward will come inside.
When the forwards go press the centre-back, they go at them while protecting the middle as they want the centre-back to either pass it to the full-back or the other centre-back. They want them to pass to anyone but through the middle. This is because for these options they have pressure systems in place because if the full-back receives the ball, the left-winger will be there to press him and if it goes to the other centre-back, the other forward will go.
Sometimes, the forwards will go towards the centre-backs while protecting the middle and forcing them to the wing. Depending on the pressing movement of the forward, the Lille team will behave accordingly as they will prepare themselves for the full-back receiving the ball. By doing this movement, it increases the chances of the centre-backs just making a long-ball so as to avoid the risk of a pass which is great for Lille as they have powerful centre-backs.
For example, in the image below, Yazıcı sees that the centre-back is about to receive the ball and so will be on him once the centre-backs controls the ball. This will leave the centre-back no other choice but to control into the wing. All of Lille’s pressure is done to avoid passes through the middle.
