How FC Copenhagen’s corner routines have helped them to become title favourites in Denmark – set-piece analysis

FC Copenhagen are currently sat in first place of the Danish Superliga, as they head into the final few games of the championship round. Head coach Jacob Neestrup has done a remarkable job to guide his team to such a high position including earning draws against Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund after a disappointing start saw Copenhagen lose the first six out of 10 fixtures in the league.

Since taking charge of the first team in October earlier this season, Neestrup helped his club cruise through the league, remaining unbeaten for the remainder of the normal league phase, until the championship playoff which saw them lose 1-0 to Randers. That long unbeaten run has helped Copenhagen to climb to the top of the table, leading youthful FC Nordsjaelland by one point.

FC Copenhagen have earned nine points this season from set-piece goals, making it evident that these dead ball situations can be the difference between winning the league or narrowly missing out.

In this??tactical analysis, we will look into the tactics used by FC Copenhagen, with an in-depth analysis of how they have been able to use several different routines to create high-quality chances in their variations of corners. This set-piece analysis will look at the reasons behind the different routines used and how their innovative tactics have allowed them to remain unpredictable throughout the season.

Near-post moves

FC Copenhagen have displayed excellent awareness of attacking open spaces in the defending teams setups. When the near side of the six-yard box has been left unmarked, Copenhagen have used runs from around the goalkeeper to arrive in the target zone unmarked.

With the defender being goal side of the attackers, the path to the target zone is clear, so the movement shown in the image below cannot be disrupted. As a result, players can arrive in the target area with separation from their markers and attempt a headed effort on goal without having to compete for it.

There have been occasions where defending teams have had more zonal cover around the near side of the six-yard box. In these instances, it becomes harder to redirect the effort on goal, and so the goal of the first contact is to cause problems in the second phase, where the defenders move out of their zones as they attempt to clear the ball. Due to the extra zonal markers, the run has to be made from a slightly longer distance where the attacker will be able to gain enough momentum to prevent himself from having their run interrupted.

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