Racing de Santander 2023/24: Adapting strategies game by game – set-piece analysis

Real Racing Club de Santander are currently on the brink of a playoff spot to La Liga, with one weekends results potentially lifting them to 4th or dropping them down to 11th. With 14 games of the season left, there is lots of time for Racing to build up their points tally where an automatic promotion spot remains possible. The team located in the north of Spain are one of the most attacking sides in the league, although only one of the 100 set plays played directly into the box resulted in a goal.

Interestingly, a further 12-15 goals come from throw-in situations, short free kicks, or the second phase following a corner, where a heavier defensive presence in the box and reduced numbers around the edge of the penalty area allow Racing to access the penalty area with ease and create chances from the byline. The different routines used following short throw-ins (and a very unique kick-off routine reminiscent of Brentford in 2021) warrant another article on how their incisive passes and sharp movements in wide areas are so effective, which we will perhaps come back to later this season.

In this tactical analysis, we will look into the tactics behind Racing de Santanders direct corner kicks, with an in-depth analysis of why their routines vary from game to game. This set-piece analysis will also look into the different methods used to gain separation and where they could improve in the future to ensure they maximise their potential output in front of the goal.

Interesting Ideas

Racings priority is to find the space inside the oppositions six-yard box and attack those open areas with runs from deeper, where the attacker can arrive in space without their marker. Two attackers are usually located by the corner flag, giving the defensive side the uncertainty of which type of cross will be delivered or if a corner will be taken short, luring defenders away from the six-yard box in the process.

When up against a side with little to no zonal defenders in the front half of the six-yard box, we can see Racing attempting to start on the back half of the six-yard box before arriving at the near edge in the last second. Each attacker targets a different point along the six-yard box, giving the corner taker more options to hit, even with an under-hit/overhit cross.

As shown in the image below, the vertical movement of each attacker creates multiple gaps in the defensive structure, meaning that every attacker has space in front of them to attack, allowing them to arrive in space at various points along the six-yard box.