Luis Enrique & Arne Slot Tactics: Overload Your Build-Up Like PSG & Liverpool – Tactical Theory

In the modern era of football, the term overload is typically applied to pressing or attacking actions.

The term is essentially used to describe when a team creates an advantage, such as a numerical advantage, over the opposition in certain situations to achieve their goal.

The objective may be different.

In the context of pressing, for example, the overload may be a means of forcing the opponent to turn the ball over as quickly as possible, since the team using the overload has a numerical advantage.

In the attacking context, the overload can be used to create another passing option/angle to keep the attack going, or to open up space in the opponents structure to direct the attack.

Many situations can trigger overloads, and this article will specifically explain when and why a team overloads its own build-up.

Why Do Football Teams Overload Their Build-Up?

Well, football always goes both ways.

There is cause and effect.

In this context, we can also understand that when a team overloads its own build-up, it also means that the team wants to overload the opponents first pressing unit.

In general, this type of overload aims to ensure that the team in possession can move the ball or their build-up forward.

It is usually used when a team is facing an opponent who is trying to press high.

Of course, its a different story when the team faces an opponent who prefers to sit deep.

However, since many teams now love to jump and press, its interesting to see how the in-possession team avoids that with this type of overload.

This means that by creating a numerical advantage in their own build-up, that team would be able to have more passing options or open up space that can be the new direction of their build-up.

A numerical advantage can be created in several ways.

Firstly, the goalkeeper can move up to be closer to the centre-back as a passing option.

Secondly, a midfielder or attacker can drop deep into his own half to provide another body as a passing option.

It could involve not just one player but two, three, or four, depending on the situation and how many players the opposition has in their first pressing unit.

But whatever the situation, it can easily create a dilemma for the opponent.

If the team with the ball adds one or more players to its build-up, the opponent may ask whether to follow, mark, or press this player.

If they do, it means that their pressing structure can be disorganised because a player is jumping out of his usual zone.

The team with the ball can exploit this disorganisation, as there is usually space behind or inside it.

Or, if the team without the ball decides to stay in their shape, the team with the ball now has a free player who can easily be a passing target.

Another way of looking at it is that the team without the ball shouldnt worry about the situation, because the team with the ball is still in their own half.

There is still time for the ball to reach the final third and for the defending team to retreat.

However, football can also be direct, and this overload can still create a dilemma for those who dont have the ball.

Firstly, if the out-of-possession team decides to wait, the team with the ball will be able to move forward with a full attacking unit, which means they can attack in the zone they prefer.

On the other hand, if the team without the ball decides to jump and respond to the overload by adding another player to press, the team with the ball can play directly and let their attackers duel with the defenders.

It can be particularly dangerous for the defending team if the attacking side has good offensive players in terms of speed and individual quality, as they are often already in a 1-on-1 situation.

Some top teams attempt to utilise this kind of overload because it creates dilemmas for their opponents.

The example below shows this.

PSG Build-Up Tactics

Lets take an example from a recent Paris Saint-Germain game, one that many will remember: The 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League Final.

In that final, PSG faced Inter Milan, who attempted to press high with a man-to-man approach.

This approach was also combined with the zone, depending on the situation and the area in which PSG had already made progress.

Les Parisiens, or rather Luis Enrique, outsmarted the situation by consistently overloading their build-up while also ensuring there were always players to stay wide to provide width.

This type of situation can be seen in almost all of PSGs goals, so lets take the first goal as an example.

PSG usually set up with three centre-backs.

In this case, they faced three Inter players.

If there had been no overload, the situation could easily have been 1-on-1.

However, Vitinha dropped back to create a 4-on-3 situation.

This created a dilemma for I Nerazzurri, who decided to drop deep; there is no commitment at this stage.

But PSG already had a player in the wide area (