San Lorenzo 2023: How resolute defensive tactics have led to their title contention – scout report

At nearly the halfway point of the 2023 Argentine Primera División season, San Lorenzo find themselves in second, just six points behind the league leaders River Plate, managed by the former Man City and Bayern Munich defender Martín Demichelis, who have accrued 41 points after the first 18 games.

The club located in the Buedo District of Buenos Aries have a rich history, winning the championship 15 times, with its most recent title in 2013, and achieving continental success in the Copa Libertadores the year after.

Although the last decade has seen peaks and troughs in the side’s ability to challenge at the top of the table, this is a common theme embodied by most teams across the division. The key element that has led to the side’s success this season is their defensive record with the team only conceding seven goals so far this season, the lowest in the division.

With the midway point of the season approaching, this scout report will look to provide a tactical analysis of why San Lorenzo’s defence has been as impregnable as it has been, not only from the perspective of their tactics but from the actions and behaviours of the players.

Fundamentals of defence

Before continuing any further, it is important to briefly address some key aspects of the defensive phase of the game in order to fully explain why San Lorenzo’s tactics and actions in defence have been effective. 

Defence is where the team element of the game can be seen the most, with all players having to engage in coordinated actions that lead to situations that prevent opposition chances and give the team opportunities to win back possession. As has been widely stated before, players use the position of the ball, their teammates, the opposition and space as reference points in order to coordinate their actions and movements. Ideally, these four elements, alongside a side’s defensive structure, can be used in order to remain compact near the ball, which provides opportunities for players to be able to support each other and provide cover for each others pressing actions. As a result of this, defence is about adapting to different risks that the opposition may look to exploit. These are not new ideas but are important to address, nonetheless.

San Lorenzo’s structure in defence

San Lorenzo look to defend in a 5-4-1 formation which can change to a 5-2-3 at times. Within this structure, the side does not look to engage the opposition high up the field but look to drop back to the halfway line. This can be seen in the image below.

The striker of the side, Andrés Vomberger, looks to press opposition centre-backs in possession, pressing them at an angle which prevents the centre-backs from changing the side of attack. From these positions, the midfielder in the second line is tasked with protecting the centre and looking to prevent passes directly to opposition players positioned centrally behind the first and second defensive lines.