The coach Roberto De Zerbi went against all odds and despite his previous unsuccessful managerial ventures, his arrival at Sassuolo transformed the team and made them one of the tactically most exciting teams to watch in Serie A.
With very distinctive possession football and impressive attacking performance, the team finished eighth in the 2019/20 season, showing a glimpse of potential for reaching the European spots in the future, despite the strong competitors.
With their attacking style of play, they managed to disturb some of the best defences in the face of Lazio, Juventus and Inter and show that they shouldn’t be underestimated. But what stopped them from fully fulfilling their potential are their defensive flaws.
While their build-up strategy and their actions in the final third are successful for the most part, their defensive performance is often struggling not only due to lack of awareness but also due to the risks they take with their attacking approach.
In this tactical analysis preview for the 2020/21 Serie A season, we will include scout report and examine Sassuolo’s traits in all phases and see what in their tactics could and should be improved with the start of the new campaign.
Formations and squad
De Zerbi most frequently relies on a 4-2-3-1 formation, which seems to be the most suitable based on the players’ strengths and built connections. One of the most important traits of this system is the double pivot in midfield that allows the team to execute a variety of build-up strategies and also gives freedom for a lot of movement both on the flanks and internally thanks to the provided coverage.
Whenever the team are playing against sides that are prone to sit deeper in a low block, Sassuolo would opt for 4-1-4-1 scheme, focusing on having numerical superiority in the advanced areas using different strategies to break the defensive lines and create space. They would try to overload the final third and engage the opposition players to certain areas while trying to exploit the opened spaces.
Typically for possession-based teams, they do also use the simplified 4-3-3 formation, although that’s when the support of the double pivot during defensive transitions is missed. They don’t rely on it often, since it brings out their defensive fragilities even more.
The coach rotates the starting XI quite frequently but there are some consistent contributors that have key roles for the team’s solid performance. The front trio including the leading goalscorer Francesco Caputo, Domenico Berardi, who has provided the most assists last season, and Jeremie Boga are an irreplaceable part of their current set up. The other two players that are very important for the team to be able to employ their strategy are Manuel Locatelli and the goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.
Unsurprisingly, the above mentioned were the best performance for the team in the 2019/20 season. It is expected that their consistency will be key for the team to repeat or even improve last season’s performance.
