Defensive disasters: How Serie A’s biggest entertainers are their own worst enemies

Sassuolo are by far one of the most exciting teams to watch in world football at the moment and have been since the beginning of the season.

I Neroverdi started the 2020/21 Serie A campaign in style as the league’s entertainers and even took the top spot for a brief period of time back in November. Roberto De Zerbi’s side were a small fish in a big pond at the top end of the table and were holding their own against some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Juventus, Milan, and Internazionale.

Unfortunately for Sassuolo, coming into December, until recently, their form took a turn for the worst as the team are now sitting eighth in the league table as of writing and look very much out of the race for UEFA Champions League football next season.

However, it has not been their attacking style that has let them down. Sassuolo are still performing quite consistently in most attacking metrics, but it is their defending that has been the side’s problematic area and the reason for their downturn in fortunes. I Neroverdi have failed to keep a single clean sheet in all competitions since the 11 December, a 1-0 victory over Benevento.

This article will be a tactical analysis, in the form of a scout report, of Sassuolo in the past couple of weeks. Mainly, it will be an analysis of the defensive tactics deployed by De Zerbi, as well as structural problems within the side to see why they are struggling so much at the back.

Firstly, before proceeding, it must be noted that this article was written prior to Sassuolo’s game against Bologna at the weekend and so certain statistics which will be discussed may have changed since.

Set-up and intensity

Sassuolo have used the 4-2-3-1 formation in 65 percent of their games this season in all competitions and has been De Zerbi’s favoured formation throughout his time in charge. The 4-2-3-1 system gives them a lot of balance when in both the attacking and defensive phases.

The image above is an example of a typical lineup that De Zerbi deploys in their 4-2-3-1 system. Andrea Consigli typically starts in goal, behind a backline made up of Rogerio, Gian Marco Ferrari, Marlon Santos/Vlad Chiriches, and Mert Muldur. The double-pivot protecting the backline has usually consisted of Manuel Locatelli and Pedro Obiang with Filip Djuricic ahead at number 10, flanked by both Jeremie Boga and Hamad Junior Traore/Dominico Berardi. Francesco Caputo is normally the lone striker who leads Sassuolo’s press.