Champions League performance insights: Setting the press

If the high press has been a popular tactic in elite football for some time, the way that teams are marking when applying that pressure has given UEFA's technical observers fresh reason to reflect this season.

As the video clips below show, during the Champions League group stage some teams marked zonally while pressing high up the pitch and others went man for man.

Zonal marking

The first video shows Copenhagen's zonal press within a 4-4-2 diamond set-up in their home match against Galatasaray. The key point here is the way the players shift together, maintaining the right distances.

The second example is of PSV's high press within a 4-3-3 structure against Arsenal. Here is a team in which each player knows his position – they keep the right distance between each unit and shift across to the right as they force their opponents backwards.

Man to man

These next two clips offer examples of a bold man-marking approach. First, we see Borussia Dortmund going man to man at the top of the pitch in their home match against Paris Saint-Germain – a ploy which leaves their defenders 1v1 against the Paris forwards but which, as the clip shows, brings about their goal.

In this second clip we see another team go man to man against Paris – here it is Newcastle United as they press aggressively high up the pitch. The risk factor is clear with their back four left to defend 1v1 against the visitors' quick front four. Yet as with the Dortmund example, they get their reward with a goal.

'The only way to really get high pressure'

According to Gareth Southgate, the logic of this brave approach is clear. "I think the only way to really get pressure high up the pitch is to go man for man at the back," he says. "Teams looking to get really high pressure are ending up man for man at the back when the opposition are in first phase [build-up]."

Implicit in this is a calculated risk. Roberto Martínez cites the example of Manchester City "doing it against Vinícius Júnior" in a previous campaign against Real Madrid. "There was always that feeling that with a player who was very quick you'd never leave them 1v1, but Man City did it and took a risk." And why? Because, as Martínez adds, "stopping teams at source, stopping the service to players, is the trend we can see now."

This willingness to go man to man defensively in order to press successfully higher upfield has meant a shift in thinking on the part of many coaches, according to Martínez.

He explains: "I grew up in a culture where you always wanted an extra body in the defensive line. Your structure would be built in relation to having an extra body in the backline. Now, in front of their box, teams will always try to get a numerical advantage defensively but from the halfway line and higher, because they feel they have the legs to recover, they go with man-marking.

"This means you have to be very aggressive, you have to have players who can win the first ball or try to anticipate."

One or the other

Why do some teams prefer a zonal strategy and others a man-to-man approach?

Zonal defending requires an understanding of what is happening around you on the pitch and being able to anticipate the next action of the opponent, responding to their decision-making and the direction they move the ball in. One obvious benefit is it means you have players to provide immediate support around the ball, given that they are already positioned in a particular zone.

According to Ole Gunnar Solskjær, the opposition's game is a consideration when plotting a marking strategy, and it can be easier to man-mark when players stay in more fixed positions, such as with wingers remaining high and wide. When teams are more fluid, with players interchanging positions, that can be more challenging.

As teams press high up the pitch in increasingly well-coordinated fashion, it is tempting to ask what impact this will have on the way sides build from deep. During the group stage there were several examples of teams conceding a goal after trying to build from the back under intense opposition pressure. A consequence of such pressure, particularly in a man-marking system, could be that teams rotate and interchange positions more in order to open up spaces.

"I wonder whether we will start to see teams go longer from the back because of that," adds Southgate. "At the moment everyone wants to press high, teams are getting better and better at playing through that pressure but a lot of balls are being turned over in the first phase."

Something else to ponder as the tactical landscape shifts anew.

Food for thought from a Talent ID – Perspective

Thomas Broch Brantsæter works at the Norwegian Football Federation as a Talent ID Lead, having previously worked at clubs including Stabæk, Midtjylland and Liverpool. He completed his UEFA Academy Elite Scouting Course in 2022 and is still attached to the programme as a guest lecturer.

NFF Talent ID lead Thomas Broch BrantsæterNFF

As tactical flexibility increases in an attacking sense, the same is happening with tactical flexibility from a defensive point of view. Therefore, most teams will be scouting for or seeking to develop players capable of adapting to different ways of pressing. Being able to press both man to man and zonally will, in many cases, help make the transition easier between playing for your club and playing for your national team. In most cases, some defensive aspects will be different between the two. Yet if a club can develop players that perform well for their national team, undoubtedly their market value will increase to the club's benefit.

The demand for tactically flexible players defensively

To develop players who are tactically flexible from a defensive viewpoint, players must be exposed to pressing in a high, medium and low press. Over the last years, I have seen more and more young players who have never learned properly how to press in a medium and low block, as the high press is often prioritised. But as we saw at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, for example, a compact medium block can be a very effective and offensive-minded strategy.

Individual aspects within the collective

Although collective aspects like compactness and collective pressing signals are important when practising defending, there are some key individual aspects of defending that are often overlooked in youth development. One example of this, within a pragmatic zonal defence, is players' ability to scan defensively and utilise cover shadows effectively.

Below is an example of a simple 3v3 game that can be used to practise this aspect. I would suggest that the positioning of Player C provides important information on how close Player E must cover in relation to Player D. From a scouting perspective, observing defensive scanning behaviour and effective positioning in relation to it provides valuable information.

Session Plan: 

• Mark out two 15x10m playing areas

• Position players in the two areas in accordance with the picture

Session Organisation:

• Goalkeeper and two defenders play against three attacking players (red)

• The defenders utilise zonal defending to avoid being played through

• Player D and E can only cross the midfield line when the ball crosses it

Session points:

• The closest defender to the ball (Player D) must press while adjusting the angle to avoid the ball being played on the outside

• Player E must adjust the distance to Player D, closing the space between them in relation to movements in behind from Player C

• When the ball is played between Players A and B, quick adjustments and changing of roles between Players D and E are essential.

• Communication between all three defenders is important, especially from the goalkeeper in relation to movements from Player C.

• Quick double pressing if the ball is played through the blue defensive line

Double pressing

When defending 1v1, young players must learn the habit of creating what is often referred to as a double press. That is, when the ball is played past you as a defender, you immediately turn around 180 degrees and continue your press. This is highly demanding physically but often is required at the top end of the game and very effective. As illustrated below, a 4v4 game can be used to practise and emphasise this habit.

Description: A game of goalkeeper plus four against goalkeeper plus four is played, with both teams practising man-marking to create the desired double-pressing scenario.

Session Plan:

• Mark out a 32*25m playing area

• Both teams consist of a goalkeeper plus four players

• Play short intense intervals of 2-3 minutes

Session Organisation:

• Play it as a normal small-sided game

• The 16m line can be used as an offside line, or you can choose to play without offside

Session points:

• Press aggressively 1v1, and work "from the top down" (win the space between the ball carrier and the ball using arms and upper body first, then the feet at the end)

• Encourage aggressive pressing and quick double press when opponents break your line