UEFA Conference League Tactical Analysis: How Real Betis seized control against Gent

Real Betis established a commanding 3-0 lead in the UEFA Conference League knockout phase play-off first leg away at Gent on Thursday with a dominant second-half display.

In this article the UEFA technical observer Leif Gunnar Smerud – working together with UEFA's analysis unit – highlights how the Spanish side adapted to counter the home team's early direct attacks and punish their opponents with a controlled and vibrant attacking approach.

Starting with the home team's first-half endeavours, Smerud noted a clear strategy to target the big spaces in behind the Betis defence in wide areas. "It was quite direct and physical," he explained.

The first video highlights three examples of this early success targeting space in between the Betis left-back, Romain Perraud, and the left-sided centre-back, Natan. Utilising a 3-4-3 system, Danijel Milićević's side posed problems for the visitors' compact 4-4-2 defensive set-up, with striker Dante Vanzeir, midfielder Atsuki Ito and wing-back Matisse Samoise all prominent. Clip one shows Vanzeir's well-timed movement in behind Perraud, who is stranded between marking tightly and jumping to press.

The second clip highlights a clever double movement from Ito to evade his marker and surge towards the penalty area. In the third example, Gent steal the ball and target the space behind the high defensive line of Betis. Excellent midfield supporting runs result in a shot on target for Samoise. "It's perhaps the Belgian way," explained Smerud. "Fast and direct, often with long passes to the strikers and with midfielders surging forward to win the second ball and outrun their opponents."

The second half brought greater defensive control for the visitors after Betis winger Antony opened the scoring with a fine curling shot into the bottom corner of the net just two minutes after the restart.

The second video contrasts the Spanish side's vulnerabilities in defensive cohesion and communication in the first half with a vastly improved display after the break. Clip one highlights the spaces in between the lines left unattended for Gent to exploit with direct forward passes.

Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini – presiding over his 136th match in European competition – managed to solve the problems with a renewed focus on compactness and focus by his players out of possession. The second clip illustrates this greater organisation and cohesion across the pitch, forcing Gent to play to the wing-backs rather than through the middle to forwards or picking out runners from midfield. Worthy of note is how the tighter distances between defenders and holding midfielders allied to greater communication between players enables Betis to cover the pockets of space.

"The big change was due to Betis applying much better pressure," explained Smerud. "The second-half approach stopped the game picture of Gent putting pressure on them and disrupting their play. Betis turned it round so that they gave Gent the problem."

The third clip shows precisely how they did it. Once Cédric Bakambu starts the press after the long goal kick from goalkeeper Fran Vieites, the Betis front four get tight to their direct opponents, cutting off passing options for the Gent defender in possession. Better organisation behind the front line eliminates the possibility of a long pass and the defender's errant pass is easily intercepted, triggering a swift counterattack that leads to a fine finish by the initial orchestrator of the press, Bakambu.

This goal exemplifies the shift in the dynamic of the match, according to Smerud. "Betis showed a much more alert and agile defence and midfield, with greater collective awareness of the passes and runs that caused problems in the first half," he explained. "The goal comes from Gent doing things they are not so good at – playing short combinations – because Betis controlled their options much better."

While Smerud praised the contributions of goalscoring Conference League debutant Antony and his team-mate Bakambu's all-round game – "excellent work and quality, both on the ball and in the pressure" – he shone a spotlight on how well defender Natan led from the back.

The final video offers a showcase of the 24-year-old Brazilian's defensive attributes, including positioning, scanning, body shape and readiness to anticipate and intercept.

"Natan read the pressure on the ball very well and co-operated with his deep central midfielder, his left-sided full-back and his centre-back colleague to decide who was responsible for controlling which runs," said Smerud.

Smerud highlighted an important message for coaches looking to develop youth players with vital defensive skills. "It's important to be aware that what often separates levels is what happens when 'nothing' happens.

"If youth coaches can become aware of what their players are doing when the ball is far away, and make them more aware of what a difference body position, timings and communications make and how this affects what happens in the next two, three, four, five seconds, that is important."