EPL: Narrow Setup is Hurting the Top Teams

EPL: Narrow set-up is hurting the top teams

A few matches in the EPL over the weekend highlighted the merits of maintaining width in your play and also the pitfalls of playing too narrow. Manchester City where able to overcome an in-form and well-drilled Southampton side and they owed their success in a big way to their wide players, particularly Jesus Navas. It opened up other areas of the pitch for them and they were able to come out 3-0 victors.

In contrast, Chelsea travelled to play a dogged Sunderland team who were also intent on being difficult to break down and having men behind the ball. It is more than a legitimate tactic, but one that Chelsea did not adapt to very well. Their wide players, most noticeably Eden Hazard and Willian were drifting inside looking for the ball and trying to make a difference, making the line of Chelsea’s attacks quite one-directional and therefore predictable.

It can sometimes be easy for top teams to ignore the flanks as an option to attack and break down more stubborn opponents and I am going to explore the benefits of this tactic and why it seems to be a dying art:

3 and 5 at the Back Formations

With the rise of formations like 3-5-2 and 5-3-2, especially in the EPL, there has been a subtle shift in the width of teams operating these systems. It might seem illogical, but take the 3-5-2 formation that Louis van Gaal introduced at Manchester United at the start of the season and has reverted to again as we head into December.

In a 3-5-2 set-up the only two players playing wide and getting chalk on their boots are the wing-backs, say Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia. The other players in the formation are the three centre-backs, two holding midfielders, one creative midfielder and two strikers. The more you look at it, the more you realise how there is no natural width.

This is where I think you might see Manchester United run into problems later in the season. They seem to be returning to the look of a side who is going to win matches and teams will resort to setting up in a more defensive way against them now that they have re-found their form. Sure the 3-5-2 formation will allow them to dominate the centre of the park, but with two wing-backs the only two players stretching the play, I think this might be easier to deal with.

Especially when you consider the role of a wing-back is involved in attacking and defensive duties. Much was made of Luke Shaw’s fitness at the start of the season and it is only now that he has built up to the level required of him to play in the left wing-back slot for Manchester United. However, 80 minutes into an EPL game you could hardly expect him to be holding width on the touchline vide that killer ball to open up a team.

Attacking Midfielders

Much has been made of attacking midfielders interchanging fluidly throughout a match and nowhere can it be seen more than at Manchester City and Chelsea, arguably the EPL’s two strongest sides this season. Add in Liverpool of last year (definitely not this year I’m afraid) to this mix and you can get an idea of what that interchanging looked like.

It is a system that relies of players who are comfortable all across midfield, and we see it executed best by players like David Silva, Eden Hazard and Raheem Sterling. It is no strange coincidence that those happen to be star-performers for their clubs; it comes down to the same thing as before, width.

right-back Branislav Ivanovic took up a role more akin to right-winger during the first few games of the season

Silva may be a magician when operating centrally, but he has the footballing brain to know when to drift out wide. Similarly, Hazard will be more than willing to plug away on the left hand-side and almost do the dirty work, giving defenders another look to contend with. It was so noticeable against Sunderland that he wasn’t doing this and I can’t remember a time he took on Sunderland’s right-back Vergini one-on-one.

Whilst I am not guaranteeing drifting out wide will create goals, it is a Plan B that will test opponents who are set of defending in other areas. The number of experienced and established centre-back pairings in the EPL at the moment is very high and they often have the game to shut-out any play through the middle, so width is imperative to challenge them in a different way.

Full-backs in 4 at the Back Formation

One of the features of Chelsea’s great start to the EPL this season was the way in which right-back Branislav Ivanovic took up a role more akin to right-winger during the first few games of the season. It let to observations that Chelsea were not disciplined at the back and Ivanovic drew criticism for not being able to control his attacking intent.

To me, however, the Serbian was likely playing under strict instructions from manager Jose Mourinho, who will have asked his right-back to hug the touchline and stretch opponents. He was safe in the knowledge that he had enough defensive players on the pitch that he was willing to use his right-back to bring a new aspect to the game.

Judging by the results it was a strategy that bore fruit. Chelsea didn’t fail to score in the EPL until their weekend draw with Sunderland where Ivanovic was much more reserved in his position and was rarely seen pushed up. Pablo Zabaleta does this role so well for Manchester City and if you are looking for the model example, watch any of Phillip Lahm’s Bayern Munich performances at right-back over the past decade.

Full-backs have a big responsibility for maintain their sides width and pushing their side forward. Like goalkeepers shout at the centre-backs on where to position themselves because they have the best view on things, full-backs have full view on what is happening on the flanks. If there is space, exploit it.

Striker mobility

Finally, I want to mention the importance of striker mobility, if only because it provides a once in a lifetime chance to use Danny Welbeck as the model student in this area. Strikers who become set on playing through the middle can often become predictable and no matter how good the service is into them, they will get no joy.

This is where Danny Welbeck excels and his work-rate is a big part of why. He will sprint to the flanks and bring defenders with him and this adds another issue into their heads when they are defending against him. Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa are similar movers in this respect, constantly in motion.

It isn’t always the striker that benefits from his own hard work however, and drifting to the flanks is quite a selfless move. This is why I have hand-picked Danny Welbeck for this example, as his movement has allowed Alexis Sanchez to occupy the space left and the Chilean’s performances for Arsenal this season speak for themselves.

More from FanSided

Home/Premier League