How To Play A Pressing Football Match Part 2

How To Play A Pressing Football Match Part 1

Pressure
Putting on the pressure in a pressing game means a quick attempt to regain possession of the ball from your opponent. The player nearest the ball is responsible for this. A player who loses the ball may be the first to give chase (putting on pressure from the rear), but a second defender should also try to close off chances for the player who has the ball. This player applies pressure at the front. With this move, the opposing player has to concentrate on keeping the ball, which limits their options to short passes or dribbling the ball.

The players who are putting pressure on the player with possession have to direct them towards parts of the pitch with more players, and to areas which will limit their options. It is essential to communicate well in this type of game, and leadership is also important. The chase or close down should be the signal for other team members to cover an opponent. Mark near the ball and goal so that you can win the ball if there’s a chance.

Defenders who are far away should give the man they are marking some space in the hope that the player with possession will send the ball that way. They can then try to intercept the ball and win possession. Midfielders need to be close to the ball to reduce the options for the player in possession. The wide midfielder furthest away should move to the defence so that the opponent goes up. Another technique is to compress play by reducing the space between defenders and midfielders. This means that the keeper has to be a sweeper for any long balls and the team may be able to catch their opponents offside. In short, press the game on all fronts. Working together makes this style of play successful.

Possession
Once the team has the ball, they may be in a tight situation and they will need all their skill to get out of it. The ability to touch , dribble and pass, as well as being aware of tactics and having a strong upper body are all essential if the team intends to keep possession.

In training, focus on passing angles and how the midfielders and defence can support each other. Strikers should learn how to move the opponent’s defence towards their goal, which stretches the play and gives the team more chances. Other areas to look at include mobility, wide play and overlapping runs. These are all important when you have possession, and you can set up scoring chances with one and two touch football.

Penetration
In Premiership football, statistics often show that a team may have most of the possession, but this is not enough on its own. You must have penetration as well. If you look at the stats for some teams, you will see that they didn’t have many shots on goal. If you win possession, then the player with the ball must work out the fastest and best way to get to goal.

This is where dribbling and team play can put holes in the opponents’ defence. Play wide if there are too many defenders in the area. Start by keeping the ball infield to draw the opponents in, which will leave more space on the flanks. Then players should pass the ball out wide. There are too many combinations to breach the defence to list here. I’ll look at those in another article.

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