When we watch a soccer match, we only actually consume a small portion of the action.
We’re naturally drawn to the fun happenings that happen on the ball, but if you zoom out a little, the beauty lies in the carefully choreographed off-ball movements across the pitch.
You may not notice many orchids. Some players don’t even make it into the TV coverage, but when a player receives the ball in space, you can be sure it was a teammate’s movement elsewhere that upset the opposition.
Runs over the defensive line are crucial to a team’s attacking ability, especially in the increasingly physically demanding Premier League.
“Deep runs are probably the most important thing in football,” Liverpool manager Arne Slott said on Amazon Prime after his side’s 3-1 win over Leicester City.
“You don’t necessarily have to play with players who make deep runs, but in that case you might be able to create bigger one-on-one situations for the wingers. Then the more deep runs you make, the more We’re going to have a chance to win the game. ”
The Athletic identified a similar trend in slot teams earlier this season, with underlapping runs over the opposition defensive line allowing Liverpool wingers to move inside and cross. – Mohamed Salah’s assist for Curtis Jones against Chelsea showed this.
Runs over the ball have remained a key theme of Liverpool’s campaign under Slott.
As well as forwards Salah, Codi Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who are obvious candidates, the slot midfielder has also shown a marked tendency to break through the opposition’s backline with runs from deep.
For example, in a recent Premier League game against Manchester United, Jones was desperately trying to get the attention of Ibrahima Konate, who spotted a gap in the defensive line.
Although the ball didn’t reach Jones, it continued to roll and Harry Maguire’s attention was focused on the 23-year-old.
Five seconds later, fellow midfielder Alexis Mac Allister made another deep run into the space, and Salah’s clipped ball became the Argentine’s first shot.
SkillCorner’s game intelligence model (which extracts contextual metrics from broadcast tracking data) allows you to calculate the number of off-ball runs made when each team has the ball, with a focus on runs behind the ball. It can be measured.
For those who aren’t familiar, this type of run is simply logged when a player is attacking space behind the last defensive line, like in the example below. Importantly, a player does not need to receive the ball to score a run.
Looking at all teams in the Premier League, Liverpool’s 4.1 goals conceded per 30 minutes of possession is the third highest of the season, with Crystal Palace ahead of Aston Villa. .
There is no right or wrong way here, but the diagram above highlights the stylistic approach each team takes when attacking.
For example, Arsenal and Manchester City are relatively low on this measure, reflecting their desire for a more patient, possession-based build-up that aims to push the opponent back, allowing them to gain territorial advantage. By acquiring him, there is often less space behind the opponent’s defense. line.
As for Southampton, well, let’s not add to their misery.
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Measuring off-ball runs by Premier League wingers
For league leaders Palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta’s runs are crucial to Oliver Glasner’s attacking approach and could be doubly beneficial for the team.
The first is the classic threat of a striker receiving the ball beyond the opponent’s last line, but the second is that such a run creates space for other players to exploit between the lines, i.e. Eberechi Eze It’s about being born.
For example, in a recent Premier League match against Chelsea, Ismaila Sarr found right wing-back Daniel Muñoz in space on the right flank, and Mateta ran backwards towards the front post to beat Chelsea’s centre-back. occupied (see frame 2).
This run created space for Eze to flow into, and Muñoz cut back and Eze took his first shot, but it missed the target.
Almost the same pattern was observed after 20 minutes. Muñoz lunged at Sarr’s ball and Mateta dived at the near post, where Eze was able to save and receive a cut back, but this scene was blocked.
Conversely, Mateta’s improved link-up play has allowed Sarr to develop as a number 10, making runs from deep.
This was reflected in his goal against Aston Villa in the Premier League in November, when Mateta dropped to receive the ball in his own half before letting Sarr run in behind.
It’s a part of Sarr’s game that he has been actively working on in training since arriving in the summer.
“We showed him the space where he can excel,” Glasner said in a press conference last month.
“We wanted a player who had pace and could run at the back. You can’t spend (a lot) of money to find the perfect profile that we’re looking for. So we’re looking for players who have the pace and can run at the back. We need to find players who are talented. Then it’s our job to teach them their skills and where they can show their talent.
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If Eze regains his confidence, Palace could have a true triple threat up front.
At Aston Villa, the midfield runs of John McGinn and Morgan Rodgers and the wide runs of left-back Lucas Digne are key to Unai Emery’s system. However, Ollie Watkins is one of the leading candidates to score from behind in the entire Premier League.
Although he has the ability to drop deep and receive, Watkins has stayed on the last line of the width of the six-yard box in recent seasons, conserving his energy and venturing into wider areas in previous seasons, allowing him to has developed the game.
He chooses his moments carefully, but his channel muscle memory remains effective when Tyrone Mings has the ball – as was the case against Leicester last weekend.
It was a similar goal to the one he scored against Crystal Palace in the Premier League in November. Before McGinn received the ball between the lines, Watkins was already looking for space to exploit at the back (see frame 1).
A perfectly weighted pass and a calm finish followed.
Breaking down Watkins’ run types into categories, more than two-thirds of his total runs are from behind or in front of the ball, with a significantly smaller percentage going short or entering the half-space to receive.
If a teammate gets the ball in space, Watkins should get on his bike and head for goal.
Importantly, this is in line with Emery’s attacking method of breaking through the opponent’s last line when possible. No team in the Premier League has completed more through passes than Villa’s 53 this season, which shows they are not missing out on passing opportunities.
Breaking down the SkillCorner data set by player, Watkins ranks alongside Leicester’s Jamie Vardy as one of the top back-to-back players in terms of total goals scored, in a list comprised mainly of No. 9 players who spearhead their team’s attack. has the most points and is in the lead.
Is it below Watkins on the list? Of course, it’s Mateta, who has been talked about before.
Like Mateta, Watkins and John Duran’s runs don’t necessarily have to respond to passes from teammates. However, these movements are still important for pushing back the defense and creating space that Villa’s number 10 can exploit.
This was particularly evident in Villa’s recent win against Manchester City, as previously analyzed by The Athletic, with Rodgers and Youri Tielemans benefiting from Duran’s relentless advances.
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How Tielemans and Rodgers’ ability between the lines contributed to Villa’s City win
While post-match debriefs primarily focus on what happened on the ball, the key to unlocking defenses often happens elsewhere on the pitch.
Whether it’s Nottingham Forest or Forest Gump, running is important. And now we can measure that impact in context.
