Liverpool 0 Man City 0 – Premier League 7-10-18

 

 

Attempting to win the ball can become a habit.   It is not necessarily a good habit and it is commonplace in all aspects of defensive play.  Quite often it is executed in the midfield areas where there is the insurance that somebody else can tidy up if the tackle is missed.   Making an attempt to win the ball is seen as relatively positive and it can exonerate a player from further defensive responsibility in relation to the tracking of that particular opponent.   In terms of credibility, it seems to score more highly than this same player making sure they stay goal-side of the opponent.

 

Tracking back and potentially leaving the territory of one’s usual domain requires much hard work and commitment.   Taking full responsibility for the marking of an opponent during a particular phase of play may entail determined running in order to stay goal-side.   This is where the defensive habits are formed, or not formed, depending on your point of view.

 

The habit to make an early intervention with the view to winning the ball, if successful, will be very much applauded.   If it is not successful, the outcome is either placing an increased burden on the rest of the team or it could result in the conceding of either a free-kick or penalty.  Both of which are also placing high demands on the defensive unit.

 

Winning the ball higher up the pitch, is a much preferred use of this tactic.   Not only is it less risky for the defending team if the play is not successful but it could actually prove very effective in terms of creating a goal-scoring opportunity.   On a continuum from the attacking third to the defensive third, this strategy becomes increasingly more problematic.

 

 

What has all this got to do with the Liverpool vs Man City game?

 

Much of the talk following the Liverpool vs Man City game has been about the shocking late penalty miss from Riyad Mahrez.   For two teams that more or less cancelled each other out, the key moment in the game was when Man City were awarded a penalty.   Mahrez, after a dispute with Gabriel Jesus about who is taking the penalty, slams it over the bar.

 

But I would like to talk about the awarding of the penalty in the first place.   Virgil van Dijk brought down Leroy Sane in the 85thminute in an attempt to win the ball.   The City substitute was heading towards the bye-line in the penalty area and the defender opted to try to win the ball in favour of maintaining a goal-side position.

 

There is a propensity among footballers generally to want to win the ball.   This seems to be ingrained in the mind-set.   It is their dominant response when faced with the situation of one against one.

 

The winning of the ball and the maintaining of a goal-side position are two diametrically opposed strategies.   The stakes are that much higher in the penalty area but also opposition forwards are looking to capitalise on any movement by the defender towards the ball.  Wily attackers are trying to draw a foul from any kind of contact, which could be construed as foul play.

 

This makes the strategy of trying to win the ball a very dubious play by a defender in the box.  Invariably, you hear the cry from more savvy ex-players willing the defender to “stay on the feet” which is another way of saying, “don’t dive in”.

 

By staying on one’s feet, the technique the defender is trying to impart is to firstly anticipate the release of the ball in the form of either a shot or pass.   In this case, Sane was shaping to shoot.   Whether it is a shot or pass the defender should try to get a block on the ball.   The angle that Sane had for the shot was quite acute and Virgil van Dijk’s body shape ought to provide a useful cue to his goalkeeper.   Even if the defender cannot block the shot, there should be sufficient information for the goalkeeper to glean what side of the goal the ball may be headed.   The defender ought to have secured the option of a shot to the

near post for the goalkeeper to contend with.

 

This whole approach turns the idea of trying to win the ball on its head.   Now, the defender is responding to the initiative by the forward rather than the other way around.   The defender is not going to be drawn in to trying to win the ball.  Instead, they are biding their time, not committing, waiting for the forward to take the initiative but ready to counter that play with good positioning and body shape to either block the shot or provide an appropriate communication with the goalkeeper to save the shot.

 

Van Dijk did not win the ball.   Sane was able to keep himself between the defender and the ball.   Virgil van Dijk was stretching in his attempt to win the ball but he later offered an honest statement:

 

“It’s not smart for me to dive in there.   I know it.  I wouldn’t do that normally but, obviously, there are so many things that play in your head at that time.   I’ll learn from this and, hopefully, it’ll never happen again.”