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Attack, attack, and did I say attack?
Two structural elements (?) intrigued me vs. Southampton. But first, I think it’s worth prefacing that Georginio started as the CF here, meaning you’ve got a CF who’s really just an AM and prefers to receive the ball a bit deeper, doing most of his good work near the box, not in it.
Anyway, Hürzeler (like De Zerbi) likes getting his wingers isolated (Mitoma and Minteh, so yeah, they’d thrive with that space). Gómez (or any one pivot midfielder) runs upfield, with the AM drifting wide and doing the same. The CF is naturally advanced, while the other pivot player stays back as 1) a deep passing option 2) an extra body in transitions.
Both fullbacks would drive forward, and you have a pretty overloaded final third — good combinations between the half-spaces, enough running power down the wings, good ball-striking centrally. Fundamentally, this is a good setup. Get Baleba in for Ayari and this is an excellent setup.
Dunk lingers on the ball, draws the press in, and opens up space to run into (eventually leading to the above move):
I think Hürzeler’s Brighton manages distances quite well in possession (a lot of freedom + fluidity), it’s just a little… questionable out of possession.
I have major qualms, and this game didn’t do much to help that. I do go into it here and here, but essentially: Baleba’s used as a pressing trigger from midfield, while Brighton are already pressing in a 4-4-2. Ayari jumps up too, and Brighton essentially run a 5-1-4 OOP, so you can get through it with a few quick passes (the high line doesn’t help here either).
Platforming your players
The millions of arrows on this image are only the second scariest thing here. The first is how well Hürzeler has platformed his players.
De Cuyper stays back and drops into LCB, with Wieffer occupying the space left behind by O'Riley, who can lurk around the box. van Hecke covers the wide areas left behind by Wieffer (ideal, given his comfort defending out wide), Dunk moves central (two-footedness), and Wieffer gets to operate centrally as a midfielder with coverage behind. Mitoma and Minteh stay isolated, while Georginio and O'Riley can attack the box from deep through overloaded areas.
See space → occupy space. Trust your players, and empower their skillsets. Anyone can foresee a pass being played here, a pass being played there, but who can ever foresee Yasin Ayari channeling his inner Iniesta?
Mats Wieffer
This is a tricky one. Mats Wieffer is a good player. He does a bit of everything, but Brighton have a lot of players that do a bit of everything. But is Wieffer Brighton’s best dueller? No, that’s Carlos Baleba. Oh, but he’s Brighton’s best deep-passer? No. That’s Diego Gómez. Hmm, okay, Brighton’s best anchor? No, Yasin Ayari. Best RB? Ha. No.
So if Wieffer can’t cover ground like Baleba or Gómez, he can’t be that advanced pivot option. If he isn’t secure enough in possession [back to goal], then he can’t be the anchor. He’s good at jumping into RCB or midfield as the RB, but the RB also has to overlap, and Kadioğlu, Hinshelwood, or Veltman would do all of the above to a far higher level.
So what do you do with an obviously talented midfielder who’s struggling to get comfortable and is a bit rash in the tackle? Temporarily, you can continue shunting him into playing as a RB. But the long-term view has to see Mats Wieffer play as a midfielder, for which he has to do three things:
Improve athletically — cover more ground, get faster
Time his tackles better
Improve his passing and ball-retention
Yankuba Minteh
So I may have said Yankuba Minteh is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. And that’s okay because it’s true and I mean it.
But at the same time, Minteh is raw and can often rush his actions:
Funnily enough, he did score from this sequence, but it was the only non-rushed thing he did here.
I mean, I get it. Minteh’s acceleration is quick (even while changing directions), he’s happy to take on his man even if it means losing the ball because his pressing + duelling means he’ll win it back, and he’s happy to shoot because if you’re getting into the box that often, why not shoot?
He sometimes gets ahead of himself (mind → body // not in sync), but he’s 21. That’s fine. @ / LiverpoolFC, here’s your Salah successor. Go have fun.
One skill that Minteh’s developed rather quickly that’s 1) unique 2) efficient 3) hard to defend against is shooting between a defender’s legs. He cuts inside at speed, then picks out a rather small finishing zone — a zone the goalkeeper wouldn’t expect the ball to go through, which leaves him in two minds about where it could end up:
t’s ultimately more difficult to do when cutting inside, given your body weight is moving against the direction you’re leaning toward, which just makes this all the more effective. A wide range of finishes for an already complete winger? Yes please.
Differentiating between player and environment
You spin me right round, baby, right round
Like a record, baby, right round, round, rounddddddd 🎵
When I wrote Scouting Jan Paul van Hecke I was consistently critical of a) van Hecke’s tendency to lunge into challenges, b) his speed when changing directions, and c) the fact that his defending is reactive, not proactive.
Reactive defending isn’t as good as proactive defending, and front-footed defending is fine as long as you’re smart enough or can run enough to cover ground. van Hecke sort of finds himself in the middle of the good and the bad.
van Hecke’s turn of pace here is good. The fact that he overcommitted to his right while knowing he wouldn’t reach his left isn’t very good.
Realistically, differentiating between player and environment can be a little difficult. van Hecke’s defensive numbers aren’t great, but neither is a high defensive line with a Estupiñán - Dunk - JPvH - Veltman/Wieffer back four.
If you placed van Hecke in a CB partnership with a shutdown I-will-tackle-you kinda guy (Romero / Coppola), or a more athletic fella like Lenny Yoro, he’d thrive. You maximise van Hecke’s strengths, mitigate his weaknesses, and who cares if he overcommits? Romero gets to the tackle before him, and if van Hecke misses his, Yoro can sweep.
Colonising space (misc. thoughts)
Brighton often built up in a 4-3-3 (which translated well into a 4-1-5 in attack), with both fullbacks staying narrow, attack-minded CMs, Georginio Rutter dropping into midfield from CF (false 9), and both wingers isolated with room to drive into.
A focus on central overloads and minimised space between players enabled some good short passing and high-tempo play.
O’Riley was given plenty of room to roam, and I think this suits his skillset well. He understands space, and that’s evident here in how he quickly drops into CB to help cover the ball (van Hecke had driven wide).
And this was good movement (overlapping + underlapping run) from de Cuyper. He’s understanding that roaming FB role well, and if he can improve a bit defensively, he’s perfect for it.
For me Minteh’s biggest improvement is his decision making. He used to attempt difficult shots on goal but has now learnt that a pass to a teammate in a better position is the correct option. Excited for how good he could become as he is obviously willing to learn.