How do a team go about breaking down opponents who set out their stall to sit deep, stay compact and seek to cause frustration?
That was the scenario that Chelsea faced against Paris FC on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Women's Champions League and for the UEFA game insights unit, working together with UEFA Technical Observer Nora Häuptle, the solutions sought by Sonia Bompastor's team are worth exploring – particularly the role played by their centre-halves.
The graphic above displays the average positions out of possession of Sandrine Soubeyrand's Paris side, who defended in a 4-1-4-1 formation. "They had a very deep block and were very compact between the lines as well as being very narrow – outer and inner compactness as I call it," explained Häuptle.
Within that shape, she added, the Paris midfielders were "opposition-orientated", which increased the difficulty of playing through them.
Paris FC's defensive organisation
The visitors' approach is displayed in this first video, which shows us the scenario that Chelsea faced last Wednesday night, with the home centre-backs given plenty of room to drive into. According to Häuptle, because of Paris' close marking, "there was no space between the lines" which mean that they often looked to the flanks with their subsequent passes, as illustrated by the clip above.
Chelsea centre-backs' build-up role
The extent of the Chelsea centre-backs' involvement in their team's build-up is underlined by the graphic below showing that Nathalie Björn and Millie Bright ended the match ranked as the top two players for ball carries. With just one forward to mark between the two of them, they had the time and space to push forward and, with respective totals of 424.6m and 404.6m, they carried the ball considerably further than any other player on the pitch.
"The deep block from Paris allowed the centre-backs such a high involvement," said Häuptle, who cited the fact Paris allowed Chelsea 27.7 passes on average between each of their defensive actions (the PPDA metric).
From a strategic perspective, these ball carries had a useful purpose according to Häuptle, who explained: "They drove the ball until they fixed the opposition and that way one of the central midfielders could get free."
Chelsea's wing play teamwork
In terms of their distribution, Björn and Bright looked often to the flanks in the first half. Yet there was variety in their passing and this video offers several examples, with a Bright through pass and then diagonal balls by each of the pair.
Be it with their ball-carrying or their passing, the responsibility placed on the two Chelsea centre-backs begs a broader question, concerning the qualities required by young centre-backs today.
"With such a high amount of possession your centre-backs need to be two-footed and have a very good first touch to drive the ball at speed," said Häuptle. "They also need the courage mentally to keep a high position. And also, the awareness when driving the ball to see free players in the half space or on the flanks. Variety is important too as switches can be effective and sometimes a chip behind the back line."
Breaking down the low block
In her initial analysis of this Stamford Bridge encounter, Häuptle shone a light on Chelsea's wing play, and to return to that theme, their connections out wide were vital in breaking down the Paris low block and yielding crossing opportunities.
Chelsea's centre-backs build-up
The video above gives two examples, with Sjoeke Nüsken's underlapping run and then the give-and-go between Guro Reiten and Erin Cuthbert. In the case of midfielder Nüsken, Häuptle identified the benefit gained from Bompastor deploying her at full-back for her speed of thought and action in forward positions.
For these quick connections, Häuptle elaborated, "you need good distribution – sharpness with the ball, and precision with your technical ability. For me, crucially, the pass has to be coming against the general movement of the defenders which is why the cutback she delivers is so effective as it's difficult to defend against."
There is plenty of sharpness and precision on display in the final video below which features a flowing five-player move that so nearly brought a goal for Reiten.
Chelsea two-player wing play
Häuptle explained that for this kind of multi-player connection on the counterattack, speed is the essential ingredient.
"If you regain the ball, to get out of your opponents' counter-press you need to play out with a maximum two touches. Chelsea build very quickly with triangles and just follow the movement of Maika Hamano in the video – she is moving through the lines so quickly that to catch her when zonal defending is very difficult."
A former Swiss international with playing experience in both Switzerland and the Netherlands, Nora Häuptle has coached in her home country as well as Germany and Ghana, and is now head coach of the Zambia women's national team.
Coaching reflections: Looking and learning from video analysis
Poland head coach Nina Patalon is currently offering guidance to a young participant on the UEFA coach mentor programme. Here she reflects on how to draw lessons from video analysis of other teams.
"Football is a sport where each coach should have their own vision and adapt the approach to their own principles as well as the opposition's idea of play.
"Today it is very easy to develop yourself as there is so much material available. Even compared to ten years ago, there's a big difference in the options we now have for accessing resources for player development. Back then, if you were looking for role models from female football, you would struggle.
"That said, you need to learn how to use this material. Before applying it to your own environment, it is crucial to understand the context of the coaches and their tactics. Why they're doing it, what type of players they have available, what their concept of play is – and even what problems they are trying to cover up or counter.
Adapting ideas to your own team
"Later, when a coach has their own ideas, they might see something from another team that they want to transfer to their own environment. In that situation, they need to know if it is possible for their own players to do that and achieve the same results.
"I'd advise young coaches to look at the opposition and see if they can find some little tweaks that will help to highlight their own strengths and hide their weaknesses. Sometimes when you see the opposition playing in a similar structure as you, you might find some inspiration by looking at how they solve situations on the pitch.
"For me it is not a bad thing to borrow ideas – the key thing is to be able to adapt them to your environment and be sure they can bring the same results.
"Finally, be mindful of the role of videos in providing inspiration for your players. As a coach you want to watch both men's and women's football, because you are looking for tactical ideas and options and to see how other coaches are finding solutions. But for players it is important to show them something that is attainable. And for female players, they need their own female role models to inspire them."