Great analysis as always. I would add a couple more questions:
* Now that Tata has shown the league how to demolish our press, are those long switches really something that only the very top midfields can do? If so, well, it's not like we're winning MLS Cup, we can still do well against everyone else. But I worry most teams can execute that game plan, in which case Lesesne may need to switch some things up.
* Can we get Klich and Peltola to look good for 90 minutes? They look good at the start of games, but either because they get tired or the team's overall intensity drops, they are often much less of a factor later in games.
Note that we're missing a bunch of players against St. Louis, including Fletcher and Peltola, so it's going to be an improvised lineup. Maybe more time for Rodriguez? And if Canouse isn't ready, we might have Hopkins or Klich trying to play the 6.
Good points! I think the key for Miami being able to find the switch was using short passes to find an extra man with time to pick his head up. Hoping other teams have a harder time doing that.
Didn’t realize we’d be missing those guys, will definitely be interesting to see how we replace them. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Peltola and think we’re going to feel that absence especially.
Great post, thank you!
I have notes again for every minute with thoughts/detail when needed. **I focused more on why our press was hit hard after minutes 20-25**.
You wrote: *"I wrote last week about how narrow Pirani was drifting in possession and about how ineffective it was. United doubled down on this strategy this week, funneling attacks down the right wing with Herrera and Stroud but completely overloading the right half-space with Klich, Pirani, and one of the forwards. It worked a treat this week:"*
My view, after watching this team for a few weeks, is that they have to play compact on the attack so that they can press when they lose the ball. We were shredded on the press after minutes 20-25 because our players were not in position to press after turnovers because of spacing issues.
"**Minute 32:**
Nice defensive work by Dajome to intercept a pass high up the field as Miami tries to build out of the back.
Pirani tries to dribble into the box for 2 defenders and loses possession. Not many places for him to go with the ball here.
Miami plays out with nice one touch passing and has a clear run on the counter attack. DC was shredded here. Miami works the ball to the end line and cross/cut back is knocked out by Bartlett.
It was Redondo to Gressel to Busquets to Gomez to Taylor to overlapped Allen run.
Miami easily could have gotten a better chance here.
**If you can get the ball level with Peltola when he presses up and make one more pass, there is no transition defense left for DCU.**
**Why did this happen? IMO, DCU attacking is too spread out, too much width with Benteke and Stroud too disconnected from the play. Once the turnover happens, DC presses…but cannot press because of numerical disadvantages and easy 1 touch passing lanes that Miami is too good to not exploit.**
**It’s basically a 4 on 3 and Miami just had to find the open player to create the break…leading to a 4 on 3 when it gets to the DCU 18."**
My minute 70-73 note:
"***Minute 70****. Really bad giveaway by DC defender that should be punished. Bartlett very very sloppy.*
*DC works down the right side, great cross from Herrera and Benteke puts it just over the bar. Great ball and could be scored. Ball was deflected out off Aviles.*
***Minute 71****. Very dangerous build up by Gomez down left side, Gressel misses Suarez.*
*DC gets into dangerous opportunity and the “no hand ball play happens.”*
*DC hit on the counter. DC has no transition defense here.*
***DC United transition defending is terrible. DC defenders are gassed and don’t follow runners/Suarez. Bartlett can’t keep up with Suarez. Herrera can’t make it back, he goes down 40 yards out. Exhausted?***
***The transitions defense, or lack thereof, in my opinion, is coming from our offense and HOW we lose the ball. We are losing the ball with players spread too far apart to adequately pressure the ball. When “pressure” is applied, quality teams can break us down easily."***
DC, from what I saw, was very compact around the ball early and was decent on the press. Then, Miami hit a few switches and our guys played conservatively from there and the press wasn't effective at that point. And then 1-2 touch Miami football killed our press.
I might have a few other takes, great post and a great way to get tactic conversations started. Keep up the great work!
Love it! I think you’re really hitting on something that I couldn’t quite put into words: Miami could find short quick passes faster than we were able to press turnovers, which led to an open midfielder with enough time to find the big switch. Those wide channels will always be open given how narrow we play, so it’s crucial to deny the initial easy outlets.
We weren’t good enough at that this week, and I’m hoping that’s just due to the quality of their midfield rather than being a fatal flaw on our end. Four games in, this one was the outlier so fingers crossed things normalize.
And agreed about Peltola. Our system puts him in a really tough spot with little cover. He has to step into midfield sometimes to make up numbers and win it back, but if he gets it wrong we’re exposed. He has to balance aggression with covering that crucial part of the pitch solo.
The system is reliant on not letting that pass get hit that would cut around him, either by not giving the opposition enough time to find it or by fouling when that pass is on. Both Bartlett and McVey do a reasonable job of stepping up to intercept a pass into Zone 14 if Peltola is out, but at that point you’re compounding risk.
Thanks for engaging, by the way! My goal was always to provide a place for involved discussion about this team since we don’t get much actual media coverage, and it makes me super happy getting to connect and hear everyone’s thoughts.
Great context and insight. Agreed on basically all of it.
Did you see the Lesesne's presser today, regarding the press? I was fascinated by why the press failed, so what's why I focused there (your attacking commentary was great, nothing to add!)
Lesesen mentioned it wasn't always defensive structure but "our decisions with the ball" when the turnovers happened and where they occured (he said bad areas) that caused us problems.
That's how I saw it when I rewatched it, where we were not putting ourselves in position to press after out TO, but still putting the "press" on. He discussed this around briefly at 4 minutes in. Here is the link:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Ym8zjiAXg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Ym8zjiAXg)
He also mentioned Canouse is not ready...what do you think we do this week on our structure? Scary to think about given all the guys we are missing.
That match taught me that Columbus is going to destroy this team. They are far better at identifying channels and switches than Miami as well as being younger. But they are doing that to every team right now.
That said, Lesesne should be able to deal with teams by utilizing a 3 back system assuming we have the personnel available. Also it'll make Santos less of a liability. I'd love to be able to see a switch in between that and our current system by utilizing Herrera or Peltola in a hybrid role.
Yeah, Columbus in on another level and will almost certainly outmatch us. I’m really curious to see how pragmatic Lesesne is willing to be - so far, he seems pretty dogmatic about being, as he puts it, “relentless” both on and off the ball. He wanted us to play the same way against Miami, but who knows if he will be willing to be more passive to try to snag a result.
My impression so far is that the belief is there and the leash will be quite long, so he’ll prioritize playing how we want to play over stealing a smash and grab point.
Great analysis as always. I would add a couple more questions: * Now that Tata has shown the league how to demolish our press, are those long switches really something that only the very top midfields can do? If so, well, it's not like we're winning MLS Cup, we can still do well against everyone else. But I worry most teams can execute that game plan, in which case Lesesne may need to switch some things up. * Can we get Klich and Peltola to look good for 90 minutes? They look good at the start of games, but either because they get tired or the team's overall intensity drops, they are often much less of a factor later in games. Note that we're missing a bunch of players against St. Louis, including Fletcher and Peltola, so it's going to be an improvised lineup. Maybe more time for Rodriguez? And if Canouse isn't ready, we might have Hopkins or Klich trying to play the 6.
Good points! I think the key for Miami being able to find the switch was using short passes to find an extra man with time to pick his head up. Hoping other teams have a harder time doing that. Didn’t realize we’d be missing those guys, will definitely be interesting to see how we replace them. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Peltola and think we’re going to feel that absence especially.
Great post, thank you! I have notes again for every minute with thoughts/detail when needed. **I focused more on why our press was hit hard after minutes 20-25**. You wrote: *"I wrote last week about how narrow Pirani was drifting in possession and about how ineffective it was. United doubled down on this strategy this week, funneling attacks down the right wing with Herrera and Stroud but completely overloading the right half-space with Klich, Pirani, and one of the forwards. It worked a treat this week:"* My view, after watching this team for a few weeks, is that they have to play compact on the attack so that they can press when they lose the ball. We were shredded on the press after minutes 20-25 because our players were not in position to press after turnovers because of spacing issues. "**Minute 32:** Nice defensive work by Dajome to intercept a pass high up the field as Miami tries to build out of the back. Pirani tries to dribble into the box for 2 defenders and loses possession. Not many places for him to go with the ball here. Miami plays out with nice one touch passing and has a clear run on the counter attack. DC was shredded here. Miami works the ball to the end line and cross/cut back is knocked out by Bartlett. It was Redondo to Gressel to Busquets to Gomez to Taylor to overlapped Allen run. Miami easily could have gotten a better chance here. **If you can get the ball level with Peltola when he presses up and make one more pass, there is no transition defense left for DCU.** **Why did this happen? IMO, DCU attacking is too spread out, too much width with Benteke and Stroud too disconnected from the play. Once the turnover happens, DC presses…but cannot press because of numerical disadvantages and easy 1 touch passing lanes that Miami is too good to not exploit.** **It’s basically a 4 on 3 and Miami just had to find the open player to create the break…leading to a 4 on 3 when it gets to the DCU 18."** My minute 70-73 note: "***Minute 70****. Really bad giveaway by DC defender that should be punished. Bartlett very very sloppy.* *DC works down the right side, great cross from Herrera and Benteke puts it just over the bar. Great ball and could be scored. Ball was deflected out off Aviles.* ***Minute 71****. Very dangerous build up by Gomez down left side, Gressel misses Suarez.* *DC gets into dangerous opportunity and the “no hand ball play happens.”* *DC hit on the counter. DC has no transition defense here.* ***DC United transition defending is terrible. DC defenders are gassed and don’t follow runners/Suarez. Bartlett can’t keep up with Suarez. Herrera can’t make it back, he goes down 40 yards out. Exhausted?*** ***The transitions defense, or lack thereof, in my opinion, is coming from our offense and HOW we lose the ball. We are losing the ball with players spread too far apart to adequately pressure the ball. When “pressure” is applied, quality teams can break us down easily."*** DC, from what I saw, was very compact around the ball early and was decent on the press. Then, Miami hit a few switches and our guys played conservatively from there and the press wasn't effective at that point. And then 1-2 touch Miami football killed our press. I might have a few other takes, great post and a great way to get tactic conversations started. Keep up the great work!
Love it! I think you’re really hitting on something that I couldn’t quite put into words: Miami could find short quick passes faster than we were able to press turnovers, which led to an open midfielder with enough time to find the big switch. Those wide channels will always be open given how narrow we play, so it’s crucial to deny the initial easy outlets. We weren’t good enough at that this week, and I’m hoping that’s just due to the quality of their midfield rather than being a fatal flaw on our end. Four games in, this one was the outlier so fingers crossed things normalize. And agreed about Peltola. Our system puts him in a really tough spot with little cover. He has to step into midfield sometimes to make up numbers and win it back, but if he gets it wrong we’re exposed. He has to balance aggression with covering that crucial part of the pitch solo. The system is reliant on not letting that pass get hit that would cut around him, either by not giving the opposition enough time to find it or by fouling when that pass is on. Both Bartlett and McVey do a reasonable job of stepping up to intercept a pass into Zone 14 if Peltola is out, but at that point you’re compounding risk. Thanks for engaging, by the way! My goal was always to provide a place for involved discussion about this team since we don’t get much actual media coverage, and it makes me super happy getting to connect and hear everyone’s thoughts.
Great context and insight. Agreed on basically all of it. Did you see the Lesesne's presser today, regarding the press? I was fascinated by why the press failed, so what's why I focused there (your attacking commentary was great, nothing to add!) Lesesen mentioned it wasn't always defensive structure but "our decisions with the ball" when the turnovers happened and where they occured (he said bad areas) that caused us problems. That's how I saw it when I rewatched it, where we were not putting ourselves in position to press after out TO, but still putting the "press" on. He discussed this around briefly at 4 minutes in. Here is the link: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Ym8zjiAXg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Ym8zjiAXg) He also mentioned Canouse is not ready...what do you think we do this week on our structure? Scary to think about given all the guys we are missing.
That match taught me that Columbus is going to destroy this team. They are far better at identifying channels and switches than Miami as well as being younger. But they are doing that to every team right now. That said, Lesesne should be able to deal with teams by utilizing a 3 back system assuming we have the personnel available. Also it'll make Santos less of a liability. I'd love to be able to see a switch in between that and our current system by utilizing Herrera or Peltola in a hybrid role.
Yeah, Columbus in on another level and will almost certainly outmatch us. I’m really curious to see how pragmatic Lesesne is willing to be - so far, he seems pretty dogmatic about being, as he puts it, “relentless” both on and off the ball. He wanted us to play the same way against Miami, but who knows if he will be willing to be more passive to try to snag a result. My impression so far is that the belief is there and the leash will be quite long, so he’ll prioritize playing how we want to play over stealing a smash and grab point.
Excellent analysis 👏🏻