PRESSING SYSTEMS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND HOW THEY IMPACT THE MODERN GAME

Pressing in the modern game has become a very important aspect with every team seeking to press the opposition in one way or another, this is mainly due to the rise in the number of teams wanting to build from the back as well as the rise in the general technicality of football. In this post I will talk about how various teams in the Premier League set up to press and the general impact pressing has had on the modern game.

According to the Mariam-Webster dictionary the word press means to apply force to something in order to shape it into a desired form or push it away from you which can directly be translated into football terms as simply applying pressure to the opposition when they are in possession of the ball to win the ball back, delay the opposition or control the game.

How a team presses depends primarily on how they set up. Teams playing in a high line of engagement, like Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, press high up the pitch in the opposition’s half, looking for turnovers in dangerous areas to create chances. Teams that play in a midblock, like Tottenham under Conte, use a mid-press which involves a low engagement line but a high defensive line that allows them to compress the pitch and win the duels in the middle of the park. Lastly teams that sit off in a low block use a low press which is also known as “parking the bus”, this involves a low engagement and defensive line which focuses more on preventing the opposition from creating chances on the edge of their 18-yard box than turnovers that lead to dangerous counters.

Teams press for various reasons such as: forcing errors from the opposition which could lead to goal scoring opportunities, regaining possession after losing it; this is a huge part of very possession based teams like Arsenal and Manchester City, and disruption of their opposition from getting into rhythm; a tactic employed usually by lesser sides when coming up against better opposition or opposition better at keeping possession than they are.

Pressing has no doubt become a very important aspect and it serves its purpose to every team regardless of the playing style they employ. Pressing allows teams to create artificial transitions by winning the ball back in the middle of the pitch or higher and springing quick attacks, it also allows teams to slow their opposition down after they lose the ball to allow themselves to get into their defensive shape and lastly it helps to disrupt the opposition from successfully building from the back and creating attacks.

Nobody can for sure ascertain where pressing originated from, some say it came from the British others say it came from the Austrians but in Jonathan Wilsons book Inverting the Pyramid, he credits the invention of pressing to Russian manager Viktor Maslov during his time in charge of Dynamo Kiev between 1964 and 1970, but it wasn’t until the 1974 World Cup that pressing was taken mainstream and nearly perfected by Netherlands and their head coach Rinus Michels who played a high defensive line and had 3 players engaging the opposition player in possession of the ball, with one player directly marking the man on the ball and the other two cutting passing lanes.

Michels pressing model alongside various football innovations and rule changes created a template for the modern day pressing game with managers such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Kloop and Marcelo Bielsa using this template to form their own pressing philosophies. These managers have no doubt played a huge role in the general acceptance of high intensity pressing in the modern game.

In order for pressing to be effective and not place too much burdens on the physical status of players a balance has to be struck out between pressing and possession, so that when a team wins the ball back they are capable of holding onto possession of the ball for elongated periods to avoid constant chasing of the ball when they lose it. The team that embodies this best is probably Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, , a team that loves to retain possession while making the opponent shuffle from side to side while they carve out openings between the lines as well as presses high as soon as they lose the ball.

In the English Premier League all the successful pressing teams employ different systems, shapes and philosophies. In the next section we will be looking at how the most successful pressing teams from the 23/24 season set up to press their opposition when out of possession.

The first team we will be looking at are the defending champions of the Premier League, Manchester City. The blue outfit from Manchester usually don’t spend long periods of matches without the ball, averaging 66% of possession last season, which was the highest in the league. City set up in a 433 which becomes a 3241 in possession with either one CB stepping into midfield of the fullback inverting into midfield, however we are not concerning ourselves with how they set up in possession but how they are out of possession, City press with a 4141 shape which often turns to a 442 depending on the build-up shape of their opponents.

 The spaces between the lines are also determined by the opposition being faced, when they face technically astute teams like Arsenal and Liverpool the lines are more compact to prevent them being played through but when facing teams that prefer to go long or aren’t so good technically, they drop their defensive line and leave space in midfield.

City employ a mixed form of pressing which includes zonal markers who cut off passing lanes and force the opposition to one side to win the ball and man to man markers in the middle of the pitch who try to stop the opposition from progressing centrally.

Also since City set up with a 3241 when they are in possession which allows them to have bodies around the ball for easy progression, the same goes for when they lose the ball, they counter-press with numbers and intensity.

This way of pressing allows them to produce a high number of turnovers with a PPDA (passes per defensive action, a metric that shows how many passes a team makes before encountering any defensive action or press from the opposition, a high ppda means a team is parking the bus or sitting in a low block while a low ppda indicates that a team presses very often) of 11.4

Arsenal, the runners up last season use a similar pressing shape and structure to that of Manchester City, they employ a 442 shape when pressing teams in the build-up phase while utilizing a man for man press. The front 2 press in a hybrid way by zonally and partially man marking the first line of build-up while the midfield line of 4 all go man for man, once the ball has moved from the first line of build-up, Arsenal switch to a full man to man press and swarm the ball when loose touches are had, or under-hit passes are made.

In their low press, Arsenal sit in a 442 midblock whose aim is to squeeze the pitch and force the opposition backwards further away from the Arsenal goal by stepping up when backwards or sideways passes are made, this tasks the team to be extremely coordinated and switched on as the midfield and defensive lines have to be brave and step up when the front line steps up. Arsenal also rely on counters occasionally when the ball is won back utilizing the pace of forwards like Saka and Martinelli.

Arsenal in possession like to overload central areas and create underlaps to attack the half spaces, so when they lose possession of the ball they usually have superior number of players around the ball and they use that to their advantage by employing a counter-press that allows them to win the ball back swiftly.

Chelsea at some point in the season were one of the most proficient pressing teams, boasting a PPDA of 8.4. Mauricio Pochettino is a manager known for always wanting to play on the front foot and his Chelsea side were no different. Despite their overall poor campaign, Chelsea were often dogged off the ball and sometimes hard to play through whenever their game plan was executed right. Chelsea under Pochettino pressed in a 442 shape with the players primarily focusing on cutting passing lanes and setting pressing traps by forcing the opposition wide, this is a contrast to Arsenal or City’s principles where players directly engage their opponent, Chelsea favored a more passive approach.

In the low press Chelsea often adapted their shape, when facing strong opponents they used a 442 and went man for man against the opposition pivote players ultimately aiming to force them wide where they can win the ball back, against lesser or weaker opponents however Chelsea set up in a 4141 shape off the ball allowing the 2 number 8’s the license to push higher and press, this often allowed for space in behind those 2 midfielders which was often exploited.

Chelsea(blue) in a 442 out of possession

Chelsea(blue) in a 4141 out of possession with opposition midfielders(8 and 10) looking to exploit the space

In possession Chelsea often used the infamous 3241 shape which becomes a 3151 or 316 against lesser teams, this allowed them to be vulnerable to counterattacks especially as their press is not very aggressive, teams often find space behind the overloaded midfield and drive at their rest defense and with the Chelsea center backs preferring to sweep behind rather than step up, it translated into Chelsea allowing chances to be created in and around their penalty area.

Tottenham Hotspur looked a different team under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou last season with the London outfit managing to mount a brief title challenge perhaps it is a sign of things to come. Tottenham's mildly impressive campaign involved entertaining and often free flowing football with the incident against Chelsea when Spurs went down to 9 men but still played a high line being the highlight of this.

Tottenhams’ ability to win the ball back quickly was one of the important foundations of their style of play with a PPDA of 8.5 last season they were very front footed. They employed a 4132 shape when in a high press, this allowed them to press energetically with the striker (Son/Richarlison) initiating the press and forcing the opposition out wide into traps which can allow Spurs to win the ball back, and in the case where the press is beaten they have a rest defense of 4-1 which is enough bodies to recover.

There has been an overreliance on their center backs Romero and Van de ven, who are both fast and strong ultimately making them good channel defenders, whenever the team commits to the press it often leaves them vulnerable in wide defensive areas.

Jurgen Klopp is a popular ambassador of the gengenpressing ideology, so it is no surprise his Liverpool team is one of the most successful and proficient pressing outfit in the league. Klopp sets off his Liverpool team to press high and man for man in a 325 shape sort of where each member of the front 3 pick up a player in the opposition back 4 and the right back steps us to mark the oppositions left back. It is a system that is physically and mentally tasking on the players but when done correctly it yields huge results with Liverpool scoring a handful of goals from direct turnover of play.

In a low press, Liverpool use a 4141 shape and try to force opposition wide where they can win the ball back by closing off the center of the pitch. They attempt to squeeze the pitch by stepping up when loose balls, sideways or backward passes are made and when they push the opposition back high enough they revert back to their high press shape of 325.

When in possession Liverpool use a 2251 shape where one fullback inverts into midfield and the other pushes high and wide and other players occupy the central areas, this allows for quick recycling of possession in order to create chances, as such when they lose the ball they win it back almost immediately due to the superior number of players they have in the middle of the park.

Teams such as Aston Villa and Bournemouth under Andoni Iraola were also very good pressing sides last season with Villa finishing top 4 and Bournemouth having a good spell after Iraola took charge.

After looking at various pressing structures and principles of some of the best pressing teams in the Premier League, it is safe to assume that pressing has become a very important aspect of modern day football with some teams pressing shape and tactics being the main reason for victories in matches. An example being Manchester United vs Manchester City in the FA cup final last season, United employed a 424 or 4222 shape off the ball to stifle City’s 3223 shape and as a result scored 2 goals in the first half before Pep could make changes to adapt to it.

Often teams use different pressing structures for different opponents in order to effectively counter the strength of the opponent being faced, teams usually deploy a front 2 out of possession when dealing with an opponent that uses a back 3 in possession so as to cut passing lanes and so forth.

The physical demands of pressing however cannot be understated and sometimes they can lead to fatigue and worst case scenarios, injuries. Teams these days strive to have depth in various positions but not just depth but quality in depth with players of similar profiles relevant to the play style also needed. The general fitness of the team is also key, with most modern day managers prioritizing physicality and fitness as much as technicality when training before and during the course of the season.

Pressing is also a great tool for controlling games as teams can use it to push the opposition away from them and look for turnovers or they can invite the opposition and try to win the ball back to generate counter attacking situations, possession based sides also use the press to win the ball back as quickly as possible.

In conclusion, pressing like football in general, has evolved over the years and has now become a major part of teams and their philosophies, which further impacts the game from a physical as well as from a tactical standpoint. With different teams employing various systems when pressing, it is a part of football that will continue to evolve as new ideologies emerge.