Improving the defensive record with a 5221

[sonnevillejr]

Hey guys,

Do you know what change could I make to improve the defensive record with this tactic?

 

As you can see, we conceded 30 goals and we are only the 8th defense in the league.

Rui Patricio wanted to leave the club in january so I bought a sweeper keeper to be able to build from the back. Mancini is the player I chose to be the Ball Playing Defender because he has safe passing options with Dybala as a support duty up front and all the attacking duties on the other side.

I think the tactic would make much more sense if Pellegrini played as a APs and Dybala as the SS because of their attributes but also because in the current tactic, the right wing-back is the most attacking wing back whereas all my left wing-backs are less defensively gifted, but Dybala has the "comes deep to get the ball trait".

I placed my best XI for the screenshot but we got a lot of injuries, with Zalewski injured for 3 months and Spinazzola injured a lot as well so El Shaarawy had to play there.

Obviously all of this didn't help for the defensive record but I was wondering if you could spot any issues with my tactic?

[vrig]

Well you've got 3 centre backs who all have the beating of all but like 3 Serie A strikers in the air, so I'm not sure why you've got 'Stop Crosses' on?

You could potentially be more defensively secure with Matic on a defend duty, especially since he's not gonna be quick enough to get back into position when you lose the ball if he's moving up. Could be worth a try.

[sonnevillejr]

24 minutes ago, vrig said:

Well you've got 3 centre backs who all have the beating of all but like 3 Serie A strikers in the air, so I'm not sure why you've got 'Stop Crosses' on?

You could potentially be more defensively secure with Matic on a defend duty, especially since he's not gonna be quick enough to get back into position when you lose the ball if he's moving up. Could be worth a try.

I use "stop crosses" because, since I play with 5 at the back and no wingers, I want my players to defend wider to help the wing-backs and not give up the flanks entirely.

About my DM, I use a support duty because I already have 3 defend duties behind and also it helps building from the back. If I play him with a defend duty, he will not participate and the build-up and we will have trouble to play out of defense.

[Cloud9]

3 hours ago, sonnevillejr said:

I use "stop crosses" because, since I play with 5 at the back and no wingers, I want my players to defend wider to help the wing-backs and not give up the flanks entirely.

About my DM, I use a support duty because I already have 3 defend duties behind and also it helps building from the back. If I play him with a defend duty, he will not participate and the build-up and we will have trouble to play out of defense.

You can stick hold position on the DM(s) to get what you're looking for here I think.

CWB will leave you a bit open and "counter" in a high press can lead to more turnovers than you might like. Combining that with your high defensive line, and that your back 3 defenders aren't too quick outside of Ibanez, will see you exposed on your right hand side. Karsdrop has the pace out wide, but since he's roaming he might not be in position to cover you on the break. SK(d) is a solid option at the back as well (comes w/out take risks). Matic is also quite old and his legs have gone, looks useful in possession and a bit of a liability out of it. It's a big ask w/Wjnaldum going forward and Karsdrop doing his own thing as well. 

• The right hand side is lacking legs and defensive effort in general (starting with Dybala up top as an AP). An athletic & defensively minded DM replacement for Matic could allow your current system to function as is.

I would also look at your squad management. You can rotate your squad a bit better by resting players once they're in the red for "injury risk" and make sure you keep the squad morale up

Edited August 8, 2023 by Cloud9