Tactical Analysis: Sunderland 2-2 Southampton

Sunderland clawed their way back to earn a 2-2 draw after falling two goals behind in a first half dominated by the visiting Saints. Mauricio Pochettino's side controlled the tempo in the opening half with nearly 70% possession and created a slew of decent chances. However, despite being far less fluid than the visitors in the final third, Sunderland fought back in the second half by pressing Southampton further up the pitch and hurrying them in possession.

Pochettino used a sort of fusion 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 with Steven Davis playing deeper and more narrow than a typical right sided attacking midfielder. Adam Lallana was in the #10 spot behind Rickie Lambert. Victor Wanyama was unable to recover from a calf injury in time so Jack Cork was given the nod alongside Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield.

Gus Poyet opted for his standard 4-3-3. Lee Cattermole sat in front of the back four with Seb Larsson and Ki on either side of him as midfield shuttlers. Jozy Altidore was given the start at striker ahead of Steven Fletcher.

From the start of the match Sunderland defended in a 4-1-4-1 shape with Cattermole sitting in between the defensive and midfield four tracking the movement of Lallana in between the lines. The key to Southampton's first half possession dominance was the positioning of Steven Davis. Although he was listed as the right sided player in Southampton's attacking midfield three, he actually took up a deep and narrow position alongside Schneiderlin and Cork. This meant that when Ki and Larsson tried to press Cork and Schneiderlin respectively, Southampton always had Davis free in midfield to receive a pass and as a result Southampton were able to keep attacking moves going without being forced into hitting long hopeful balls forward. The graphic below shows where Davis received passes in the first half and all of his first half passes. Noticed he received passes throughout the deep midfield zone as Southampton's spare midfielder, not just on the right side.

Southampton's goals were a result of their possession dominance. Sunderland were pinned in their own half and when they did win the ball back they were too deep to find an outlet ball and maintain a bit of possession of their own. With all three Sunderland midfielders and the two wide forwards forced to defend deep in their own half, the only option was to lump the ball long towards Altidore when they won possession. He was an isolated figure up front and needed to hold the ball up long enough to bring the midfield runners into play. It was always going to be a difficult and thankless task but the American didn't perform it well enough given his size and strength. Too often his first touch and passing accuracy let him down. He completed just 2 of 9 passes in the attacking third in the first half.

For the opener the Black Cats failed to clear their lines in their own penalty area as they defended frantically. The ball fell for Jay Rodriguez at the top of the box and he dispatched his effort brilliantly. Rodriguez probably should have doubled his tally moments later when Lambert played him through but Vitto Mannone saved his effort towards the back post. When the Saints eventually did get their second through an excellently taken Jose Fonte volley off a corner the lead was no more than they deserved.

Pochettino therefore would have been bitterly disappointed to have conceded so quickly after on Sunderland's only sniff of a chance in the first half (they finished the half with just two shots, the goal the only one on target). Johnson did well to spot Borini's diagonal outside to inside run. Calum Chambers appeared to have done well to recover into a good position to get a block on but Borini cut his shot back across goal into the far corner.

The goal appeared to ignite Poyet's side and the home crowd going into the second half. Although Southampton created dangerous opportunities on the break in the opening 15 minutes of the half, Sunderland offered more of a threat themselves going forward. The key to Sunderland getting back into the contest was their work rate in pressing Southampton in midfield. The visitors didn't enjoy the same time on the ball that they did in the first half and as a result lost possession deeper in midfield. By winning the ball back higher up the pitch, Sunderland had the advantage of both having more players in positions to get forward and Southampton having less time to recover into a decent defensive shape. The additions of Jack Colback and Craig Gardner in the midfield in place of Cattermole and Larsson gave Poyet's side some fresh legs and added energy. The graphics below shows Sunderland winning tackles and interceptions in much more advanced areas in the second half.

Sunderland tackles: first half (left) vs. second half (right)

Sunderland interceptions: first half (left) vs. second half (right)

Johnson's equalizer probably should have been saved by Arthur Boruc but it came at a time when Sunderland were on the ascendency thanks to their pressing.

The contest could roughly be described as one between two very different styles of play. Sunderland's focus was on organization, work rate and quick vertical moves forward while Southampton emphasized possession and patient build up from the back. The visitors were more fluid in attack- their play in the first half was highly impressive- but Poyet's side deserve credit for the commitment they showed after going behind. Whether passion and work rate will be enough to keep them in the Premier League remains to be seen.

Pochettino's 4-3-1-2 creates chances but leaves Southampton unable to defend width of pitch

Not a new analysis but I just got around to watching Norwich vs. Southampton from last weekend and wanted to get a quick post on here about some interesting tactical developments, particularly from Southampton.

Both teams lined up in 4-4-2 formations. New Southampton signing Dani Osvaldo was given the nod up top alongside Lambert. Adam Lallana started down the left flank while James Ward-Prowse occupied the right midfield spot.

For Norwich, Johan Elmander was given the start alongside Ricky Van Wolfwinkel at forward. Leroy Fer and Bradley Johnson played center midfield. Nathan Redmond was on the left flank, Ryan Snodgrass on the right.

With both teams in 4-4-2 formations the battle in the middle of midfield was an even 2 v. 2. Norwich enjoyed the better of the play in the opening moments by attacking the flanks. On the left side they circulated the ball wide to Nathan Redmond who used his pace to run at left back Calum Chambers and cut inside onto his stronger right foot. Redmond cut inside on Chambers in the opening ten minutes and sent a shot just wide. On the right side, Johan Elmander would drift wide alongside Ryan Snodgrass to create overloads for Southampton right back Danny Fox.

At the other end of the pitch, Southampton struggled to get in any sort of rhythm in the attacking third. Osvaldo and Lambert didn't appear comfortable as playing part of a front two. Both players are strong holding up play but neither really has the pace to make penetrating runs in behind the defense. As a result, both seemed to make similar runs checking back to the ball in the early stages and Southampton lacked a penetrative threat.

With his side struggling to get going offensively, Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino made an extremely brave attacking switch in his side's shape. Adam Lallana moved from the left wing into the middle just behind Osvaldo and Lambert in a #10 role. Ward-Prowse tucked into a center midfield position to form a midfield three with Wanyama and Schneiderlin. Wanyama sat in front of the back four with Scheiderlin more advanced to his left, Ward-Prowse advanced to his right. The shape was therefore a narrow 4-3-1-2 as shown in the diagram below.

Fox and Chambers bombed forward to provide width in possession, effectively playing more as wingbacks in a 3-5-2 than fullbacks. It was an incredibly attacking shape, particularly given Southampton were the away side.

The change had an immediate impact offensively for Pochettino. Norwich were defending in two banks of four. They were happy to allow Wanyama to get on the ball in deep areas because he's not a skilled enough passer to cause problems playing penetrative forward passes. Johnson and Fer therefore picked up Ward-Prowse and Schneiderlin. Because Southampton were playing two up top, both Norwich center backs had to pick up a forward. This left Lallana with space in between the two lines of four to collect the ball and drive forward. Within a minute of making the switch, Lallana picked up the ball between the lines towards the right side of the pitch, cut in and took a shot 20 yards from goal. The shot struck Bradley Johnson's outstretched hand inside the area but Howard Webb failed to give what looked to be a clear penalty.

The additional man in midfield Pochettino's change created allowed Southampton to enjoy more possession and stretch Norwich in their defensive third.

However, defensively the change left the Saints vulnerable in wide areas. Their shape was 4-3-3 when Norwich were in possession. Lallana, Lambert and Osvaldo pressed the back four while Ward-Prowse, Schneiderlin and Wanayama formed a narrow midfield bank of three in behind them. With only three defending in midfield, Southampton couldn't cover the width of the pitch and Norwich were able to find their fullbacks and wide midfielders in space.

The photos and video below show where Southampton were vulnerable defensively. In the top image you can see their forward three and midfield three. Here, if Southampton are going to press Pablo Osvaldo needs to be closing down the easy pass for Fer into Bassong. He fails to do so and as a result their press is easily split.

Fer plays a simple ball back to Bassong. Osvaldo then elects to apply pressure to Bassong leaving an easy passing line for the center back to find the feet of Bradley Johnson. Bassong's simple ball into Johnson below has taken Lambert, Lallana and Osvaldo all out of the play. Johnson is able to receive the pass turn and play another easy ball forward into the feet of Fer, now leaving Schneiderlin out of position to defend Southampton's right wing.

Snodgrass tucks inside unmarked where he's spotted by Fer. With four easy passes Norwich have beaten Southampton's forward and midfield lines and are able to run at the back four with numbers (the video starts with Bassong's pass into Johnson). Snodgrass and Whittaker overload Fox 2 v. 1 down the right and Snodgrass is able to get a cross into the back post. Norwich should have earned a penalty from the move- Van Wolfswinkel's header at the back post was handled- but the move shows how difficult it was for Ward-Prowse, Wanayama and Schneiderlin to defend the width of the pitch.

The image below shows just how much of the pitch Southampton were forced to leave unoccupied by playing with a midfield line of three. Here Ward-Prowse is forced wide to pick up Redmond so that his right back Chambers can pick up the overlapping Norwich left back Javier Garrido. Wanyama slides in front of Elmander to block Redmond's passing lane there. Schneiderlin is trying to catch up with the play after having just gotten forward to provide an extra body in the attack. The entire center of pitch is free for either Norwich center midfielder to run into the space. In this move Johnson and Fer failed to do so but the space was there all afternoon when the ball shuffled into wide areas.

In the end, Norwich's goal would come at least partially as a result of Southampton's inability to defend the width of midfield. Fer was able to collect the ball on the right flank and play an easy crossfield ball into Redmond on the left wing. Redmond of course still had plenty to do after receiving the ball on the wing. His driving run inside and finish were sensational but had Southampton been defending with a midfield bank of four rather than three, Fer may well have been unable to get the ball into him in the first place (Fer's crossfield ball is at 25 seconds in the video below).