By Michael Richardson
What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? It’s the age-old question – and on Friday night, Tony Pulis gave us the answer.
A defensive masterclass by Pulis’ Middlesbrough side – one reminiscent of the Aitor Karanka era, was on display for all of the Championship to see under the Sky cameras last Friday. Boro lined up in a 5-4-1 formation, and maintained a solid defensive structure throughout. However, the back five weren’t the only players who contributed to the clean sheet.
Attack is the best form of defence?
As shown, lone striker Britt Assombalonga, along with the two most forward-minded midfielders of Boro's four, Stewart Downing and Jonny Howson, combined to form a flat, three-strong press whenever Leeds looked to play out from defence. This forced whoever was on the ball to look to the flanks for an option as the pressing triumvirate, with Mo Besic and Adam Clayton lying in wait behind them, effectively cancelled out any possibility of central distribution.
As a result, Leeds were forced to attack down the wings and attempt to deliver balls into the box whilst their main creative outlet – Samuel Saiz – remained isolated in the centre of the park. These attempts to pump the ball into the box – their only option given the circumstances, were easily countered by the obvious height advantage that Dani Ayala, Aden Flint and Dael Fry held over United striker Kemar Roofe.
Again here, the midfield is shown to maintain a tight and compact shape and thus prevent Saiz from picking out any midfield options. Instead, he opted to go out wide to Alioski, who found himself with no option but to cross the ball in or pass backwards, and he chose the latter.
Pressing
The Gegenpress is a term quite often used by football analysts when discussing Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool teams, and Middlesbrough showed glimpses of it on Friday. Downing and Howson pressed full-backs Ayling and Douglas whenever the ball came within their “trigger zones”. A trigger zone in football implies a zone in which a player should press the opposition if the ball enters a set area of the pitch they have been designated to protect.
Here is an example of a trigger zone involving Jonny Howson:
Boro used this pressing tactic to good effect against Leeds as a method of stopping the ball being played into danger men Saiz, Alioski and Roofe, meaning that whoever was on the ball was consistently and repeatedly forced to pass backwards and sideways in the hope of forcing an opportunity. However, due to the discipline and narrow nature of Boro’s 5-4-1 formation, such opportunities were few and far between.
The Back Five
It’d be reckless to argue against the fact that despite the midfield’s excellence, Boro’s defence ran the show on Friday night. Shotton and Friend defended excellently against the overlapping duos of Harrison-Ayling and Douglas-Alioski, whilst Fry, Flint and Ayala mirrored the movement of the Leeds frontline and cleared away any long balls that came their way, as shown here:
As seen in the video, two of the three centre-backs (Ayala and Flint) mirror Klich and Roofe’s attempts at a break away, and remained goal-side whenever they attempted to make a move, as the defenders knew they had an aerial advantage. This effectively took Leeds’ two main goal threats out of the game whilst also allowing Dael Fry the opportunity to assist Adam Clayton in containing the other Leeds players. At the same time, Friend provided cover on the left, and Ryan Shotton tucked in as auxiliary centre-back should the ball be played into the box from Leeds’ right flank.
When Boro’s midfield resumed their normal shape, the defence followed suit, and a flat back five allowed Tony Pulis’ Boro to outnumber Leeds’ attacking options and nullify any chance on goal that came about if the midfield failed to win back possession.
The Final Word
So, all in all, it was an excellent defensive display from Pulis’ Middlesbrough side and ultimately a perfect away performance. Clayton and Fry were the standouts, but let’s not forget the heroics of Darren Randolph, who did especially well to save Barry Douglas’ pinpoint free kick towards the end of the game. Boro’s boss will be hoping for more of the same this season from all those who played on Friday, and one thing’s for sure – this side will not be easy to beat should such discipline be maintained.
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