Formations

Kevin Muscat’s Melbourne side was largely maintained from last season, with key additions Leroy George and Rhys Williams starting the match in defence and midfield respectively. Mark Milligan, James Troisi and Kosta Barbarouses were all on international duty, with Broxham and Valeri filling in the midfield roles just behind playmaker George. Thomas Deng started in an unfamiliar role at left-back, with all-time leading Hyundai A-League goal-scorer Besart Berisha leading the line for Victory.

Formations and general movement tendencies

New signing Adrian Mierzejewski started on the right flank, opposite player of the season Milos Ninkovic in a strong Sydney forward line. Graham Arnold pointed out the addition of three new players to the Sky Blues defence in Retre, Wilkshire and Redmayne, whilst Jordy Buijs and Alex Wilkinson looked to maintain the solidity of last season. The midfield partnership of Brillante and O’Neill gave continuity to a side who have been vocal about their desire to be the first team to win back-to-back A-League championships.

Sydney’s final third rotation

It is very clear that Sydney will remain defensively strong in a similar fashion to last season, but new signing Adrian has allowed their attack to be slightly more variable than last time out. Specifically, his presence in the team allows for an asymmetric approach to movement in the final third, with a rotation on the left-hand side opening space in one of three areas close to the Melbourne goal.

Generally, rotational movement is employed to open a passing line to a specified player usually further up the pitch, or to generate and unlock space. In the final third, real estate is at a luxury – a well-worked rotation can prove invaluable against teams which can defend well in a compact block, as it was found Melbourne Victory can.

Sydney’s front rotations generated space in at least one of the three highlighted areas

The rotation generally was triggered by the advancement of left-back Luke Wilkshire, whose preference to use his right foot allowed the option to drive inside with the ball. Regardless of the direction of ball movement from this position, the rotation occurred as follows:

  • Luke Wilkshire progresses higher with the ball on the left side of the pitch.
  • Bobo begins a run towards the left side, vacating his central position.
  • Alex Brosque makes a run behind Rhys Williams and aims to attack the near post.
  • Milos Ninkovic vacates the left half-space and moves to occupy the central area on the outside of the box.
  • Adrian, on the opposite side of the field, runs across the face of his direct opponent and aims to attack the space at the far post.

Dependent on the reaction of the Melbourne defenders, Wilkshire would have the opportunity to release one of his aforementioned teammates into a created space, highlighted in the diagram above in yellow. If all defenders remained in the existing structure, he would be able to progress himself and produce an opportunity to cross the ball. It is likely that the preferred scenario is for the movement of Bobo to drag one or both centre-backs out of position, allowing Alex Brosque to attack the ball in a dangerous area.

Melbourne Victory’s use of superiority to open space

It is a well-known principle of play that combinations of passes in the same area of the field will entice defenders to move towards the zone of the ball, and it proved to be the case in this match. The Victory were able to consistently unlock space for a marauding full-back, usually Jason Geria, by the relevant winger vacating the advanced wider positions and joining in with the build-up phase of possession. As Sydney’s defensive strategy is based around having numerical superiority themselves,

it was easier to drag them into central areas. This approach also relies upon the identification and preparation of space to attack, as opposed to simply filling it before the opportunity actually arises to do so effectively. For example, if the space was already occupied by a teammate before a pass could actually be made to exploit it, it is likely that a defender would already be there too, nullifying any advantage that could have been enjoyed.

The creation of space for Geria to attack

As illustrated above, after sustained possession in the middle of the field and the inside movement of Mitch Austin, Jason Geria was afforded the opportunity to attack the space on the right-hand side of the field. This was a move which was consistently used by Muscat’s team, allowing for several opportunities for Deng and Geria to cross the ball in an attempt to find a centralised teammate. Unfortunately for the home side, the execution of this was not always as effective as the move itself.

 

Sydney’s defensive scheme

Sydney FC under Graham Arnold are arguably have the best defensive set-up in the history of the A-League. Not only do the physical movements and tactics stand up to the most talented players in the country, but so does the mental toughness of the players. Watching them play, it can be seen that the players completely believe in their approach, to the point where it seems that they don’t believe they will concede a goal – and for this, full credit must be given to Arnold.  

Sydney’s compact 1-4-2-3-1 out of possession

As mentioned previously, Sydney’s defensive approach is built upon having numerical superiority (simply, having more players in a given area than the opposition) in central, and the most threatening, areas of the pitch. In this sense, it is a prerequisite that the defensive unit must be in a compact block, reducing the distances between members of the team.

The compactness of a defensive block restricts the space available for the opposition to play in, while at the same time offering cover for teammates who may be beaten in one v one situations. As shown above, Sydney enjoyed superiority in central areas for virtually the entirety of the match. This structure also facilitates in the initiation of counter attacks, as the opposition will move men forward in an effort to equalise or overload a certain area of the defensive block, creating space in the vacated regions of the pitch. 

Sydney’s transition to a 1-4-4-1-1 and subsequent avoidance of opposition overload

In an effort to alleviate the danger posed by Victory’s attacking fullbacks, the second half saw a transition to a 4-4-1-1 when the ball moved into wide areas. The defensive block maintained its core stability with three longitudinal lines, allowing for an adequate coverage of vertical space. When the ball moved from the centre to the outside, the two holding midfielders step up to form a four man second line, allowing for the closest player to press the fullback in possession of the ball (Jason Geria above).

This movement not only equalised the superiority Melbourne previously utilised in these areas, but also created a free centre-back, allowing for more effective tracking of runs beyond the offside line. Overall, Graham Arnold’s team were able to respond successfully to the strengths of the opposition while at the same time maximising their own, culminating in the concession of no shots on target over the entirety of the ninety minutes. It truly was a terrific defensive performance from the reigning champions, largely restricting their talented opposition to chances from unlikely locations.

Summary

A tight affair was in the end settled only by an own goal, but it was the defensive performance of Sydney FC which was perhaps the biggest take away. However, the Sky Blues’ forward movement was generally quite effective, and perhaps should have lead to at least one more goal when Luke Wilkshire’s shot was saved by Thomas. Melbourne’s searching for numerical superiority was successful until an in-phase transition from Sydney in the wider areas, topping off a well-earned clean sheet for the away side and kicking off their title defence with a win.

 

Nathan Muir is an Australian tactical analyst and coach. You can contact him on Twitter @NathanKMuir.