Analysis Corner: The tactics behind a record

By Dougie Wright (@dougie_wright)

The Tactics Behind A Record

On Saturday, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic overwhelmed St Johnstone in Perth to set a new British record for domestic matches without defeat. The champions have now gone sixty three games without losing in Scotland, a run that stretches back eighteen months.

There’s no doubt that Celtic have some great players. Similarly, it is without question that these players have improved technically, mentally and physically since the start of last season.

However, this run would not have reached the sixty three games mark were it not for some canny tactics from Rodgers

Most team’s Celtic play against in Scotland will do two things: defend close to their own goal, and stay close to each other.

The idea is to form a tight shell in front of their keeper, ensuring that Celtic have neither time nor space near the goal. When they do get the ball, it tends to go up the field quickly and directly, in order to take advantage of any space Celtic have left in behind.

Playing like this for a full 90 minutes is quite hard. The style means that your team don’t see much of the ball, which is quite mentally draining. Furthermore, because you’re defending so close to your goal, any slip ups can very quickly result in conceding a goal. This is why Celtic score so much in the last 15 minutes of games.

Nevertheless, Celtic must try and find ways around this type of defending for the rest of the match.

Here are their favourite ways of doing this.

Cut backs

In order to stay close to the goal, these teams often concede space on the wings. While there is a temptation to cross from deep, playing a high ball into a packed box isn’t a gamble that would work particularly well in their favour.

However, cut backs are a different story.

When Celtic’s attackers receive cut backs, their body will be facing the goal, making it easier to finish. Often, the pace of the cut backs means that only one touch is needed from the attacker to direct the ball into the net. That applies to the defenders too, as we saw for Celtic’s third goal on Saturday.

A high cross from deep is pretty difficult to attack, and easy to defend. A low, hard cut back across the 6 yard box is the opposite on both counts.

Diagonals

To break down football pretty simply, the aim is to move the ball as close to the other team’s goal as possible without getting dispossessed. So let’s think about the directions a player would want to dribble.

Backwards and sideways are silly: you can’t really see who’s in front of you, and you’re not getting any further to the goal. This is why nobody does this.

However, straight forwards is also not a great option. If you’re dribbling centrally, you can’t see who’s wide, and if you’re out wide, you can’t see who’s in the centre (or indeed the other wing).

Yet time and time again in Scotland, you see players put their head down and plough straight forward. Usually they either get tackled, or attempt a panicked shot/cross/pass due to them not being able to see fully what’s going on around them.

This is where Celtic are slightly different. Very rarely will you see Celtic dribble, run or pass in a straight line when attacking. It’s all about the diagonals.

Dribbling diagonally is particularly effective. First, the attacker can put their body between their marker and the ball, making it difficult to dispossess without committing a foul.

Secondly, you force other defenders into making a decision, especially if they’re marking zonally. As the attacker drifts across the field, do you hold your position and let the attacker continue unchallenged? Or do you meet the attacker, and leave a gap in your zone?

Finally, from the attacker’s perspective, you can see so many more options ahead of you. Take a look here:

Here, Roberts can jink left or right (no touchline for the Dundee defender to use for safety), and he can see both team-mates Forrest and Griffiths, as well as the goal.

Asymmetry

At 20 years old, Kieran Tierney is a regular for club and country. The left back is well known for making his way high up the pitch, often whipping in pinpoint crosses from near the touchline.

There is no doubt that Tierney’s attacking prowess adds to Celtic’s game, but throwing a full back high up the pitch often leaves room in behind that well trained opponents can exploit (see James Tavernier at Rangers).

To compensate for this, right back Mikel Lustig will stay by the centre backs whenever Tierney goes forwards, and vice versa. This might sound like common sense, but it actually demands a great deal of communication (difficult when separated by 60 yards, surrounded by 60,000 fans).

It also means that Celtic play asymmetrically- take a look at this typical Celtic line up:

Remember two things: Celtic usually dominate possession and territory, and most opponents will defend symmetrically (4-4-2, 4-1-4-1). Given Celtic control the ball, and they play asymmetrically, it means Celtic can create overloads in certain areas of the pitch, where they have more players than their opponents.

Sure, the reverse is true, but given how deep the opponents tend to defend, this isn’t usually dangerous.

Summary

The above three factors only scratch the surface of Rodgers’ Celtic team. However, they are each hugely important factors in how his side plays.

While they may sound fairly simple, the fact remains that Celtic are the only side in the Premiership to consistently display each of these three qualities. They’ve been successful so far; successful enough to break records. And it’s a record that will keep running until teams find a way to combat them.

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