Leicester City Counter Attack Study

(5 Game Analysis)

Samira Kumar Inspire Coach Education

Figure 1

Figure 2

This study looks at the counter attacking moments of Leicester

City and aims to provide an analysis of the study. The games

that were looked up for this study were Chelsea (H) 2-1,

Liverpool (H) 2-0, Manchester City (A) 1-3, Southampton (A) 2-

2, Tottenham Hotspur (A) 0-1. The events were analyzed based

on few criteria as explained in this article.

Finish with a shot, cross or assist attempt from the final

third;

Last more than three passes and is clearly aggressive

about going to goal;

Entries into the final third (and gets a player into a

position to cross, shoot and/or assist) [this last one could

be to dribble].

First and Second Pass:

Leicester’s first pass, to begin the counter attack, is highly a

forward pass (only one pass, marked in yellow, was played

towards their own goal).

Leicester play the short or medium first pass more often than a

long pass when trying to start a counter attack. (Note: Short

pass is less than 10 metres while Medium pass is 10-25 metres

and long pass is greater than 25 metres.)

The zones in the Figure 2 are the zones in which the first passes

are received.

The long passes are directed into Zone 14 (direct into attacking

third) while the shorter passes are aimed towards the middle

third of the pitch.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 3 shows the distribution range of the first pass based on

the starting and the end location of the passes. The pass starting

location is narrow in the center pitch and lies close to the

defensive third (yellow range).

The pass ending location is nearer to the attacking third

(yellow range) and narrow (red range) on the pitch. The first

pass has pushed them higher on the pitch in less time( within 3-4

seconds), which makes their second pass fall in the attacking

third or middle third and less in their defensive third (Figure 4).

Figure 5

The reason to look deep into the first and second pass of their

build-up is to see the reaction of Leicester to opponents press.

All the opponents, in the games that were watched, are high

pressing teams. Opponents pressing will usually happen within

the first 6-8 seconds after Leicester win possession. The distance

and Location of the pass within this time will have a large

impact on the final outcome of the move. Figure 5 shows the

Average Pass Distance (Metres) vs. Final Outcome of the event

for the first two Passes of all the events measured.

The first pass, to break the opponents press has higher

values to the Middle and Defensive Third. Once this pass occurs,

more no of passes happen in the midfield and attacking third.

Figure 6

Figure 7

The events that led to a goal had only 3 pass/dribble in the

middle third whereas 8 passes/dribble in the final third. Higher

the possession spent in middle and final third allows the

opponent to settle to their defensive shape and reduces the

chances of a successful counter attack.

Final Pass Failed and Shot Blocked by a defender event have

larger possession spent in the final third. The 2nd Pass/Dribble

that entered the Final third or close to the final third led to a

direct attempt at goal in their 3rd pass (Figure 7).

Figure 8

The 4th and 5th event is highly directed towards Zone 14 and

17, narrowing the angle of play, moving from wider zones to the

attacking zones in-front of the goal (Figure 8). This event

generally is the pass before the attempt at goal.

The average pass/dribble distance for all the events measured

was 21 metres. In the attacking third, the average value

increases to 24 metres while in middle third, its 18 metres. This

could be due to the fact that spaces in midfield is less and hence

shorter pass/dribble provides a better solution whereas in

Attacking third, the pass could be behind the opposition

defense, into the space behind the defense.

SUMMARY

Of the 16 first passes (pass/dribble which initiates the counter

attack), only one was towards Leicester’s Own Goal.

The average distance the first pass covered is 23 metres.

The passes which led to a goal were highly from central zones

(Zone 14 and 17).

Long passes were targeted towards the Zones 11, 12 and 17 while

there were no short passes beyond the Midfield Third.

For the Final Pass Failed events, the average time spent in the

final third is longer compared to other outcomes (11 seconds

average).

For the events led to goal, the passes in middle and final third

lasted approximately 2.5 and 7 seconds respectively.