Defending after the first touch
with William Saliba
Smaller than your usual snippet, a tweet-like post discussing the coachable details behind an interception made by Arsenal defender William Saliba.
What are we looking for?
Central defenders need to defend space in front and in their back.
Saliba’s positioning is good because he is within reach (2-3 metres) of the player in front and is side-on (shoulders facing the touchline), slightly bent through the knees to sprint and defend the space in behind.
When do academy-trained players show for the ball? On the first touch of their teammate. That’s good timing by the striker - he’d be more of a nuissance to Saliba if he started from higher (out of Saliba’s direct eyesight).
Saliba reacts well and does crossover steps to approach the striker from the blindside.
From the blindside to appear at the last second and let the striker second guess where and when he will make contact
Crossover steps to not be flat-footed upon the first touch of the striker, but to be goalside (ball-goal line).
The timing is excellent to accelerate as soon as the ball is hit, which is the baseline level you expect. Somehow, a difference maker in Premier League football is still the ability and timing to decelerate before the first touch of the opponent (I’m looking at you, Manuel Ugarte).
The key is to make contact after the first touch - that’s when the striker is rebalancing to adjust, therefore making it easier to knock them off and poke the ball away.
Usually when I see players do these details well, they turn out to be French.
There’s outliers between referees, but referees are different between countries as well. Meaning there is a correct sequence to making contact with a player.
Generally players go for a bump to off-set the opponent and then nick it - usually using the shoulders or hip to bump, then the leg or foot to nick it.
The detail that is often missing is using the arm to let the opponent stumble over their own feet after being dispossessed.
That’s what Saliba does here, to not let them have second bite of the cherry
Nice perspective.
I find that going like this a little later in the duel for Saliba potentially reduces separation if the striker makes a counter-attacking call like Vini vs Bayern and the Kroos pass.