Successful football teams tend to be as outstanding without the ball as they are in possession, and that was certainly the case in this season’s Premier League.
The division’s top three clubs - Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea - were also ranked as the best trio for Passes per Defensive Action (PPDA) across 2021/22.
This metric measures the pressure that a defending team applies when the opposition are in possession, showing the average number of passes that are allowed before there is a defensive action.
It is also worth looking at the Start Distance, which is the average distance from a team’s own goal where they regain the ball.
These two statistics are the best ways to gauge how effectively teams press.
As shown in the tables below, the Premier League’s three top-performing sides were all fantastic at pressing, making them incredibly difficult to play against.
Top sides for PPDA & Start Distance
| Fewest PPDA | Highest Start Distance | ||
| Liverpool | 9.9 | Liverpool | 45.5m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man City | 10.1 | Man City | 45.4m |
| Chelsea | 10.1 | Brighton | 43.8m |
| Leeds | 10.1 | Chelsea | 43.1m |
Pressure on the goalkeeper
Modern-day goalkeepers are far more comfortable with the ball at their feet than they were in the past, but elite pressing teams still opt to test their composure at the right times.
Chelsea and Liverpool produced the highest number of goal-ending high turnovers (seven). Coincidentally, they both forced errors from Leeds United's No 1 Illan Meslier.
Chelsea followed in a backpass to close down Meslier at Stamford Bridge, with team-mates squeezing up in unison to shut off the goalkeeper’s easiest passing options, forcing him into a risky clipped ball to Stuart Dallas.
Wing-back Marcos Alonso then made a late run to close down Dallas, forcing the error, and from that turnover Mason Mount scored.
In Liverpool's case, Luis Diaz triggered the press by following in a backpass, and with every Leeds defender blocked off or marked, Meslier attempted a difficult pass into midfield.
Jordan Henderson intercepted and, after exchanging passes with Mohamed Salah, he crossed for Sadio Mane to score.
Another memorable example was Youri Tielemans' chipped finish for Leicester City at home to Manchester United.
Jamie Vardy’s pressing hurried David De Gea into making a sloppy pass to Harry Maguire, who was instantly robbed of the ball by Kelechi Iheanacho, who set up Tielemans.
Making the effort to apply pressure on goalkeepers will occasionally bear fruit.
Laying traps in midfield
In terms of pressing, one of the other standout tactical ploys in 2021/22 was the way teams deliberately set up situations where they could seize on the first pass played into midfield.
Graham Potter’s Brighton & Hove Albion were exceptionally strong in this department.
They manufactured a superb 377 high turnovers during the campaign, with only Man City and Liverpool managing more.
Rather than pushing the entire XI into advanced areas, Brighton tend to press with a 5-5 approach.
A quartet of forward players will man-mark as opponents play out, and they are joined by a midfielder who makes a late sprint to take on the spare man.
Most high turnovers 2021/22
| Goal-ending high turnovers | Most high turnovers | ||
| Chelsea | 7 | Liverpool | 443 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 7 | Man City | 378 |
| Man City | 6 | Brighton | 377 |
| Leicester | 6 | Southampton | 337 |
Brighton’s remaining five outfield players are often significantly deeper, challenging rivals to play a longer forward pass.
The perfect example of this strategy paying off came in Brighton’s 2-0 win at home to Watford.
From a goalkeepers’ roll-out, the Seagulls laid a brilliant trap for Yves Bissouma to arrive late and win a 50-50. From that regain of possession, Neal Maupay scored a goal.
Brendan Rodgers' Leicester have always been a strong pressing side and this helped them record 51 high turnovers, the fifth-most in the league.
They set up a like-minded ambush against Norwich City by allowing their opponents to make that first pass from defence into midfield.
Following up from behind as the pass was played around the corner, full-back James Justin nipped in to win a turnover and that led to Vardy scoring.
This example reminds us of the value of teamwork in pressing situations.
When each layer of the side squeeze up one after the other, in a chain reaction, it can stifle opponents. Yet if one player fails to get tight enough, the press will be bypassed.
Adding in the surprise element like this, with somebody from deep making a late run to challenge for the ball, can be very difficult to circumnavigate.
Counter-press
Liverpool and City are masters at the art of the counter-press. As soon as possession is lost, both sides swarm to regain it as quickly as possible.
Their compact midfield set-ups - and in City’s case sometimes complemented by an inverted full-back - make them well-placed to crowd space in an instant.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton, who made an impressive 57 shot-ending high turnovers (second-highest), are also tremendous at the counter-press.
The Austrian’s narrow 4-4-2 formation suits these situations. You will regularly see multiple Southampton players in the middle, close to one another, hunting for an immediate regain when the ball is lost or loose.
The origin of Stuart Armstrong’s opener in a 2-0 victory against Everton highlighted this strength.
Shortly after losing possession on half-way, Saints pushed the Toffees back, forcing a mistake just seconds later by creating a 4v3 overload down the middle.
This pressing quartet was made up of two strikers, a winger and a central midfielder. From this transition, they punished the visitors.
One of the best individual goals of the entire season, scored by Salah in a 5-0 rout at Watford, would not have come about but for a classic Liverpool counter-press.
Salah’s dribble into the box had been thwarted by Craig Cathcart, but before Cucho Hernandez had time to get the ball under control, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino rapidly descended on him from both sides.
Together they regained possession and seconds later, Salah bamboozled the Hornets' defence to score.
Conclusion
It is no coincidence the three best Premier League sides also pressed brilliantly throughout the campaign.
Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have always built tactical strategies around denying opponents space.
Defending from the front with conviction, in a well-organised way, will always create goalscoring opportunities.
When implemented correctly, this style also helps protect your own goal, although with pressing and a high line there is always the risk of one long pass stretching you.
Brighton and Crystal Palace have shown how these tactics can help.
Palace have been far more proactive under Patrick Vieira than they were previously, with their PPDA improving from 16.6 last season to 12.4.
This shift in policy has helped them face the fourth-fewest shots from open play, down 71 shots on the previous campaign.
Palace also ended the season with the third-lowest tally for Expected Goals Against from open play (25.1), with only City and Chelsea ahead of them.
Brighton are excellent at pinning the opposition into their own half and, as a consequence, they boasted the sixth-best defensive record in the league, conceding fewer goals than Arsenal, Manchester United and West Ham United.
Good-quality pressing will always unsettle opponents and allow teams to control their own destiny. The evidence from this last season suggests it is a style that is well worth investing time in.