Adrian Clarke identifies tactical trends from the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Fast breaks
We saw an amazing 53.7 per cent rise in the number of goals scored from fast breaks this season.
An incredible 83 strikes were registered from swift counters, compared with only 54 in 2021/22.
Since records began 17 years ago, it is the second-highest tally we have witnessed, only one goal behind the total of 84 in 2008/09.
Goals from fast breaks, last five seasons
| Goals | Total fast breaks | |
|---|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 67 | 389 |
| 2019/20 | 74 | 462 |
| 2020/21 | 55 | 345 |
| 2021/22 | 54 | 404 |
| 2022/23 | 83 | 451 |
Salah king of the breakaway
Liverpool had more shots from counter-attacks than any other side last season, producing 29 attempts in such occasions, breaking at pace to great effect on a consistent basis.
The arrivals of Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, two exceptionally quick players, were always likely to make them even more potent on the break, and so it proved.
In recent Premier League history there is not an individual who thrives more than Mohamed Salah on exploiting space when opponents are stretched.
So it is no surprise Salah had 16 shots and scored five goals from fast breaks, more than anyone else.
Darwin 🔗 Mo
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 14, 2023
An electric counter-attack to open the scoring last night ⚡ pic.twitter.com/CDSWdK3Pqp
Most shots and goals from fast breaks 22/23
| Shots | Goals | ||
| Salah | 16 | Salah | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kane | 13 | Mbeumo | 4 |
| Johnson | 12 | Rashford | 3 |
Nottingham Forest and Brentford are not possession-based teams, preferring to play on the counter, and in Brennan Johnson and Bryan Mbeumo they possessed two of the most dangerous players in these scenarios. Each of them made an impact.
Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United were statistically the most efficient side on counters.
They used the pace of Marcus Rashford coupled with the guile of Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen to good effect, scoring a league-high nine times.
While they continue to develop a more fluid possession-based style, it was important for Ten Hag’s men to be clinical on the break, and that side of their game contributed greatly to their third-place finish.
Most shots/goals from fast breaks 22/23
| Shots | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 29 | Man Utd | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man Utd | 28 | Man City | 7 |
| Nott'm Forest | 26 | Liverpool | 7 |
| Spurs | 26 | Brentford | 6 |
In the past, there has been a perception that "underdog" sides focus more heavily on counter-attacking football, but that is no longer the case.
All the most successful sides do a lot of tactical work on finding ways to exploit that precious space left in behind the opposition.
Last season, 13 Premier League teams scored at least four counter-attack goals, up from seven the previous campaign.
We are certainly seeing fewer "attack v defence" situations where one team spend lengthy periods trying to break down a low block.
Below, you can see there has been a long-standing trend of fewer passes being made inside the final third.
A growing band of managers are happy to sacrifice certain amounts of possession in the hope they can strike hard and fast on rapid transitions.
Passes in final third, last six seasons
| Season | Passes in final third |
|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 106,302 |
| 2018/19 | 101,737 |
| 2019/20 | 99,656 |
| 2020/21 | 98,770 |
| 2021/22 | 98,360 |
| 2022/23 | 97,163 |
What we are also seeing is an increase in managers wanting their teams to press and congest space for their opponents.
There is now so much talent right across the division that it has become paramount to apply additional pressure to the man in possession of the ball.
When you squeeze space inside the final third or middle third, it naturally means that room will be left open in behind your defence.
This is perhaps another of the reasons why more goals were scored on the break in 2022/23.
Also in this series
Part 1: Favoured formation emerges
Part 2: Record low number of red cards
Part 3: Comebacks on a high
Part 4: Corner goals on the rise