When we are defending, we want to…

Press the ball to stop them getting free and moving the ball to poacher positions

…to do that, as a team, we need to firstly, in…

BLock A & B

Stay compact to protect the middle

Watch how Liverpool always stay compact and protect the middle of the pitch first. They make it difficult for the opponent to play through them.

…but if they beat us through the middle, then…

reverse press

This reverse press is non-negotiable! We always have a hungry attitude to hunt the ball & win it back. We want the opposition to feel like they have no time and space on the ball.

Here’s First Grade player Dom Johns (DJ) showing us exactly what that looks like…

…we expect this all over the pitch and from every player…

…and if you do this well, you’ll end up in a position between the ball and the goal where you are now facing the defender.

When this happens…

chase constantly

Chasing means to keep pressing when the ball is in front of you, especially if the opponent passes backwards and you can keep pressing the ball. Keep being hungry and have that chasing attitude to make them suffer, so we can get the ball back quickly…

…and do this all over the pitch. We want to be the team so hungry, nobody can live with our intensity.

block b & C

When defending as a team, we want to stay very compact vertically, constantly protecting the middle.

It is very important we get behind the ball, making it difficult for the opposition to play through us.

This includes staying compact horizontally…

…which we call ‘folding in’. If you hear ‘fold in’, that means get level with your nearest teammate so they have support and cover. Watch the central midfielder on the OPPOSITE side to the ball, for example…

…and see how Harvey Elliott ‘folds in’ so he is in a position to keep pressing if his teammate is beaten.

You can see this again below where the players are constantly ‘folding in’ so that when the opposition moves the ball, they can press the next pass.

block c & D

As we get closer to our goal, we stay true to our first principle – “protect the middle!”. You can see that in the video below…

…and in this one…

…so even if the goalkeeper gets beaten, we have players in positions where they can never give up and stop the opposition from scoring.

This is our way!

Even our Spirit First Grade do this, together!