In their sixth match of the Primera Iberdrola season, CD Tacon took on Levante UD Femenino, one of the best teams in the division. María Pry’s women finished third in the league last season and possess individuals of high technical quality, such as right-winger Eva Navarro and attacking midfielder Sonia Bermúdez (Soni).
Lineups
In CD Tacon’s third home game of the season, David Aznar decided to switch things up despite what the lineup graphic might tell you. Instead of playing Sofia Jakobsson on the wing like he’s done all season, he stuck her up front ahead of Kosovare Asllani and shifted striker Jessica Martínez over to the right, giving Tacon a 4-2-3-1-ish look.
David Aznar Displays Improved Defensive Tactics
Tacon’s main problem this season has been their defensive vulnerability. Much of that has had to do with poor individual quality at the back, but Aznar has not helped his case by organizing passive defensive structures that fail to pressure deep ball carriers while also declining to compress space between the lines.
Against Levante, Aznar showed significant improvements in his tactics without the ball.
From a medium block, he had Jakobsson press the center-back on the ball in an effort to direct passes to the wing. Asllani would cover the near side central midfielder while Tacon’s options on the flank stepped up to mark their counterparts.
The coordination across the midfield and forward lines was quite impressive, as Jakobsson’s pressing quickly triggered a tighter marking scheme that rushed Levante’s decision-making and primed Kaci and Malena to jump the passing lanes. The fluid reaction times made it evident that Aznar had worked on this particular defensive structure on the training ground.
Due to Levante’s insistence on playing vertical to find their primary playmaker, Soni, between the lines, Tacon racked up a lot of interceptions in the early going. This allowed them to break with some regularity but a smattering of close offside calls killed the offensive benefits of creating so many turnovers.
The only problem with Aznar’s new defensive scheme was the different look it had when Levante tried to build through their left. This is because Asllani’s defensive work-rate was subpar, even though it was an improvement upon previous performances. Whenever Levante switched flanks away from their preferred right-sided build-up patterns, Asllani declined to shift over onto the opposite central midfielder. Consequently, Jakobsson had to move over or Malena had to step up to press Zornoza, while center-back Ivana was free to play the ball without pressure.
Malena and Jakobsson worked hard enough to ensure that this was not a significant problem in the first half, but it would come back to bite Tacon in the second period of play.
Levante’s Pressing Poses Problems
Since Tacon’s transition attacks produced very little due to offside calls and a lack of efficiency, the home side needed to fashion chances from regular possession play. Unsurprisingly, they found this quite difficult due to their poor press resistance.
On an individual level, Tacon fundamentally lack the ability to build from the back under pressure. But there were also a distinct lack of options that would’ve allowed them to rotate possession back towards the middle of the park once Levante boxed Tacon onto a flank. Tacon’s near side central midfielder was also positioned too high to create the sort of passing triangles that would’ve allowed for safe ball circulation in tight spaces.
Thus, a familiar pattern of play was Tacon shifting the ball to the wing before quickly looking up and firing panicky balls into the channel. Combined with inadequate structural support, there was no sense of the patience and calm that would’ve allowed Tacon to suck in Levante’s pressers before hitting the free space on the other side of the field.
Asllani’s deeper positioning as a #10 and Jakobsson’s roaming across the front line did create moments where Tacon found progressive combinations, but they occurred too infrequently to make any kind of difference.
Levante Exploit CD Tacon’s Weaknesses
The score stood 0-0 at half-time, reflecting the commendable job Aznar and Tacon had done to keep the game competitive — but it wasn’t to last. In the 47th minute, Levante finally took advantage of Tacon’s weaker right-sided defensive dynamics. With Jakobsson slow to shift over and cover the far side central midfielder after shuttling tirelessly across the width of the pitch for an entire half, Levante manipulated Malena’s positioning away from the center by probing the left touchline. This left Zornoza free to pick up the ball in midfield and fire a long ball into the box.
Daiane failed to clear the ball adequately and possession fell to Gemma Gili, who dispatched a volley to make it 1-0. That sequence of play was representative of so many of the goals that Tacon have conceded this season — the center-backs are a huge weak point in this team due to their tendency to flub clearances and miss interceptions. Tacon would’ve conceded thanks to these types of mistakes in the first half if it wasn’t for Ana Valles’ brilliant interventions one-versus-one.
The goal motivated Levante to shift the ball from side-to-side more regularly instead of looking to go vertical at the first opportunity. This moved Jakobsson around and created the time for Levante’s center-backs to play accurate passes into midfield. Possession was then shifted out wide to Eva Navarro, who absolutely dazzled with her dribbling, quick changes of direction, and combination play.
In the 64th minute, Levante’s left back, Marta, lofted another direct pass into the box that was inadequately dealt with by Ainoa. The shabby clearance found its way to Soni in space, who dutifully scored.
David Aznar Makes Offensive Changes but Cannot Salvage the Result
Aznar responded to the two-goal deficit through a series of substitutions that moved Jakobsson to the left-wing and made Jessica Martínez the striker in a 4-4-2 attacking structure. He coupled the formation change with a high press that significantly destabilized Levante’s control over the game and ensured Tacon periods of possession in the opposition half.
Combinations down the left between Jakobsson and Asllani created some danger, but the lack of a final ball and the low frequency of these instances ensured that Levante’s goal was rarely threatened.
Perhaps Jakobsson and Asllani would’ve gotten more opportunities to work together on the attacking end had Aznar started with the press, but, in the 93rd minute, Tacon demonstrated why that would have been a dangerous strategy. Levante worked the ball into midfield and finally managed a successful vertical pass. Daiane stepped up and completely missed her tackle, allowing Levante to work the ball into the box. Tacon predictably failed to clear and substitute Estafanía Banini scored.
Takeaways
Aznar showed promising improvements on the defensive end but was ultimately undone by the lack of quality in defense — which succumbed to simple long balls and restricted him from trying a high line from the start — and Asllani’s low work-rate (which is also another factor that may hinder a pressing game, though her effort stepped up significantly after Tacon went down 2-0). Both factors may be impossible for him to control. Real Madrid made impressive signings on the offensive end but declined to invest appropriately in defense and Tacon are paying the price.
One of those offensive signings was Asllani, who is probably the biggest star on the team. Hence, getting her to engage in more dirty work may not be as simple a task as politely asking her to do so. While this is not at all an uncommon problem in football, it presents a bigger issue than normal given that Tacon’s defensive solidity depends on stopping the ball early before it reaches their extremely vulnerable defensive line.
Aznar is similarly handicapped with the lack of passing ability in his team, but he still needs to work on his build-up game even if it only means enabling Tacon to access the far side before going direct. At the moment, Tacon’s complete capitulation to opposition presses is seriously hindering their offensive potential.