With Liverpool under new leadership this season, one thing has definitely not changed. At Old Trafford on Sunday, they showed that they are more dangerous than ever when they win the ball in the opponent's half. This week's MSC Breakdown focuses on that attacking transition side of the game and taking advantage of moments when the opponents are potentially disorganized and in moments where you can get a numerical overload in a high-value position. In this week's MSC Breakdown, we detail three ways that Liverpool are separating themselves from their competition in this particular area.
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Below are three FREE transition exercises that you can try with your team:
Exercise One:
This is an exercise from Roger Schmidt when he worked at PSV. The idea is for the 'attacking transition' team to start the game in red, outnumbered in a 2v4 rondo inside a 10x10 yard square. At the edge of the box, two defenders are positioned along with one forward. As the rondo starts in one of the squares, the possession team are looking to get 10 passes for one goal. Once the two defenders win possession, they can play the center forward (also outnumbered in a 1v2 situation), break out and get support from midfielders to overload the center backs and create a chance on goal. When you work one side at a time, it allows players to recover and keeps the moments at intense as possible to replicate the game. This is a great exercise to work on the initial pass in transition which can be challenging for players as space and time is extremely limited.
Exercise Two:
This counter-attacking game is designed for teams who want to be compact defensively and look to break out into space at full speed. Play takes place in a 25x55 yard area, split into two with a 5-yard median. Ten players are split into two teams, with two wide neutrals on each side of the attacking half. Four red attackers plus two wide supporting players look to break down and score against four blue defenders. The objective is for the red team to use the overload and break down the blue team in a 6v4. Deepest red player can drop back to start the game unopposed and the red team also have a 5-yard 'Free Zone' at the halfway line. If the blue team win possession, they are looking to transition immediately to score in the other goals. 'Free Zone' can act as a 'no offside' area to introduce timing of runs on the counter attack. Play 4x6 minute games and switch roles after each game.
Exercise Three:
This exercise is a Four Ball Transition Challenge where you change the picture of the transition, in terms of numbers, every time. The first ball starts with two red players going to goal in a 2v0 against the goalkeeper. The second ball then has two blue players entering the pitch for a 2v2 situation. The third ball sees a red player enter the pitch to create a 3v2 to goal in favor of the red team. The final fourth ball, has a blue player enter the pitch to create a 3v3. The game then restarts in favor of the blue team with the same organization.
