

In this case, you’re essentially inviting pressure onto a defense that isn’t very good at defending.

So don’t assume a defensive tactic needs defend duties all over the pitch.Ī common mistake among managers is trying to protect a lead late in a game by switching to a defensive mentality, while still having 4 or 5 very attack-minded players on the pitch.

After all, you need turnovers via tackles or interceptions to launch counterattacks.Īs with team instructions, offsetting the lower mentality with support and attack duties will ensure some of your players are willing to take some risks with their passing, dribbling, forward runs, etc.Ī defend duty will not make a player defend better, just more passively and they are less likely to be caught out of position when they lose the ball. If you compound a defensive mentality with additional low-risk instructions, you may end up being too passive without the ball. Other examples of offsetting a defensive mindset include tackling harder and/or having the odd player close down more. This is a higher-risk instruction, but since you are sitting deeper with lots of players in the defensive third, you don’t have to worry as much about a player losing their marker and finding space, as there’s less of it available. You can then use team and player instructions to offset some of these low-risk behaviors.įor example, tight marking will make it harder for the opposition to find passing options. Selecting a defensive mentality will cause your players to sit deeper and narrower, standoff more and focus on protecting the space between the ball and the goal, rather than closing players down and leaving space available in more dangerous areas. However, employing one striker upfront can make counterattacks less potent, so a 4-4-2, 3-5-2, and 4-1-3-2 can all be used in more aggressive defensive systems. It maintains good coverage of the width of the pitch while utilizing a player in the DM slot to screen the defense and cover for other more high-pressing midfielders. The 4-3-3 DM Wide is one of the most commonly used defensive formations in FM. So, let’s take a look at some tactical ideas for those of you who want to implement a deep, counter-attacking approach. In FM23, it has been promised that defensive systems will be a more viable tactical philosophy. In more recent iterations of FM, managers have often struggled to implement a more defensive approach, where they employ a low block, try to absorb pressure, and hit teams on the break.
