![]() ![]() Occasionally he drifts to the wing, as a new starting point for slimy dribbles and creative touch passes. Moralez has a way of slipping under defenders, squirming through holes and attaching the ball to his feet in tight spaces. He has eight goals and 12 assists, starting every game. Moralez, who at times has played as a false 9 with David Villa and Berget hurt, has been the team’s best player. It’s ideal for an aggressive, probing player like Medina, who has plenty of on-ball flair and loves to take defenders on one-v-one. Some goes for Maxi Moralez and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi on the other side. Jesus Medina and Valentin Castellanos (who played well in his MLS debut) often took each other’s place. This is partially because that is not a viable defensive shape, and partially because of the rotation that naturally occurs with so many dedicated attackers. None of the wingers are set on the touchline as their average position. Jo-Inge Berget leads the line as a true number 9, while four other attacking players - in addition to fullbacks Ronald Matarrita and Anton Tinnerholm - support from various positions. Looking at the starters (Sweat, Lewis and Awuah came on as subs), Torrent’s 4-3-3 is clear. This shows the players’ average positions and the amount of passes exchanged between them. NYC not only excel at those two things, but their gap-hitting, fling-numbers-forward ethos is perfect when there is less area to cover. On a smaller, narrower field, teams tend to have trouble stringing passes together and maintaining a coherent shape. This overwhelming style of play, which we saw remnants of while Vieira was in charge, is designed specifically to exploit the home-field advantage of Yankee Stadium. ![]() ![]() You can see NYCFC gradually shifting play out of its defensive third under Torrent. Their passing is centered less in the defensive third and more in the middle and attacking thirds under Torrent: NYC creates a numerical advantage and capitalizes on it with a free-flowing midfield three and fullbacks supporting the attack. The middle of the field, then, is more easily controlled. Teams have to shift their entire shape to accommodate players hugging the touchline. ![]() He sets his wingers wide, as he said, and pours numbers into the resulting space. ![]()
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