How do you beat a team that is still undefeated in all competitions just before the end of the season? Before the home game against Leverkusen, Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller demands maximum discipline – and the use of your own weapons.
Hard to stop: Hugo Ekitiké and Omar Marmoush (right). IMAGO/Jan Huebner
A sold-out house, almost everyone on board and an impressive home record against Leverkusen – the signs before the home game against the German champions are quite promising. “It’s a nice and big incentive for all of us to be the first team to beat Bayer Leverkusen,” emphasizes Dino Toppmöller.
The coach only has to do without Sasa Kalajdzic (torn cruciate ligament) and Sebastian Rode (knee operation), who have been injured for a long time, as well as youngster Nnamdi Collins (capsular irritation in the knee). Fortunately, Toppmöller is spoiled for choice in several positions. Who defends at the back left? Will offensive power Fares Chaibi return to the team? Will the coach find a place for Hugo Larsson in midfield, for example by switching to a 4-3-3?
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Negligence like in Stuttgart is taboo
However, the foundation for a possible surprise success is independent of such personnel issues. “The key will be that we show maximum discipline when it comes to defensive behavior,” emphasizes Toppmöller. This also includes things that are self-evident. For example, running back in a sprint when you are outplayed by a high ball.
How important this is was shown, for example, on matchday 29 in the 3-0 defeat in Stuttgart, when Hugo Larsson only trotted back before the third goal was conceded, depriving himself of the chance to stop the crucial interface pass in midfield. Previously, Ansgar Knauff had only half-heartedly started further up the right wing. Stuttgart had an easy game. Under no circumstances should the team allow this kind of negligence against Leverkusen.
Toppmöller also speaks of the “clear responsibility” in the penalty area, “who has to defend which zone,” and explains: “Midfield pressing is about closing the spaces and directing the opponent to where we want them.” In short: the team must be “maximally disciplined in all defensive phases because the opponent has an incredibly high quality.”
Midfield commands during counter-pressing
Wants a win against the champions: Dino Toppmöller. IMAGO/Passion2Press
Another challenge will be to decide in a split second after losing the ball whether it is wiser to retreat into the order or to counter-press straight away. An example: If there are several offensive players at the front but no one moves up behind them and gaps arise, it will be easy for the Werkself to free themselves playfully and to exploit the space offered. The key word is synchronicity.
Detached from the opponent, the goal must always be to be cleverly positioned while in possession of the ball so that when the ball is lost, there are enough players close to the ball to counter-press. This is even more important against a strong team like Leverkusen than against other, less efficient teams. “If we see that there is no opportunity or that the approach path is too long, we have to give a command from the central midfield to the attacking players that we stop that and fall back into order,” explains Toppmöller. It’s about making the right decision depending on the situation.
Use your own weapons correctly
In attack, the opportunity lies in using the pace of your own offensive players after winning the ball. “It’s not a piece of cake to defend Omar Marmoush or Hugo Ekitiké,” says Toppmöller. He emphasizes: “We are self-confident enough and know that we have weapons to hurt the enemy.” He does believe that “one or the other possibility” will arise from switching situations. The 43-year-old doesn’t expect “en masse opportunities”, but is convinced: “We will get opportunities – we have to use them efficiently.”
Maybe a surprise is actually possible for Eintracht. A win against the newly crowned German champions would suddenly raise the mood around Eintracht and give the players a lot of self-confidence for the remaining two tasks in Gladbach and against Leipzig.
2024-05-03 15:54:49
#picnic #defend #Marmoush #Ekitiké
