This series intends to bring to light the most effective corner routines that are used around Europe’s top leagues. We will explain the reasons why each corner routine is extremely effective and the details needed to execute the routines as effectively as possible. The analysis will provide teams with a step-by-step guide on how to use each routine to its potential, enabling teams to consistently repeat these methods, adding an extra method to every team’s set-piece toolbox.
In this tactical analysis, we will delve into the tactics behind the corner kick routine, which includes a short pass to back post cross, and analyse in depth why this routine can be so highly effective. This set-piece analysis will explain the details behind every element involved in the routine and why this routine can be much more effective than its variant, a direct cross to the back post.
The Importance of Changing the Angle of the Cross
Attacking the space behind a defender’s back has been and always will be the most effective way in which an attacker can arrive in a dangerous position and receive the ball in an advantageous position. By the time it takes for a defender to rotate their body and recover lost ground, an attacker usually will have already received the ball and executed his next action.
This very same principle applies in attacking corner kicks.
As the defensive side prepares to defend a corner kick and turn their attention that way, they turn their back to the back post, which means that it is harder for them to cover that space. As a cross is made, and an attacker arrives at the back post, the defender has the time it takes for the ball to travel from a wide area to the six-yard box (roughly 1-2 seconds) to cover the space behind them.
As a result, finding space at the back post can be extremely effective due to the defensive team’s discomfort in protecting space behind their backs.
However, in order for this principle to be applied and executed to its utmost potential, defenders must be dragged away from the back post area. Teams can often be seen using zonal markers to protect the back post area. When this is the case, as seen in the example below, defenders near that area are close enough to simply backtrack a couple of steps to cover the space.
A short corner can be used to bait the defensive line to step up, where defenders aim to limit the space that attacking sides have in front of them. This, in turn, increases the distance between the nearest zonal defender and the space at the back post, eliminating the possibility of the defender backtracking to cover the space and clear the cross. Furthermore, the fact that the defenders are moving away from the goal, and the ball is moving in the opposite direction, against their momentum, further reduces the defenders’ abilities to cover the space at the back post.
It is extremely important that the short corner is played and the ball is moved back enough to encourage the defensive line to step up. In the first example. the cross was also made after a short corner, but with the ball still coming from a similar angle as it would from a corner, the defensive line maintained its position.
One other issue that can arise when attempting to use this corner routine, but not effectively, is the inability of the attacker to arrive in the target area unopposed. In the next part of this article, we will identify the key points to ensure this corner routine is used to its absolute potential. At the moment, we are pulling the weeds out by identifying unsuccessful attempts to use this routine.
In the example below, the attacker attempting to arrive in the space at the back post starts around the penalty spot. The issue with this is that the defender is positioned goalside and can constantly see his marker and can see the direction in which he is headed. As the attacker is on his own, and no other player aims to help create separation for him, it is simple for the defender to remain tight to the attacker.
The distance from the penalty spot to the back post is not large, meaning that the attacker has few opportunities for dismarking, as he does not have a dynamic superiority nor a positional, numerical, or cooperative one. The only other way is to gain separation through quality and speed of feints to gain space to get away from their marker, but with the distance being minimal, even gaining a yard of space is not enough as the defender is so close to the target area that they can instantly recover lost ground.
The heading originally states the need to change the angle of the cross for numerous reasons. The need to increase the amount of space available at the back post by baiting the defensive line to step higher has already been discussed.
Another benefit of using a short corner is the ability to influence the goalkeeper’s positioning to prevent them from claiming the cross.
From the wide angle at the corner of the pitch, it is extremely unlikely that the ball ends up in the back of the net from a direct shot. Goalkeepers are able to step away from their line in an effort to cover more ground around the six-yard box to claim the cross without the worry of conceding a goal directly from the corner flag. In the image below, AC Milan‘s goalkeeper Maignan has left his near post wide open and is a few yards off his line, as he knows he has enough time to return to his line if someone does try an ambitious effort from the corner flag.
However, after the short pass is made, Maignan has to move across his goal to cover the near post, as the potential of a shot being scored from the narrower angle is much more likely. We can see he has shifted across by a couple of steps, and he is now closer to his near post than the far one. This creates enough distance between the goalkeeper and the back post to eliminate the threat of the goalkeeper claiming the cross.
In this example by Aston Villa, their use of a cross directly from a corner kick enables the Chelsea goalkeeper, Petrovic, to have a high and brave starting position where he can claim any ball passing through the six-yard box. If the corner had been taken short, Petrovic would’ve been forced to withdraw to his goalline and would have been less likely to intercept the cross aimed at the back post.
Possible Methods of Creating Space at the Back Post and for the Attackers
What is clear at the moment is the fact that using a short pass helps to increase the space available at the back post and decrease the chance of a goalkeeper intercepting the cross. However, what is necessary is to ensure that the space at the back post remains free and allows an attacker to arrive there unopposed.
There are a couple of possibilities for ensuring the back post remains unmarked. Earlier, Newcastle’s use of a screen on the last zonal defender showed a surefire way to enable clear access to the back post for the ball.
Another method that can be used to consistently create space at the back post is using a decoy run on the last zonal defender. Once the corner kick is taken short and the angle changes, zonal defenders no longer cover the angles as they should. When the ball is at the corner flag, each zonal defender is separated at just the right distance, where they don’t have to worry about the space just behind the zonal defender in front of them as that zonal defender can jump to clear the ball landing just behind them.
However, once the angle changes, as in the example below, the ball can curve into the space between two zonal defenders, and the front one cannot stop the cross. As a result, once the angle has changed, zonal defenders must cover more space in front of them and track any runs made into the space behind the frontal zonal defender.
In those instances, attackers can purposefully position themselves in front of the last zonal defender in their line of sight and make a decoy run across their front. This helps to drag them away from the back post and maximise the space the ball has to be crossed into.
Similarly, the whole team as a pack can make decoy runs across to the front post. Each man marker follows the attacker they are assigned to, while the zonal defenders try to cover the space in front of them, as it looks as if the ball will be crossed towards that area, leaving the back post completely free. This can be very beneficial as it has the whole defensive unit moving away from the target area, and with the ball moving in the opposite direction to the defensive side’s momentum, it is extremely difficult to cover that space.
The last part of a successful corner kick that is necessary is for the attacker to be able to arrive unopposed. One way in which this can be achieved consistently is by making the target attacker begin outside of the penalty area. Players outside the penalty area usually remain unmarked, especially when those players who would potentially be there are busy dealing with players who have taken the short corner kick. This allows players like Tielemans in the example below to make their run to the back post unnoticed. After the corner is taken short, players focus on the ball, meaning everyone’s head is fixed on the ball, not seeing the movements made on the edge of the box.
Making the run from deep has the main benefit of being able to arrive unmarked, but it also has two other benefits as a result of the longer run into the target area. While the attacker outside the box already has separation, he also gains the potential of having dynamic superiority. This can be used as a benefit when a defender might potentially spot the run made from deep. Having dynamic superiority means that they are able to reach the target area quicker than their marker due to their sprinting momentum in comparison to the defender’s standing position at the time the defender sees the movement, with the moment captured below.
This allows the attacker to arrive in the target area at the back post before his marker, meaning that if the cross and run is timed right, the attacker can meet the ball before the defender reaches that area.
Another benefit of having the dynamic superiority as a result of the deep run is the additional potential power the attacker is able to generate in their attempt on goal, than if they were to make that attempt from a standing position and waiting for the ball. That added power reduces the goalkeeper’s time to react to the ball, further increasing the chance of the shot being successful.
Summary
This tactical analysis has detailed the reasons why this particular corner routine is one of the most effective routines a team could use. Whether you are facing a zonal or a man-marking setup, attackers have multiple possibilities to ensure that space at the back post opens up, while the natural advantages of attacking the back post remain consistent and will never change. Variations of this corner method exist, with some teams attempting to deliver to the back post directly from the corner kick.
However, a short corner kick helps decrease the distance between the goal and the goalkeeper while increasing the distance between him and the defensive unit, making the back post area easier for the player crossing the ball to find.
There are multiple ways to ensure the space at the back post remains open, but the dynamic advantages a player arriving from deep receives mean that this routine can consistently be used, which is precisely why it earns the title of one of the greatest corner routines around.
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