The 2023 MLS season was the worst in Toronto FC’s history, with the club finishing bottom of the Eastern Conference and bottom of the league as a whole with only 22 points through their 34 league matches. The season was a complete disaster, with Bob Bradley being sacked and the futures of Italian designated players Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne being very much in question.
To replace the departed American manager, Toronto did not look outside of Canada, with John Herdman being appointed as the club’s new head coach, less than a year removed from guiding Canada to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This hire definitely came with its risks, as all do, with Herdman never managing at club level before.
However, the early results of the Englishman’s reign have been positive, with Toronto the only side in MLS not to have conceded yet this season through three matches while also already gaining just under ⅓ of the club’s point total from last season. He also seems to have gotten the entire squad to buy in, with Insigne and Bernardeschi also having great starts to the season. This tactical analysis will analyse a few of the early-season tactics that Herdman has implemented, as well as some trends that are beginning to show up in Toronto’s style of play.
The build-up shape looks to cause problems
In Toronto’s first three matches of the new MLS season, John Herdman has opted to set his side up in a back three system, with it tending to start as a 3-4-2-1 before shifting as the match progresses and in different phases of play. Through their first three matches of the campaign, Toronto have looked to have a bit of a mixed attacking style, with points where they have looked more possession-oriented and moments where they have tended to be more patient and hit on counterattacks. This has resulted in a more balanced attacking style, though being more clinical in front of goal is something they are still looking to find, with only two goals scored so far, an xG of only 2.30, and the lowest xG per shot in the league with 0.077.
While this is not the topic of this section, a lot of Herdman’s goalscoring trouble this season has been caused by the lack of contribution from the #9 position early on in the season, with most of the goalscoring chances coming either from Insigne, Bernardeschi, or Jonathan Osorio.
The pass map above shows all the successful passes of John Herdman’s side this season through the first three MLS matches. As we can see, width has been a huge factor in ball progression into the final third in the early stage of this season, with the ball tending to be circulated out to the wide channels. This topic of creating width in attack will be covered more later on in this tactical analysis.
While goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Luka Gavran have sometimes looked to play long from goal kicks, Toronto has tended to try and build from the back using their three centre-backs. The two deeper-lying midfielders tend to drop in as well, with Toronto looking to build with a 3-2 shape.
The image above shows an example of this build-up shape from Toronto’s match against Charlotte FC. As already noted, the shape during this phase tends to be a 3-2, with the positioning of the defensive midfielders, Alonso Coello and Deiby Flores, crucial in allowing the centre-backs to have time on the ball in possession. The positioning of both Coello and Flores prevented the two forwards in Dean Smith’s 4-4-2 out-of-possession shape, Enzo Copetti and Brecht Dejaegere, from putting pressure on the back three, allowing them to hold possession and be more patient while waiting for advanced players to make movements off the ball.
In this phase, the three central defenders, Nicksoen Gomis, Kevin Long, and Shane O’Neill, are able to circulate the ball between them, waiting for a passing lane to open up. However, Charlotte’s rigid defensive shape eventually forces Long to play the ball long into the wide channel, looking for the wing-back on the near touchline. While the ball is not able to be progressed into a dangerous position on this build from Toronto, the benefits are still present in this 3-2 shape.
The image above shows the issue that this build-up shape has caused Toronto’s opponents at times, often to the benefit of Herdman’s side. As we can see, the ball is in possession of Sean Johnson during this goal-kick sequence from Toronto. Though not annotated, the 3-2 shape is still clearly shown, with Coello and Flores dropping to the edge of the penalty area. However, the difference between New England and Charlotte is the positioning of the forwards, with New England’s front three looking to press high and prevent Toronto from playing between their centre-backs.
As a result, the forwards can mark Long, Gomis, Coello and Flores out of the game due to their man marking as well as positioning to block the passing lanes centrally. However, one of the benefits of this build-up shape comes from the five players’ backs, with there almost always being a free option short that works as a release valve. In this instance, that player is O’Neill, with the Irish centre-half able to find a pocket of space behind the first line of pressure, allowing Toronto to progress the ball and continue to build into the middle third.
This build-up phase from the opening match of the season against FC Cincinnati shows this same outlet again being available from the weak-sided centre-back. In this phase of play, the ball is played back to Sean Johnson, with this inviting the Cincinnati pressure further forward to look and prevent the ‘keeper from playing short. O’Neill stays further advanced on the weak side, again sitting in the pocket behind the initial pressure from Cincinnati’s forward line.
This is again the outlet where Johnson is looking to progress the game. Still, the home side do an excellent job of reading this option, with Luca Orellano able to intercept the ball and allow FC Cincinnati to counter attack. However, this example, as well as the rest of this section, is able to show the weak side outlet that Herdman’s side have looked to take advantage of in this 3-2 build shape, as well as the ability to also be patient in possession against opposition sides with lower lines of confrontation.
Utilisation of width & attacking overloads in the final third
When it comes to chance creation and how Toronto have looked to progress the ball into the penalty area when they reach the attacking third, a lot of these chances have come from the utilisation of width, with the wing-backs heavily involved, or with just sheer numbers being pushed forward, with Toronto tending to attack with at least five players. As already briefly mentioned, Toronto, while unbeaten and yet to concede this season, have not been significant from a chance creation perspective, with their two wins coming from Lorenzo Insigne wonder goals.
The data viz graphic above shows the progressive passes from John Herdman’s side this season, with arrows highlighted in pink showing progressive passes into the penalty area. What we can gather from the graphic is that Toronto prefers to favour the wide channels when looking to progress the game, but they have also found success with their central attacking players finding pockets of space on the edge of the penalty area, right around zone 14.
This Toronto attacking phase from their match against Charlotte gives a good picture of what John Herdman has wanted his side to do when they reach the final third. As we can see, the Canadian side has looked to attack with a front five, with the wing-backs pushing high to join in on the attack. In this specific attacking phase, the ball is in possession of the left wing-back, Raoul Petretta, who has inverted and swapped positions with Insigne.
One thing to notice is that Toronto has created 2v1 overloads on both the near and far sides with Bernardeschi and Kobe Franklin. As this play progresses, Petretta and Insigne proceed to interchange positions, with Petretta leaving the ball for the former Napoli star and embarking on a dummy run past the Charlotte defender, which causes the Charlotte player to get caught in two minds and not close down the Italian playmaker, allowing him the space to drive into a more central position.
This next figure shows how the attacking move progresses for Toronto. As Insigne is given the space to drive centrally, on the opposite wing, Bernardeschi and Franklin look to take advantage of the overload on their side, with the right wing-back making a run behind the defence, forcing the Charlotte full-back to drop off and preventing a ball in behind. This movement by Kobe Franklin allows the former Juventus man to hold his position on the edge of the penalty area, with his compatriot able to play a pass into his feet.
After receiving possession, Bernardeschi is able to drive into the penalty area and take a Charlotte defender on before centrally playing a cutback pass. The ensuing pass finds its way to Franklin, with the 20-year-old Canadian able to reinvent his run before finding a bit of space to the right of the penalty spot. Unfortunately, his shot is blocked over for a corner, but that does not take away from the well-worked attacking move from Toronto.
The image above again shows the tendency for Toronto to attack with five going forward in the early stages of this MLS season. In this phase of play above from their opener against Cincinnati, this attacking move originates with a ball played long by Johnson that Prince Owusu can head back down to Osorio, who is operating in a pocket of space.
Again, Toronto was able to create an overload on both sides of the pitch against Cincinnati’s back five shape. On the far side, Osorio and Bernardeschi had a 2v1 advantage against Luca Orellano, while on the near side, Richie Laryea and Insigne had the same advantage against Yuya Kubo. Kubo was forced to tuck inside to the back three to mark Laryea’s inverted movement.
With Orellano caught well advanced up the pitch trying to close down Osorio, Bernardeschi is able to gather possession and have a free run towards the Cincinnati penalty area. The left-sided central defender does not want to step out of his shape and engage the Italian. As a result, Bernardeschi is able to get a shot on target after driving into the penalty area and getting the centre-back off balance, but it is unfortunately right at the goalkeeper, who is able to parry the ball centrally for his defenders to clear.
Finally for this section, the image above shows the initial attack that leads to the winning goal for Toronto in their match against New England. Again, the same picture presents itself for Toronto from an attacking perspective. Herdman’s side was able to create a 3v2 overload against the New England left-back and centre-back, with central defender O’Neill driving forward into the penalty area to allow Bernardeschi to receive the pass from Osorio under minimal pressure, as the Irishman’s run forced the full-back to stay at home and prevent the ball in behind from Bernardeschi.
Bernardeschi’s ensuing shot is blocked by the defender before ricocheting to the feet of Insigne on the far side, who is able to chip the keeper. This goal resulting from Toronto’s creation of another overload in the wide area. As this section has illustrated, a lot of Toronto’s chance creation has come from wide areas, with overloads and inverting wing-backs being key tactics in Toronto’s attacking style of play.
Defensive solidity to start the season
From a defensive standpoint, Toronto are the only side in MLS yet to concede a goal, with a lot of this owing to the incredible individual moments of both Johnson and Gavran in goal through their first three matches. In fact, this is the first time in their history that they have kept three straight clean sheets to start an MLS season. However, John Herdman has also been able to make Toronto solid from a defensive shape standpoint as well, with all the players buying into the approach. Defensively, Toronto have tended to sit in a 5-3-2 or 5-2-3 shape out of possession, with the Canadian side not looking to press opposition sides and instead sitting with a lower line of confrontation, as Toronto possess a PPDA of only 12.4.
The data viz graphic above shows the amount of shots that Toronto have faced this season, and the areas in the final third where the shots have originated from. As we can see, there have been a few shots where the goalkeeper has had to come up big to keep the clean sheets. However, it is interesting to see the amount of shots that were missed or blocked, with 18 of the shots they have faced occurring outside of the penalty area as well. This demonstrates Toronto’s ability to do well sitting in a low block, while their mid-block defending has also been good, with Herdman looking for his side to man mark at times when the opposition are in possession in the middle third of the pitch.
The image above shows the defensive shape that Toronto often looks to morph into when the opposition crosses midfield with possession. As we can see, the shape looks very much like a 5-2-3 formation, with Toronto looking to force the opposition to play into the wide channels, where they can then look to suffocate the ball and prevent it from being moved back into the central areas. In this specific defensive phase against Charlotte, the ball is played over the top into the wide area, with the ball eventually finding its way to Gavran for Toronto.
Last season, Toronto were one of the worst teams defensively in MLS. This season, John Herdman also made the switch to a back-five formation to attempt to generate more defensive stability, and it has so far been able to pay dividends. In this image above from their match against Cincinnati, the 5-3-2 defensive shape is well-defined. Toronto’s low block defending makes it almost impossible for Cincinnati to play through them, with the only free players being the big switch of play to the opposition touchline. Their defensive shape has also been able to stay narrow and compact during their first three matches of the season. As a result, Cincinnati were forced to play a cross from deep into the penalty area, with this defensive moment causing no trouble at all for Sean Johnson in the Toronto goal.
As this section has illustrated, John Herdman has also been able to improve Toronto’s defence in the early stages of this season. While it is only three games into the current MLS season, Toronto’s switch to a back five has begun to pay dividends, with Toronto currently the only side in MLS that has yet to concede a goal at the beginning of this season.
Conclusion
As this tactical analysis has illustrated, John Herdman has done a tremendous job since coming into Toronto at the end of last season. Now into his first official season in charge of the MLS side, they have yet to concede a goal, all the players have seemed to have bought into the Englishman’s tactics, and they are potentially on course to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs once again.
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