Empoli fans haven’t had much to cheer about this season. They crashed out of the Coppa Italia, courtesy of a 2-1 defeat to Serie B side Cittadella, and occupy one of the relegation places in Serie A at present. Their poor start to the season has been compounded by their lack of firepower, having only found the net once in the league so far this season.
The Tuscany-based side also has one of the worst defences in the division this season. Following a 7-0 rout at the hands of José Mourinho‘s Roma, Paolo Zanetti was given his marching orders in September 2023 to be replaced by Aurelio Andreazzoli.
This is Andreazzoli’s fourth stint in charge of the club, and so far, the Azzurri have been making slow progress, having found the back of the net in the league and kept two clean sheets in their last four league games under the Italian.
In this tactical analysis, we will assess Empoli’s poor start to the season to emphasise the contributing factors which led to Zanetti’s dismissal. We will also provide an analysis of the tactics imposed by Andreazzoli as he looks to steer his side to safety.
Tough Italian defences
A look at the attacking statistics makes for disappointing reading for Empoli fans. In this 2023/24 Serie A season, they are the lowest-ranked side regarding efficiency in front of goal. They have only converted 1% of their efforts on goal. However, it should be acknowledged that the defences of Italian sides are formidable to break down.
The bar chart shows that in comparison to the other top leagues in Europe this season, the average Serie A side has conceded fewer goals. Empoli, therefore, may be forgiven for an underperformance in front of goal, but not at the current scale.
The graphic shows that the Azzurri have an expected non-penalty goals tally of 7.02 but have only managed one league goal this campaign. This shows the underperformance in the final third. Moreover, considering the average Serie A side has scored 9.35 non-penalty goals this season, even if Empoli had converted the 7.02 non-penalty goals as expected, they would still have been performing below average.
In recent history, Empoli have not been renowned for their goals, having finished amongst the lowest scorers in Italy’s top tier last season. However, it is crucial that they drastically improve, or else a return to the second tier will most probably be on the cards. It is no wonder that the Tuscan side turned to former manager Andreazzoli, who guided them to a 14th-place finish in Serie A in 2022 in a bid to fight the drop.
Christmas comes early in Tuscany
In the early stages of the season, Zanetti alternated between the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations. In comparison, Andreazzoli has reverted to the 4-3-2-1 setup, also referred to as the “Christmas tree” formation.
The change in formation has led to a slight change in fortune for Empoli.
The line graph shows that under Andreazzoli’s leadership, Empoli have been creating better opportunities in front of goal, testified by the higher expected goal opportunity values. This suggests they are more of an attacking threat under Andreazzoli, getting in better positions to score.
During Zanetti’s reign, Empoli were poor at finishing and unlucky in hitting the woodwork on numerous occasions. However, such fine margins like these in football can make such a big difference. Luck was not on Zanetti’s side, ultimately costing him his job.
The previous formations utilised by Zanetti did not favour Empoli as they emphasised wide players. Although Empoli ranks highly in Serie A for crosses per 90 this season, there is a lack of quality out wide in the current Empoli team. The Tuscan side ranks in the bottom half in Serie A for carries per 90, indicating a lack of players who can drive forward with the ball to progress attacks.
In contrast, the Christmas tree formation conforms to a much narrower style of play, facilitating counterattacking play. It was through a counterattack that Empoli were able to score their first league goal of the season.
In the above graphic, Empoli have just won the ball on the right channel and quickly looks to launch the ball forward.
Empoli are quick in transitioning to a more attacking phase of play, as the striker has dropped deep to aid in the attacking transition. Tommaso Baldanzi takes possession and can pass the ball for the advancing Matteo Cancellieri to run onto.
As both Empoli players head towards the penalty area, Cancellieri is able to pick a pass into the six-yard box to assist Baldanzi for a goal.
As well as a greater emphasis on counterattacking, the Christmas tree formation has played to another strength of Empolis: vertical attacking play. The Azzurri have completed 1.5 through balls per 90 this season, the fourth-highest in the division.
In this instance, upon regaining possession, Empoli quickly attack centrally. Razvan Marin picks a through ball pass for Emmanuel Gyasi to run onto and fire an attempt at goal. Although Gyasi’s effort was saved, this particular attempt had an expected goal value of 0.61. This, therefore, demonstrates the good opportunities that Empoli have been able to make lately.
It is shown that there is potential for improvement in Empoli’s attacking phases of play, but the change in formation adopted by Andreazzoli appears to have a positive influence. The tactical changes brought in by the Italian is also aiding their defensive play.
Defensive concerns being addressed
Empoli have conceded 16 goals in the league this season. Only Salernitana has conceded more. The Azzurri were conceding three goals per match in Serie A under Zanetti. This rate has improved under Andreazzoli’s guidance to one goal per match.
The Christmas tree formation is orientated towards a defensive approach, but it was a much-needed tactic, considering Empoli had been shipping goals. The flat-back four and three holding midfielders in front create a congested defensive third, thus making it difficult for the opposition to break through.
Whilst at the other end of the pitch, in the league, it has been noticeable that the change in formation has led to Empoli’s press being much improved recently.
The graphic shows that under Andreazzoli, Empoli have been more successful in recovering possession higher up the pitch. The Azzurri have completed 15.75 counterpressing recoveries per 90 and 3.5 dangerous recoveries per 90 under Andreazzoli. These figures exceed the 12.5 counterpressing recoveries per 90 and 1.5 difficult recoveries per 90 observed in Zanetti’s tenure this season.
Moreover, since Andreazzoli’s appointment, their pressing has been more spread out in the attacking third. It is shown in the graphics that under Zanetti, fewer high regains occurred on the right-side channel.
High regains have aided in an attacking outlet and the defensive phase for Empoli.
In the above match still, the Azzurri adopted a high press deep in the opposition’s half. This shielding tactic effectively limits the space for the opposition to make a pass, making the pitch more compact in the process. It is shown that Empoli are outnumbering Bologna here, with more than half of the outfield players joining the press.
The aggressive style of the press had a positive impact as Empoli won possession in an advanced position, and Francesco Caputo was able to force the keeper into making a save, winning a corner for his side.
However, the achilles heel at the back for Empoli in the league this season has been defending set plays. They have conceded the most goals from corners in the division. Furthermore, goals from corners account for 25% of their total goals conceded in the league.
Under Zanetti, Empoli were conceding 0.75 goals from corners per 90. The first of those came in the opening fixture against Hellas Verona above. It is shown that as the keeper was unable to punch the ball clear from the incoming corner, Federico Bonazzoli was able to win the second ball and fire his team into the lead.
The above image shows that the Empoli defence did not pick up Bonazzoli as most of the Azzurri players are clustered near the front post, suggesting a lack of organisation. Moreover, the positioning of these players is not helping in marking their opponents, allowing Hellas Verona space in the box.
This issue in defence seemed to have been addressed in their most recent fixture against Udinese.
The Azzurri players appeared more balanced with a zonal marking setup with a compact shape in the centre of the penalty area. Moreover, Baldanzi is positioned on the edge of the penalty area in the event of instigating a counterattack.
The deeper defensive unit for Empoli were able to clear the ball from danger near the front post. Since his return to the dugout, Andreazzoli has overseen a marked improvement in defending such corners as Empoli have conceded 0.25 goals from corners per 90. This represents a 66.7% drop from Zanetti’s time in charge. Whilst there is still evidently much room for improvement, there seems to be slow and steady progress being made at Empoli.
Conclusion
In this tactical analysis, we have seen Empoli severely underperforming in front of goal. The lack of an attacking threat was evident under Zanetti, and this, coupled with the poor defence, contributed to his sacking so early into the season.
We have seen that a change in formation to a more narrow approach has benefited Empoli and has mainly benefited the defence, conceding much fewer goals per match.
Whilst there have been hints of improvement in an attacking sense under Andreazzoli, Empoli must still improve their efficiency in front of goal. This will be crucial if they are to have any hope of survival this season. Empoli fans are overdue some goals to cheer and will undoubtedly hope their side’s fortunes change in front of the goal sooner rather than later.
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