Why LAZIO Are BETTER With LESS POSSESSION?! 🤔 | Serie A Enilive 2026/27

Serie A

Why Lazio Are Better With Less Possession: Gattuso's Control of Space

This tactical breakdown explains how Gattuso's Lazio have become more dangerous while seeing less of the ball. They protect the centre by conceding width out wide and use rotations in possession to get extra players into the box. The early signs are promising, though the sample is small and the goalkeeper's form has helped.

We teamed up with @FootballMeta to break down Gattuso’s tactical approach and understand why Lazio can be even more dangerous without dominating possession. If you enjoyed this video please leave a like & subscribe for more! https://bit.ly/SERIEAYT Instagram: instagram.com/seriea TikTok: tiktok.com/@seriea X: twitter.com/SerieA Facebook: facebook.com/SerieA Find out more about the Serie A at: http://www.legaseriea.it/en/ Se ti è piaciuto questo video lascia un like e iscriviti al canale! https://bit.ly/SERIEAYT Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seriea TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@seriea X: https://twitter.com/SerieA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SerieA Per maggiori informazioni sulla Serie A: http://www.legaseriea.it/it

Transcript

Latio have had a terrific start to the season, but what's really interesting is that they're doing it with less of the ball, fewer progressive passes, and significantly less pressing than last season. And somehow they're still able to get into the box more often and create more chances. So, how exactly has Gatso managed to make Latio more dangerous while actually giving them less control of the ball? The answer is a completely different approach to controlling space compared to last season, both with and without the ball. Defensively, Latio are happy to give opponents more freedom out wide while protecting the center with a flexible shape that can switch between a back four and a back five. And in possession, their subtle rotations are creating gaps that allow them to quickly get four or five players in the ball. So despite the impressive results, the really interesting story with Latio isn't simply that they've improved. It's how Katuzo has changed the way they control games. The first major difference compared to last season can be seen in the way Latio set up defensively. Now there's an important distinction to be made between goal kicks and open play buildup because from goal kicks, this is a completely different scenario. The vast majority of teams will choose to manmark in this position and Latio are no exception. With the goalkeeper in possession, each outfield player will have a clear reference. Although there are some positions that are a little bit more cautious. For example, the fullbacks will stay halfway between maintaining the defensive line and pressing aggressively. This is because Latio are already quite tight to every outfield player in the center. So by rushing the goalkeeper, they can often force a long ball. This means the fullbacks can stay a little deeper and be in a better position to deal with it. When manm marking, the main thing you need to deal with is the goalkeeper as they're the extra player in possession. If you don't close them down effectively, it can create problems further up the pitch. Latio and Gatsu approach this situation like nearly every team. One of the attackers will curve their run, forcing play towards one side of the pitch and trying to trap the opponents there. A lot of the time if the opponents are quick enough they can play the ball to the free center back which we did see happen quite a few times specifically in their game against Genoa. However, from open play there's a slightly different approach and this is where we start to see the more cautious setup being used by Gatuzo. In this position there's a mix between manmarking and zonal principles with the priority being to cover all the central options and force play out wide in the center. any rotations and movements from the opponents are closely followed. Latio can end up with their players in different positions. Out wide, however, the opponents do have more space to make the pass before being quickly closed down by the wingers or fullbacks. We see this for example in their game against AC Milan. With Milan wanting to set up their attack, Latio's front line isn't particularly aggressive, but we see the rest of the team effectively matting. In this case, the holding midfielder has dropped into the back line while one of the center backs has pushed all the way forward into midfield. As the move progresses towards the right, we see Latio's right back, Floriani, drop the player out wide and move inside to double up, ensuring there is protection in case Milan decide to go long. So, while this does give Milan time to get themselves set up, all of the players in the center are being tracked, making it difficult to create anything through the middle. Eventually, Latio are able to slow the attack down and settle into a fully zonal defensive system where again there are some differences compared to Latio under Sar. We can see this in the statistics compared to last season with Latio now having a much higher PPDA essentially meaning they're allowing opponents more time and more passes before they try to win the ball back. under Sari. While they weren't the most aggressive defensive team in the league, there was certainly more of a priority on trying to disrupt the opponent's buildup and regain possession high up the pit. But if that initial press was unsuccessful, they would also drop into a more zonal system. The main difference here is the height at which they then started to apply pressure on the opponent. Generally speaking, by looking at the statistics, we can see that Latio's average defensive line this season is a little lower on the pitch, and they don't tend to engage in the press until the opponents are in possession closer to midfield. But there is a clear advantage to the setup that Gatuzo is using, even if it does lead to Latio spending less time on the ball. The general shape without the ball is a 442 with fairly zonal principles and clear references. This usually means they find themselves with a numerical disadvantage in the first line of the press. Either against the back three pushing wide with the wingers picking up the wing backs or against the back four with the pivot having time on the ball in the center. However, the rest of the defensive line and midfield make sure there is very little room to play through the middle. By keeping a slightly lower defensive block when the opponents are in possession, it makes it much harder for them to attack the space behind the defensive line. In the game against AC Milan, we saw how Latio nearly always defended in a 5-32 shape with the holding midfielder Bellan dropping into the defensive line to pick up any extra player. This allowed Milan to have control in this area. But as soon as they wanted to break forward, there was very little space behind the defense or through the middle for them to exploit. In fact, we can already see that there's been a big drop off in the amount of central passes that Lazio are allowing their opponents with pass completion increasing on the flanks being 6% lower in the central channel. So essentially, this defensive shape gives Latio much more control down the center of the pitch. But it does also give the opponents more time to create chances from out wide. In fact, quite counterintuitively, this system used by Latio actually allows the opponents to break into the box more frequently. Compared to last season, Latio are conceding slightly more crosses into the box and more box entries in general, but the opponent's completion rate is lower compared to last season. The reason behind this is pretty straightforward. It's easier for the opponents to progress the ball out wide, but when they actually try to get the ball into the box, they quickly find themselves completely outnumbered. This allows Latio to clear the ball or get in the way of any potential opportunity. However, while they've only conceded three goals so far this season, there's also one important detail to highlight, and that is the performance of the goalkeeper Christos Mandez. He currently has the highest goals prevented figure in the league, preventing the opponents from scoring nearly three goals more than expected at this point of the season. So, while Latio's defense has certainly been one of the best in the league so far, there is also an element of individual goalkeeping performance that has kept them out of trouble. That said, the differences compared to last season aren't only visible in the way Latio defend. They're also clear in the way they want to build their attacks and push forward. Like we saw earlier, Latio have a slightly lower share of possession and are even less direct with the ball. Yet, somehow they're able to hold on to the ball in dangerous positions and get into the box more frequently. In fact, the biggest increase in their chance creation this season has come from longer spells of possession rather than from other areas such as counterattacks or set pieces. So, it's clear that they're doing something that is difficult for the opponents to stop when they have the ball. There are different phases they move through depending on where they are on the pitch. And there are certain combinations that we see time and time again. One of the more interesting setups can be seen when they want to play out from the back. Latio line up in a 4-3-3, but from buildup, we very often see the two fullbacks, Floriani and Tavarez, pushing further forward on the flanks near the wingers. This forces the opponent's wingers to also drop into a deeper position. In the center, Noslin will stay on the defensive line and Fatzi is active in a slightly deeper position while Taylor and Bellan stay in line outside the box. This essentially creates two complete separate blocks and it also makes it incredibly difficult for the opponents to press. What we see happen time and time again is Latio stretching the pitch and then slowly moving the ball forward from here. It's the shape that often means the opponents won't press them aggressively because just one mistime movement can allow Latio to gain control of the pitch. The reason this works so well is that the center backs have a lot of space on the flanks to push forward. And when they're closed down, they have support immediately in front of them to play between the lines or attempt to go directly in behind. This is what allows them to have a little more control in a deep position, which is why we see their attacks quickly move into the center of the pitch, where the combinations they want to exploit become even more evident. In this position, there are a few things we need to consider. the movement of the fullbacks, the movement of the holding midfielder, and the additional support given by the two box-to-box midfielders, who are arguably the two players with the most positional freedom in this system. A lot of the rotations are interconnected. But essentially, Latio want to create a back three to build their attack. At times, this could mean Floriani pushing forward on the right with Tavz tucking inside or vice versa with Tavz being a key offensive weapon either out wide or in the half space. But most of the time the back three is created with the two center backs and Blean dropping between them. This then allows both fullbacks to be used more aggressively allowing Latio to stretch the pitch much more easily and progress the ball into these pockets on either flank. The rotations from the fullbacks are slightly different depending on who it is. For example, Tavz will very frequently move into midfield and become the extra man and pick up the ball in these pockets. Both of their goals against AC Milan start in a relatively similar fashion. The first comes with Tav moving inside, picking up the ball between the lines and breaking forward before eventually shifting play out wide. But their second goal also starts from a similar setup. As play develops on the right flank, Bellean has dropped into the defensive line, creating space for support in the center. So Tavis moves inside and becomes active in the pocket in front of Milan's back line. A great one-two out wide allows him to break forward behind the defense and Latio are able to double their lead. It's safe to say that this rotation is making Latio extremely dangerous on the left flank. Even their goal against Venetsia came from a similar scenario with Tavz moving inside, meaning the left back props has time and space out wide on the left. Zakani progresses the ball nicely and finds Tav on the overlap who finds Noslin in the box to finish off the move. [cheering] >> On the other hand, the rotations on the right are slightly more linear. On this flank, Latio are a lot more direct and the moves will often end with crosses or canilieri cutting inside onto his left foot. With Latio having two inverted wingers, it means most of their moves will then converge into a more central position in the final third where Frazzi and Taylor are excellent at adding support and attacking forward between the lines. We see this in the goal against Udinzi. The equalizer shows how Fatzi is able to make these deep penetrating runs into the box and is often unttracked in these positions. And with all of these forward rotations, Latio can comfortably get four or five players into the box on almost every attack. So when you put all of this together, what we're seeing from Latio is a team that has changed the way it controls games without necessarily needing more possession. Without the ball, Gatsa side are happy to give the opponents more freedom in certain areas, particularly out wide. in exchange for protecting the center and making the final action into the box much more difficult with the ball. The opposite is happening. Latio are constantly using rotations to create new passing options with the fullbacks, midfielders, and wingers moving into different spaces to make it difficult for the opponents to track them. It's still a very small sample size and there are obviously questions on whether they can maintain this level across the entire season, but the early signs are certainly interesting. Gatso has introduced a much more flexible structure both defensively and in possession. and Latio are already showing that they can control the most important areas of the pitch without necessarily controlling the ball. If these principles continue to develop, it could make this Latio site a very different team from the one we saw last