Tactical Analysis: Italy’s Performance vs Bulgaria
Italy had a good game, they were able to limit the number of chances Bulgaria had on goal, and did even better in the second half (partially due to the Bulgarians defeatist mentality) and Bonucci/Acerbi’s control on the backline. Their switch from the 3-2-5 in the first half to the 2-3-5 in the second half further shows their control, with their amount of defending lessening & the number of chances they were able to get nearly doubling.
Although, they didn’t have a perfect game, and the lack of urgency when playing the ball out from the back is one that somewhat concerns me. They can have lapses of concentration which will go punished against better teams, but that could be down to them not being challenged enough by Bulgaria.
How did they set up?
Italy’s starting 11 vs Bulgaria
Roberto Mancini opted for a flat 4-3-3, with Sensi & Verratti both operating as left-sided midfielders with Sensi operating deeper (to help Italy create overloads to combat the Bulgarian 3-5-2 which gave them a numerical advantage in the Bulgarian half,) which worked as they got a penalty through it.
No new players were introduced in the second half, but Italy took more of a front-foot approach despite surrendering a little bit more possession to Bulgaria. They built in a 2-3-5, intending to sustain their attacks & keep their players as high up in the pitch as possible to maximise the amount of chance creation from their end. As there was no good threat from Bulgaria, the strategy chosen was best fit for the game.
Italy in defence:
First Half
Italy defended in a 4-3-3, with the space between the wingers & the fullbacks being very minimal as Bulgaria tried to attack through the wide channels. They weren’t able to do much in that sequence as the solidity of the Italian shape, coupled with Florenzi & Bonucci’s reading of the situation meant that Italy were able to effectively win back the ball.
Italy maintained their 4-3-3 when Bulgaria are in attack, with the central midfielders either occupying a man or blocking off space. They are as high as the highest positioned fullback (which is Spinazzola in this instance) as Italy are defending on their LHS. They look to keep every Bulgarian player in view so no one can exploit any blindside gaps, the way Italy have previously done, and when Delev (the right-sided CF for Bulgaria) calls for the ball, Acerbi uses his speed to win the (overhit) ball back for his team.
Second Half
Italy were caught out on transition with Delev (the right-sided striker) dropping out wide to try and create a goalscoring chance for his side. Sensi was able to identify the danger zone & try to block the space in which the ball could’ve gone with the player cutting the ball back to get a shot on goal that was blocked.
This isn’t the best situation for Italy as another team could look to exploit that gap with a different runner on the right half-space, but they were able to take all the sting out of a situation that could’ve been costly.
Italy were able to get a stronghold on the game which changed the approach that Bulgaria were taking in the second half. Bulgaria looked to play long balls into open space hoping one of their front 2 would get to it, but Bonucci is too strong of a CB to fall into that trap.
This change in approach gives Italy the license to play a 2-3-5 instead of a 3-2-5 as they won’t have to worry about the opposing strikers getting the ball to their feet and creating openings through their LWB/RWB charging at their defence.
Italy on transition:
First Half
When Italy have gotten into their settled shape, they transitioned slowly, preferring to fashion openings on their own instead of relying on runners to get into space behind the opposition wingbacks. Spinazzola (the LB) switched play to Florenzi (The RB) to help exploit the gap between the opposition RWB (who was occupied by Chiesa) and the opposition left-sided centre forward, who was covering the gap between Sensi & Bonucci, which happens as the flow of play is leaning towards the left-hand side for Bulgaria. It’s a simple error that is made by most teams looking to commit multiple men in the same area when they press, and a team with Italy’s quality will always bypass it to create opportunities they can capitalise on.
Second Half
There weren’t many instances where Italy were building from the back or had chances to counter, but this was one of them. Italy built with Florenzi-Bonucci-Acerbi, as they had done in the first half. But Spinazzola (not in the frame) dropped back with the 2 central midfielders to give Acerbi an extra passing option if he received the ball from Bonucci and to give Bonucci another man to pass to. But that didn’t happen. Bonucci passed the ball into the opposition (intending for Belotti to be on the receiving end of it) and Italy had to defend a counter from Bulgaria.
Italy are too slow when it comes to transition-related opportunities and the CB’s like to wait to see who’s around them instead of getting the ball to the wide players, or at least to the midfielders who are capable of playing line-breaking passes to someone like Chiesa (which was the case in the first half, courtesy of Sensi picking up on his run.)
Italy in attack:
First Half
Italy looked to overload the left-hand side as shown by most of their attacks starting from the left (specifically from Spinazzola,) and isolated Chiesa on the right as a result. There were instances where Belotti dropped deeper to help link up play between Verratti/Spinazzola & Barella/Chiesa.
One thing I noticed was the lack of involvement of both Verratti & Barella. Verratti was there to keep the ball going and help create chances (especially with the introduction of Bernardeschi, who offered a different threat to Chiesa.) Barella was there to cover the right-hand side where an RB would normally be and he helped create 2 good chances as a result at the expense of his own in-game involvement.
Chiesa is isolated on the right-hand side so he can exploit the space behind the LCB & LWB, which works to good effect as Sensi picks up his final third run & plays a ball in behind that he can get on the end of. In that situation, it didn’t work as the ball was overhit a little bit & ran out of play despite falling under the right foot of Chiesa.
This is a common theme in this game, Chiesa is isolated with Florenzi operating as an extra CB instead of overlapping him. This gives Italy a defensive advantage numerically as Bulgaria will be in a 3v2 situation if they break the midfield line of Italy, and Chiesa can look to ‘bully’ the opposing LCB & LW without worrying about the decisions being made by his RB.
Italy can find openings & exploit places that their opponents have left alone, which leads to a Barella cross finding his man in that zone with the result being a block from the Bulgarian centre-back.
One thing about International games is that there’s a drop off in communication between the centre-backs & central midfielders which leads to goals being scored that wouldn’t be scored at club level. That’s discounting the quality disparity between Italy & Bulgaria, which is another thing to note when analysing how Italy played this game.
The penalty scenario where Insigne played a through ball to Belotti epitomises Italy’s attacking play in the first half. They created overloads on the left-hand side, outnumbering the number of Bulgarian players that were there, winning a free-kick as a result. Then the free-kick was taken quickly with Insigne drifting inside & playing the through ball to Belotti who was fouled & won a penalty as a result. There are 2 reasons why I like this specific passage of play.
It continues what Italy have done before, forcing the play down their left-hand side, even if the opponent is better to set up there.
Insigne floating into the middle allows him to create space for himself that is made available as a result of the system, with the left-side overload forcing Bulgaria to defend wide spaces more than they defended the central zones.
When Italy are camped in the opposition's half, they play a high line with Florenzi, Bonucci & Acerbi staying back to recycle the ball to the advanced players when there is a clearance by the Bulgarians. This high line would be problematic if there was a transitional threat in the form of an attacking player but Gusmao (the RWB) is blocked by Spinazzola & Acerbi (top left) minimising such risk.
Second Half
Chiesa is isolated with the opposition centre back yet again through a great ball by Bonucci, getting the better of him & driving into the box to win another penalty (which he failed to do.) The large gap between Bozikhov & Tsvetanov is exploited, which happens less on the opposing side & it’s something clearly noted by Mancini in his half time talk.
Bulgaria tried to commit more men to their right-hand side to cut out the first half threat from Insigne-Sensi-Spinazzola, but Italy used Belotti to be a link man to create space for the wide man to cut into the box when the opportunity arose. One thing to note about Belotti is that he can create & exploit space in seconds. After he played the ball back to his man, he was able to exploit the pictured opening as the Italian LW had kept 2 of their defenders on the back of their minds.
Italy built in a 2-3-5 in the second half instead of the 2-3-5 as Bulgaria’s threat waned due to their drop in energy levels & their focus on defending the 1 goal deficit instead of going for the game (perhaps by changing to a 4-4-2 with changes at half time.) This negative approach from the Bulgarians allowed the Italians to sustain pressure when they had the ball, and Italy had 14 shots on goal in the second half, compared to the 8 in the first half.
Last Thoughts:
Italy had a good game, they were able to limit the number of chances Bulgaria had on goal, and did even better in the second half (partially due to the Bulgarians defeatist mentality) and Bonucci/Acerbi’s control on the backline. Their switch from the 3-2-5 in the first half to the 2-3-5 in the second half further shows their control, with their amount of defending lessening & the number of chances they were able to get nearly doubling.
They didn’t have a perfect game, and the lack of urgency when playing the ball out from the back is one that somewhat concerns me, and they can have lapses of concentration which will go punished against better teams (assuming this is their state of mind when playing against so-called better teams) but that being said, they’re a good side regardless.
Written by Harry also known as @RunReissRun on Twitter
