EVERY MONDAY, TOM HARRISON OFFERS HIS OWN SLANT ON LIGA MX; ANALYZING MATCHES, TEAM TACTICS, INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES AND THE STATE OF THE LEAGUE. WELCOME TO ZONA TOM.

Old problems return for Tigres at El Volcán

When Tigres took apart Puebla in week one, with their new 3-4-3 formation, it was a suggestion that the new, more attacking system, may solve Tigres’ problems at home.

Tigres have long struggled against sides that have sat back, remained compact and restricted space in the final third of the pitch. The slow, low-risk passing enforced by Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti, in order to retain possession, plays right into the hands of defensive opponents, giving them time to adjust their shape when Tigres move the ball around the pitch.

Tigres don’t often lose possession, but when they do at home, they often leave themselves vulnerable to being exploited on the counter.

Jurgen Damn has already lost possession for Tigres 14 times in this match #ligamxeng — Tom Harrison (@tomh_36) August 6, 2017

There are countless examples in the past of sides getting something from their trip to Monterrey by sitting back, frustrating Tigres, and springing into life of the counter.

Querétaro followed the blueprint to decent success, earning a point on Saturday night.

Los Gallos Blancos successfully denied space in the centre of the pitch, forcing Tigres to play to wide-midfielders Javier Aquino and Jurgen Damm.

The hard work of Querétaro wingers Paolo Yrizar and Yerson Candelo made life difficult for Tigres’ wingers, as they regularly blocked off the path inside from the wings. As a result, Aquino and Damm, and other Tigres players when they moved out wide, were forced to either play backwards, or move down the wing a cross into the box. Querétaro were more than happy to deal with Tigres’ crosses, with only seven of 37, less than 20%, finding a team mate.

Querétaro were able to threaten on the counter on a few occasions, but the goal they scored just came straight from a goal-kick, as Tigres’ lack of organisation in the new back-three gifted Luis Noriega a one-on-one opportunity.

How a goal-kick exposed a weakness in Tigres' back-three, and gave Querétaro the lead 👇 #ligamxeng pic.twitter.com/9Py6ZUADsl — Tom Harrison (@tomh_36) August 6, 2017

A change in formation does not necessarily mean a change in style, and Tigres were often too slow and safe when in possession, only taking risks once the ball was out wide. However, Tuca’s were able to create a couple of great chances to win the match, particularly when Querétaro momentarily committed a few too many forwards during the second-half. But the offside flag, and then Ismael Sosa’s close-range miss, came to the rescue of Jaime Lozano’s side, who left El Volcán with a point.

It was a point, and a match which showed that Tigres’ new formation does not solve their old problems at El Volcán, and considering the goal they conceded, we’re left with more questions concerning the 3-4-3’s defensive solidity.

The spotlight- “Chepo” de la Torre’s tactical evolution at Santos

When José Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre took over at Santos Laguna, he implemented a system which isn’t seen too often in Liga MX. He played without formal wingers.

When Julio Furch, Jonathan Rodríguez and Djaniny Tavares were all fit, Chepo fielded all three in a narrow 4-3-3 formation. Rodríguez and Djaniny to the left and right, respectively, of target man Furch.

If Rodríguez was injured, the former Mexico head coach stuck without wingers, and often switched to a narrow diamond in the midfield. Osvaldo Martínez playing at the tip and getting forward whenever possible.

Width is imperative in football in order to create as much space as possible, and without wingers, Chepo found width when attacking through his full-backs. Jorge Villafana or Gerardo Arteago at left-back and Jorge Sánchez at right-back are expected to work hard in de la Torre’s system, and push forward regularly when Santos are in possession.

This season, we’ve witnessed a tweak to Chepo’s formation at Santos. Perhaps forced by Rodríguez’s absence, who returned off the bench this week, perhaps wanting another player to protect the defence with Carlos Izquierdoz currently missing, Diego de Buen has been brought in to play alongside Ulises Rivas.

Rivas originally played as a sole holding midfielder, but de la Torre has switched to a doule-pivot by bringing de Buen in as a second defensive-midfielder.

The attackers have remained narrow, with the versatile Gael Sandoval and Djaniny either side of Martínez, behind Furch.

So far, the change in tactic doesn’t appear to have influenced results much. Santos have continued their affiliation with draws, finishing level in all of their Liga MX games this season. They’ve now drawn 14 of their previous 22 league matches.

Discussing Chepo de la Torre's tactics @ClubSantosEn and how they've evolved this season #ligamxeng pic.twitter.com/NERK1ZjuIm — Tom Harrison (@tomh_36) August 5, 2017

Was Jefferson Cuero’s persistence with crossing a good tactic?

Diego de Buen’s 40th minute goal set-up Santos Laguna for a second half of sitting back, and trying to absorb Morelia pressure.

To their credit, Morelia played through the thirds very well, with Diego Valdés once again superb with his distribution from central-midfield.

Morelia always have ridiculously well-defined average player position maps. Players stick to their positions & the system isn't very compact pic.twitter.com/5MfgcLyq8W — Tom Harrison (@tomh_36) August 5, 2017

Santos’ defence were tough to penetrate though. The physical partnership of Néstor Araújo and Jorge “Chatón” Enríquez made seven interceptions and five tackles between them.

Morelia were often forced to try to find space out wide, and the ball regularly found its way to the highly active Jefferson Cuero.

Cuero consistently decided to put crosses into the box when he received possession out on the left-wing.

Crossing is usually an inefficient method of creating chances. Even in jornada dos, when eight goals were scored from crosses, only 25% of crosses found a teammate, and less than 3% resulted in goals.

Cuero’s crossing efficiency was even less effective, as his first six attempts didn’t find a teammate, until the 84th minute. Jefferson finally found a teammate and Gastón Lezcano did extremely well to dink the ball over Jonathan Orozco.

Jefferson Cuero consistently wasted good possession for Morelia, with his six consecutive inaccurate crosses, but his persistence with crossing ended up earning his side a point.

Judging whether or not this was a good decision is extremely difficult. After all, it’s impossible to say what would have happened had Cuero made different decisions.

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