Enzo Maresca’s Man City System is Already Decoded

Ajouté : 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]This is a combination of all of my analysis on Enzo Maresca's Chelsea and I think this exact system can be easily translated to Man City next season. So, please comment down whether it is possible or not. Enzo Maresca's repeated use of 3-2 shape may look predictable and easy to defend, but Chelsea is capable of using it to break opposition.

[00:00:22]The 3-2 basis still effective because it has [music] some hidden intentions. And let's decode what's the real idea behind it. The structure uses a narrow double pivot in front of a typical back three.

[00:00:34]The double pivot may be formed by two midfielders or one midfielder joined by an inverted fullback. The basic idea is to connect both pivots with quick passes. If opposition is pressing with a narrow front three, the pressing trio will be more focused on Chelsea's back three and often the midfielders are responsible for pivots. The pivots will be closer to the backline and the midfield line will be pinned deep due to the positioning of two advanced attackers in half spaces. Thus, the midfielders will be late to close down the pivots as they have to cover a large distance. The idea of using half space players to pin the midfield line is the key for creating space for double pivots. Now, it's a chain of events as the delay in press will be exploited by combination to access the space behind.

[00:01:23]Again, note that this space is left unguarded because two of the opposition midfielders are threatened by the half space midfielders. Thus, they hesitate to jump and press. But now, he will be forced to press and can be easily bypassed. To counter this, opposition might decide to change their shape to match up with Chelsea's 3-2, but Maresca [music] has another solution. This 3-2 shape from opposition will naturally leave one of the half space midfielder free and he can be accessed by a ball playing center back.

[00:01:56]This is more dangerous for opposition as it will force centerback to jump, creating a hole in the back line. Now, Chelsea again easily attack the exposed defense with smart movements.

[00:02:08]Chelsea has different methods to progress. If attacking midfielder is marked on right, fullback will invert on the left to be the free man. And it can be quickly turned into an attack involving the same attacking midfielder.

[00:02:20]Another similar sequence, where pivots pass between them to attract the press.

[00:02:25]And this free up the half-space midfielder.

[00:02:28]Here, even the right winger has come inside to further overload the midfielder, pinning them deep.

[00:02:33]Here, the idea is simple. Attract the opposition to center to free up the wide area. The pattern is evident. One of the midfielders will drag the opposition marker from his position. Now, he will play his partner, who can attack the area vacated by the marker. See how the shape is creating pressing dilemma for everyone. The left winger is overloaded by the right back and the right midfielder, leaving the midfielder free.

[00:02:58]And again, the left midfielder is overloaded by the attacking midfielder and the same right center midfielder. He is left in a no man's land, and Chelsea again easily progress the play. Another repeated variation is to attack the central space by playing to the attacking midfielder between the lines.

[00:03:15]However, in most occasions, the center player will be closely marked, and he is thus used as a wall to bounce to the free player in the half-space.

[00:03:24]The intention behind it is to pull centerback out of position and expose the back line. It has some limitations due to the pressure the center player has to withstand. But if done properly, it can disrupt the opposition shape to find gaps in between the lines.

[00:03:40]It's about players recognizing free space, no matter the position. And Maresca's center players are good enough to attack those spaces. See how the fullbacks movement opens a passing lane to central midfielder.

[00:03:53]The 3-2 shape itself creates those relation between the players and its success depends on how players execute it against stronger opposition. Chelsea has become a line-breaking [music] machine as the blues are bypassing opposition defenses with their clever [music] movement and unpredictable passes. In basic terms, it's a normal back three setup with a clear [music] emphasis on the positioning of the double pivot.

[00:04:18]Maresca wants the double pivot to pin the opposition midfield line.

[00:04:22]>> [music] >> The intention is to create two lines of midfield.

[00:04:25]The first line of pivots is usually created by an inverted fullback and a proper central midfielder.

[00:04:31]The second line will be created by the other central midfielder and an attacking midfielder. [music] Every possession-oriented team use this double midfield occupation and Maresca's method is to utilize the 3-2 base.

[00:04:45]If the fullback was wide as in a conventional system, then the central midfielder would be forced to become part of the double pivot and it means there won't be that double midfield occupation.

[00:04:56]Some teams may invert the winger [music] to equip these half spaces, but Maresca's method has its own unique advantages.

[00:05:04]Now the double pivot drops to drag the midfield line and this will expand the space between the lines.

[00:05:10]By having a good ball-playing defender like James, >> [music] >> Chelsea can easily break the press using that option between the lines.

[00:05:18]See how much space is vacated between the midfield and back line.

[00:05:22]The same double pivot is pinning the midfield line and this means one of the central midfielders is forced to keep track of the pivot while the other one is already pinned.

[00:05:32]Both midfield lines have their own tactical intentions.

[00:05:36]In addition, the striker pins the center back so that he won't jump. Also, the wide winger is dragging the fullback.

[00:05:43]All these subtle details made the penetration possible. [music] This four-man midfield occupation gives multiple progression possibilities for the center backs.

[00:05:53]In this sequence, the opposition isn't pressing the center backs. [music] Instead, they want to deny access to these midfielders. Now, Chelsea will try to >> [music] >> destabilize this pressing approach by simply moving the ball within their three-man base.

[00:06:07]If you look closely, the intentions are evident. The reference point [music] or the pivot player is checking for the possibility of their trained third-man pattern. The same 3-2 base we saw in the previous sequences [music] has quickly changed into a 3-1 shape.

[00:06:23]Here, there are multiple intentions.

[00:06:25][music] The center backs can either directly play into any of the three options, or they may use [music] any combinations.

[00:06:32]By having multiple players inside the opposition's mid block, Chelsea naturally creates pressing dilemmas for everyone.

[00:06:39]Here, the opposition has two center midfielders, and both are trying to mark two potential options. As Chelsea played it to the center, the midfielder obviously reacts by shifting their block.

[00:06:51]The simple idea might be to immediately mark the next potential free option using the midfield protector, and his partner can drop deep to cover for him.

[00:07:01]But here, the midfielder is threatened by the position of the pivot, who will be free if he drops.

[00:07:07]So, he stayed high, and this resulted in the first midfield overload.

[00:07:11]In an ideal case, this problem could have been solved if the midfield protector stayed central and asked his wide forward to close down the free player.

[00:07:20]But in a real match situation, any opposition press will get disrupted by the movement of these interior players.

[00:07:27]Here, three players are somewhat focused on marking the same player.

[00:07:31]So, the whole point is simple.

[00:07:33]Maresca is creating pressing dilemmas for the opposition by having multiple midfield players.

[00:07:39]Since the direct options are closed, the center place it back >> [music] >> and we can clearly see how the midfield overload created a free man in the middle.

[00:07:48]This was the opposition structure a few seconds earlier.

[00:07:52]And after these two passes, the whole structure is destabilized [music] and the press can be easily bypassed.

[00:07:58]Even if the opposition decides to press the center backs, contrary to the previous sequence, Chelsea has alternative solutions. If the opposition commits three players to close down [music] Chelsea's three-man base, then the pivot will be free as they have shifted to a 3-1-3 shape.

[00:08:15]Now the pivot will be closed down and Chelsea escapes the press by using the third man combination.

[00:08:21]This was the same pattern they were trying to execute in the previous sequence. But then, the opposition wasn't pressing the center back, so Chelsea didn't use it.

[00:08:30]>> [music] >> Here they went for it as the center back was pressed.

[00:08:34]These are the two common build-up ideas to use against different pressing approaches.

[00:08:39]We have a similar sequence with the center backs under pressure.

[00:08:43]Here again, it's the pivot who becomes that free option as the inverted full back drag the center midfielder.

[00:08:50]See how the 3-2-2 [music] structure moves into that 3-1-3 structure to offer multiple options for the pivot. Since the opposition closed all three options, the pivot chose the alternate.

[00:09:02]Chelsea's creation of diagonal [music] connections in the midfield is a key element of their positional attacks.

[00:09:08]Even the right back would be in the center to break the opposition with ease.

[00:09:12]>> [music] >> The same right back could also be found in advanced half space and he can again be played using intricate diagonal combinations.

[00:09:20]There are many more hidden intentions behind Maresca's system and let's analyze those unnoticed details.

[00:09:27]As we all know, Maresca mostly uses a double pivot ahead of a back three during the build-up.

[00:09:33]It was predictable for PSG and they pressed both midfielders aggressively.

[00:09:38]But Maresca's idea was to make PSG's press narrow as he wants to make advanced half space regions less protected. Here Palmer is in the right half space and is marked by the left back. Meanwhile, Chelsea's right back is threatening to run in the flanks and this forced the winger to track back.

[00:09:55]This has already created a confusion in PSG's press as Ruiz is asking Kvaratskhelia to press high. We can see the pressing dilemma Maresca is trying to create with the system.

[00:10:06]As the press is narrow, the ball is switched. Now Chelsea is using the classic positional structure where five different lines are covered. When a winger provides width on the left, the full back does the same on the right.

[00:10:18]The attacking midfielder is equipped to space between the lines and here Enzo is offering that diagonal line to his left back.

[00:10:25]>> [music] >> Again, it's the same diagonal pass that made it difficult to defend. Now it's a three versus three >> [music] >> against a vulnerable back line and Chelsea has stayed in the build-up situation into a potential attack. The same idea was tweaked in another sequence.

[00:10:40]Here again, it's the narrow double pivot to make the opposition midfield narrow.

[00:10:44]The creation of a back three stretches the first line of press opening gaps for the keeper to exploit. Now the attacking [music] midfielder drops in the same half space where the full back stays high to pin the left back so that he can't press the attacking midfielder.

[00:10:59]This simple idea even created a goal.

[00:11:01]But before that, let's see another interesting sequence. It again started with a narrow double pivot and a stretched back three.

[00:11:09]As usual, the back three stretch the opposition press and the gap is open for the center back to play the dropping attacking midfielder. We have so far seen three different scenarios where the same diagonal ball to the dropping attacking midfielder is played and this was the basic idea behind Maresca's tactics. The sequence progress using yet another diagonal combination. See how Caicedo has recognized the potential combination opportunity and moved quickly to beat the press.

[00:11:36]This somewhat shows that players are understanding Maresca system. Then the ball was played wide allowing Palmer to attack the final third. As he couldn't beat his marker, Chelsea has stayed patient to circulate it back.

[00:11:48]They are still maintaining the structure with the narrow double pivot and a three-man base.

[00:11:53]The back three gives the luxury of making the center back act like a deep playmaker.

[00:11:57]Now notice the movement of double pivots. Only one of them is dropping deep while the other stays high. As the opposition midfielder decided to close down the dropper, the advanced center midfielder became free and he was quick to recognize the [music] open space.

[00:12:14]Here the dropper acted like a decoy to bait the press and the deep play making center back easily played the midfielder >> [music] >> to beat the press.

[00:12:22]The ball is played wide and again Chelsea can attack the final third with their positional system where all vertical lines are equal.

[00:12:29]It's the same structure we saw earlier.

[00:12:32]The structure ensures that the opposition is pushed back so that Chelsea can gain territory in the opposition half.

[00:12:39]This means that opposition will concede a lot of space in their own half where Chelsea's pivots can operate. See how the positional structure is giving multiple options for the pivot >> [music] >> and they even have those temporary overloads. Chelsea again entered the final third without compromising their structure. Now the opposition backline is stretched and the individual threat of the winger has further disrupted the opposition structure.

[00:13:04]By having a clear structure, Maresca aims to exploit those temporary disruptions.

[00:13:10]Here the individual used his creativity to play an unexpected pass.

[00:13:14]But don't forget that it was the structure that placed him in the half space [music] to maintain that diagonal connection with the striker.

[00:13:22]I'm not saying all these are completely rehearsed, but these situations are trained using the positional structure and it's up to the player to interpret different game situations. Here Enzo neglected a ball pass to Neto and instead creatively played Pedro who made yet another creative decision to set the ball to Palmer. Though the shot was off by margins, it showed how the structural discipline >> [music] >> and individual freedom can thrive together.

[00:13:49]The same pattern worked for their final goal against PSG. Here the first wave of pressure was bypassed by a long ball from the keeper and now after the back pass both Maresca [music] and the right back Gusto are asking to play into half space. The half space is free because both PSG midfielders were drawn narrow by the narrow double pivot.

[00:14:09]The dropping attacking midfielder can be followed here as the right back is threatening the left back with a run. In another sequence, the left back actually decided to follow Palmer but he instantly regretted it as Chelsea released the right back. Now he hesitate to Jambo >> [music] >> and thus Palmer is free.

[00:14:26]The positional structure is maintained and the opposition has no other choice than to drop [music] back. The back line is stretched with multiple movements and thus it allowed the individual to express his creative through ball.

[00:14:39]So I think the point is clear. Maresca had been criticized for his controlled structural approach but now he is silencing his critics by using the same positional structure with better execution from his players.