In an exciting end-to-end battle where both teams threw everything forward in the second half but were unable to hit the net a third time, Reading gained a point against the Tykes to seal safety on a bright day in South Yorkshire.
After years of road-side foregone conclusions, it almost seems weird to be talking about an ambitious, competitive Royals club away from home. That being said, it’s so nice to witness a bunch that is prepared to give everything for the manager and, more importantly, the badge.
Let’s analyze yet another fearless reading effort.
I wasn’t sure after seeing how Barnsley had positioned themselves before the game. They chose a back three with two holding midfielders, as was to be expected. In matches against teams with comparable systems, like Fleetwood Town and Derby County, our forward three have struggled to decide whether to push the opposition’s back three collectively or to hand the ball to Sam Smith. In the former case, Barnsley would have an extra player in midfield, whereas in the later case, they would have too much room.
The diagram below illustrates how this would play out, with Reading’s 4-1-4-1 pressing formation being moved around against Barnsley’s 3-4-2-1. The two number 10s outnumber our lone sitting midfielder, providing them space to drop in even while the defense and holding midfielders are under a lot of pressure.
That issue may be solved by moving a center-back further forward, but that isn’t really an option when Devante Cole is your opponent and he scores goals frequently. That is a trap that Reading has frequently fallen into in the past, but what we accomplished was truly excellent thanks to Ruben Selles.
Smith was seldom ever deployed to press the goalie or the center backs; instead, he tended to drift slightly in front of the two Barnsley holding midfielders, severing any long vertical balls that would have otherwise reached the attack and assisting in keeping them from having possession of the ball.
Our forward three rested in a very flat shape while opponent ‘keeper Liam Roberts had the ball, but Paul Mukairu and Femi Azeez charged towards the center backs as soon as they had it. Since opponents are frequently caught out of position or just not confident or skilled enough to knock the ball about the back with enough complexity to find space in the Reading press, we could afford to leave a free player in the back three.
Here is a graphic that displays the previously described out-of-possession runs by our attackers.
In order to press the free center-back if necessary or make a move down the flank should we win the ball back, the central midfielder on the side the ball is being passed down would be outside of his man.
This was how it appeared in actuality. The goalie passes it to Mael de Gevigney, the middle center back, and Jordon Williams, who is positioned far to the left of the image on their right side of defense, is incredibly wide.
Understanding this, Mukairu moves more centrally, as indicated by the arrow. He sees that de Gevigney is trying to find a ball into midfield and moves in that direction, blocking Williams’ pass at the same time.
With his right foot extended, he intercepts the ball and does a good job of deflecting the Barnsley player, turning and sprinting forward.
Harvey Knibbs is in a fantastic position to rush down the wing in support of Mukairu, as I mentioned previously, but the Nigerian decides to handle it alone.
He beats a defender with good speed management, but the finish is subpar. No playmaker in the world can match the effectiveness of a strong counter-pressing scenario, as stated by Jurgen Klopp. On the other hand, it’s important to emphasize that you should take advantage of your chances to score just as much as you should take advantage of your possibilities to push.
Mukairu often fails at the last hurdle despite having excellent acceleration, a superb first touch, and the capacity to defeat a guy. His greatest weakness is most likely his selfishness. He doesn’t appear to be a very self-important player, but he only has to stop staring at his intricate footwork and start wearing a blue and white jersey.
Without a doubt, the 24-year-old is capable of making a pass; his shortcomings are in his ability to recognize when to pass and his decision to do so.
I recently read an article on FC Copenhagen’s pressing and how they’ve employed creative tactics to beat Manchester United twice this season and get results against clubs like Bayern Munich.
Their possession strategies seemed a lot like Reading’s against Barnsley, and coincidentally, Jacob Neestrup, the manager of København now, and Ruben Selles were assistant managers in the Danish capital during the 2021–2022 season.
For any aspiring football tactician like myself, I would strongly suggest reading this insightful and well-written piece, which may also portend great things ahead for Reading under Selles.
It also does a good job of explaining the idea of the midfielders going wide in the press to account for a narrow front three, like we did against Barnsley.
This is particularly crucial since, in most cases, when teams give up the ball when attempting to play out, it results in the surrender of possession in wide areas after a player is forced into a corner. When Reading is in control, they set themselves up for a successful “rest attack,” meaning that a presser has a plethora of offensive options in the event that they regain possession of the ball.
Regarding Mukairu, who is evidently on loan from København, there are conflicting opinions on his compatibility with the system. He is outstanding off the ball and exudes energy, but when the ball is in play, he wastes it. I believe that as supporters, we now understand both why Selles brought him here from Denmark and why he went from making appearances in the Champions League to being a regular player in League One.
