Continuing Your Run
Making and completing runs off the ball is perhaps the most overlooked concept in attacking play (especially at the youth levels). Whether in transition or the final third, attacking players MUST move to get ahead of the ball to provide advanced options for their team. Standing to provide support should be the last option an attacking player chooses in these instances.
In this analysis, we’ll look at Thomas Lemar and the runs he makes both in transitions and in the final 1/3 to depict effective movements and the importance of continuing your runs.
aggressive runs into the free space behind
Attack space with purpose and do not run into spaces that are already occupied by teammates.
Always look to run into depth, especially if your teammate receives the ball facing forward/ without pressure on their back. You can see this in the clip below.
When possible, run behind defenders, which puts you in their ‘blind spot’. Once they lose sight of you, you become much harder to track.
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drag defenders wide to expose the middle
Inside-out runs, as seen in the video below, force central players to make a decision; to follow you or pass you on to a teammate.
If they don’t track your run, then many times you can receive the ball and attack forward space unmarked.
If they do track your run, then the middle of the field will be left for your teammates to exploit.
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Remain a threat through multiple runs
Many players will make one run and stop, putting their team at a disadvantage and removing themselves as a direct threat.
Instead, you should continuously look for spaces to exploit that increase your team’s chances of getting to goal.
You’ll often have multiple options for the trajectory of your run. Always seek to choose a path that makes it most difficult for defenders to track (i.e., running on a path in defenders blind spot)
If possible, make runs with shape that allows you to receive the ball continuing your run forward.
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Final Note
As a winger, making forward runs to get beyond the ball should always be your first option. Making these runs doesn’t require specialized skill or athleticism (though they help). It does require awareness of where your teammates are moving and open space to exploit.
We presented some relatively complex topics such as run trajectory, and as you can see in the videos above, there are generally multiple solutions to the same problem. With that in mind, the key concepts to remember are - run into free space (working off movements of your teammates), run on a path that is most difficult to track (in the blind spot of defenders), and shape your run so that you can receive the ball continuing your run forward.
We’d recommend starting your learning process by watching some game film of yourself and identifying situations where you did/didn’t apply the concepts from above. Once you begin to recognize those patterns in your play, try applying it in training and game settings.