if we have the feeling now it's time to press if we see the triggers and there are triggers like in in in every team if we see the shirt number if we see a bouncing ball if the ball is sloppy then we go out of the formation and then we're going to press them hard and high and with all we [Music] got for us in the Champions League we had a very good campaign and going through the group of death um then facing PSV einhoven in the round of 16 facing Atletico Madrid in the round
of eight and then we made it to the semi-finals facing PSG and this is what we're going to talk today how we managed to play them twice in six days time with the Bundesliga match in between and I'm really looking forward to give you some more details about [Music] it going into the semi-finals um against Paris it's it's not easy playing them in in 180 minutes with that quality that they had uh we knew that uh it's going to be very difficult in the in the games against PSV einhoven and Atletico Madrid it was a
bit different for us because we played the first leg away from home and we knew that we're going to break it down to one game and that we're going to create a special night in Dortmund but now first game was played in Dortmund and uh it was a special night we know that we going to get the advantage of our home crowd the yellow wall is going to give us a good support if we give them a good game always is the main target if you play two games against a team that you take the
lead before the second game kicks off so um to to get into the situation that a draw in the second game is enough to go to the to the next round but again if you have the feeling that you can score the second or the third goal you're going to use it to get in a better better position but not to get carried away playing against the team that was made to win the Champions League we've been on the road to to fulfill our dreams and this is something a mission can be accomplished or can
be or can fail a dream you fight for that and you fight until it's got fulfilled or you keep keep [Music] fighting we watched of course many many of the games in in the French league in the Champions League and also we analyzed the games that we already faced against them and we knew that they are capable to play in different systems so the lineup of PSG was with donaruma in goal with marinos and Lucas Hernandez two very experienced center backs especially in this competition very experienced on the left hand side Mendes on the right
hand side ashaf Hakimi a former player of us of BVB in Midfield they choose three players with WIA as a holding holding six as a holding mid and then with Fabian Ruiz and z Emory as two number eights up front they choose to play with three players on on the left hand side they start with barcola on the right hand side they start with Usman de also former player of of Borussia Dortmund and up front with kilan mbee they choose a very mobile number nine very flexible very Dynamic very quick changing positions all the time
and this is the lineup that they choose but we knew that from this lineup they like to to to swap into a build up with three they also been capable to play with two Strikers and more like in a four 222 shape that they used for example against Barcelona and San Sebastian two teams that play in a similar system like we do so we've been looking um for formation that suits all of that that that can defend and attack against whatever they going to do if they play with four at the back three at the
back and also with two or one Striker up front [Music] we started in a 42 31 shape with gor Kel in goal mat Sul and Niko schlotterback as two Center center backs then on the right hand side as a right back we had Julian rason and Ian Matson on the left hand side as a left back the two holding mids been Emraan on the left side and masel zabit on the right side as a number 10 we started with Julian Brandt on the right wing J Sancho started on the left wing it was Karim ADI
and up front we started with Nicholas filuk of course we want to stick to our principles but we also need to respect the opposition and also the occasion playing the semi-finals of the of the Champions League so we choose for example to holding mids that we know that also we can always swap in our positions that amran is playing as a number six and marel zabit just pop up and play in a 4141 shape defensive wise in in the offense we always wanted to create a 4-33 um and for example we knew the about the
pace of ashaf Hakimi and the way that he likes to to bump up and the link up play with Usman de and we needed a quick and mobile player on this position so we choose Kim Mami on this position not only because he did really well in in the games against Atletico Madrid it was also something that we know that we need to respect on the one hand um that they always like to create an overload on that side but on the other hand it also opens spaces for us what that what we would like
to use especially with Karim and his pace and knowing that they like to to take a risk on both Wings we always wanted Jaden Sano on the right hand side to to be in a one V one [Music] situation talking about out of possession um we always start to talk talk about a setup when they have a goal kick so this is how they line up in the 4-33 we always change our formation on on high pressing on goal kicks so we always like to be plus one at the back so we have two center
backs covering one Striker we have our fullbacks in the inside position of their Wingers our goalie is also a bit higher then we always have our holding mid in this case it was Emraan who in front of our back four then we have one player it was Marcel zabit our number eight who who pushed up and taking care of the opposition number number six in this case it was vtina then we have two players in a 50/50 positions with our Wingers so it was Karim adami in a 50-50 position and on that side it was
jadden Sano in a 50-50 position and then we have our two Strikers so we defend in a four 1 3 2 formation on goal kicks and why we start with that because this is something that we want to create also on high pressing situations and now it's just one of the principles um nowadays many teams and also PSG did it this way um so there are two options one option is that they start with the ball centrally with the goalie and they start like this with a short simple pass to one of the center backs
or the second option is that that the goalie throws the ball to one of the center backs and then started this this way so with a short pass to the goalie to create a plus one situation this is what nowadays many many teams are doing and we have different principles on that so that means if the ball is centrally and we know that the ball has to go wide this is where our two Strikers stay also closer to the holding mid we drop a bit with our player in this case Mas zabit and we are
more in this position and these two players are covering the Easy Pass to the to the holding mid so that we know that we want to guide the ball outside so for example it was always like this if the goalie is a right-footed player like donaruma that means Julian brand is on the left hand side because he's our trigger who likes to press first he has a good timing a good pace and he likes to put players under pressure so in this case if the first ball is played to this direction we want Nicholas fuk
hook to cut the pitch for us we're going to step in we're going to step in we're going to wait until the ball is played here so we're going to try to force this easy ball this way and then we all go and we all press and knowing for example that now they like to bump up with barola and mbpp to have a run in behind and one of the holding holding mids is bumping to one side and dropping to one side we need our holding mid the plus one player to support us on on
the wing and to force them to stay in this Corridor and this is what we want to achieve that they're going to stay in this Corridor if the ball starts with the goalie played to one of the center backs the other situation is if the ball if the ball is not starting with the goalie if the ball in the start is one of with one of the center backs then it's a bit different then we're going to stay a bit more like this so we're going to cover the space with our right Striker who's on
the line of the ball then we're going to bump up a bit more and push up a bit more with our uh number 10 in this case Marcel zabit and Julian brand is coming from this side what we want we want to attack the strong foot of the goalie so that means if the ball is played this is the trigger and this is the signal for us that we need to Sprint and now we are sprinting from this side so to force them to make because he will always this is natural for right put it
he will always leave the ball to get to his right foot so this is where we want to increase the pressure on the right foot knowing that now usually the the ball is going to be played into this direction where we're going to win the 2V1 situation for sure with with with the quality in the air of Niko schlotterbeck and Matel against um gilan mbappe or it's going to be now a diagonal ball with the right foot from this position where we know barola is going to be the target player so these are the two
situations that we want to create on goal kicks and how we want to press them in a high pressing situation also from from it's going to be the same principles from from open Play from open Play once we force them to play back passes to the goalie and everything stays the same if the ball is with the goalie and it's just a bit higher but if we press them high these are the positions and these are the patterns that we would like to see from our players once we press them high [Music] we know uh
Paris is a team that not only in the Champions League especially in the in the domestic League they like to have a lot of ball possession and they are really calm and and feel very comfortable on the ball with Lucas Hernandez and marinos they always like to pass it they always like to travel with the ball if they don't have the pressure they will always find the space in behind and this is something that we need to take care of but um like we always do what we want we have our principles so the first
principle is to close the center first so everything that we do is to try to make the ball go wide into corridors next to the box where we can split the pitch and we can create um a situation that we don't have to cover the full full width the full size of the pitch and we decide where they continue to play it always depends a bit on the opposition so that means if they have three players in Midfield positioned like this we always like to be very very close to them to close this this positions
first to stop this easy passes in between the lines to to to to make it very hard for them to find the pockets and sometimes they like to have two number six with with Emme close to vitina and that means that amran Julian brand and M zabit are they're going to position this way so that we always ready to be in a one V one situations and we don't give them the opportunity to create plus one situations in a regular buildup play so this is the first rule then the second thing is it also depends
a bit on the opposition so that means if they build up like this and we are in a let's say 42 31 situation this is how they basically played in both games against us and they have two narrow and close center backs now what we want is we going to stop them traveling with the ball once the ball is played we want our Striker again similar like on goal kicks to cut the pitch for us and force them to play wide so we need our Wingers to stay inside first so don't don't give them this
opportunity to pass be very close on on our toes here so that they don't get the opportunity to turn here that they feel the pressure straight away here we need to be very aggressive once the ball is played here we need our center backs to give them straightaway pressure from all directions we're going to stay with our Wingers as long as possible inside and wait until the ball is played and just make sure that our run is shorter than the way of the ball we can't run as fast as the ball so we have to
make sure that the distance to the opposition is closer than the ball is traveling so this is the first case and the first scenario and then of course if the ball is played and we need our number 10 in this case Julian Brandt to support our Striker that we cover that space that we are also ready to bump up here and if we have the feeling now it's time to press if we see the TR triggers and there are triggers like in in in every team if we see the shirt number if we see a
bouncing ball if the ball is sloppy then we go out of the formation and then we're going to press them hard and high and with all we got and then we don't want only one dell we need a second a third a fourth Dell as we're going to chase them um until we get the ball but it's a bit different different if we go back into the to the to the formation and we see them again in a 433 but the center backs are not close to each other they are very wide and this is
what's causing problems for the striker to cover the full width so once he's here and even if he stops this pass they're going to use the goalie to do it again and that's impossible for one Striker to to support of course many teams like it this way to swap to a 442 to leave the holding mid of the opp position unmarked and then you have more more options and more people around to to press but on with the quality of vitina they're going to find him is it with the goalie or they going to find
it with two passes so one two and this is very difficult for our two Strikers to cover so we choose for that game this is what we started with for example against PSV einhoven where where it was a bit similar in style of play of the center backs if they are like this and they start with very wide center backs then we're going to stay and stick to our principles on the side of the ball but on the other side on on away from the ball again our Striker he's going to stop marinos in this
case to travel with the ball we are on our TOS what we said closing the Inner Line to to defend this long balls but once this ball is played we're going to step up a bit with our Winger on the on on the far side on our weak side because we all Shuffle over and give them the feeling that they can pass it to the to the center back and then we're going to attack them from The Blind Side so that they can't find the fullback with one pass so this is not allowed so this
is what we need to stop so we create a shadow with our Winger so if they want to pass it then they just have to pass it again with two passes one pass here where we can put them under pressure and the second pass allows us to shuffle over and to put pressure with our fullbacks to come over with all the other players and then to force them to play again in the corridor that we like them to be and this is something that that is really important for our players to find out okay now
the center backs are closed now it's a it's it's the moment for our Striker to cut the pitch for us to guide the ball outside or for our Wingers on the far side to be always online to see now it's needed that I push up and put the opposition Under [Music] Pressure this worked out really well in the beginning of the game so we we only conceded a few shots from distance but we kept them away from the goal very well so what they did they always try to to to adapt also to to to
us um and so they started to build up with three with Lucas Hernandez inside with Mendes as a left in the back three with marinos right in the back three hakeim pushed up barola was on one side and Usman Dem came inside into this pocket and Fabian Ruiz was here in this pocket vitina and Mar they played like like two holding mids and this is what they they they they did and this is also something that we like to do in in ball possession to build up with 3 4 2 1 and this caused us
many problems um in terms of getting control of vtina and what we planned before the game was that we then going to swap to a 4141 and that's the reason why we started with zabit on the right side and emra on the left side so it was just emra stepping inside and marel zabit pushing up a bit in the high and in the mid block we always try to start from a 50/50 position that our positioning is always covering not one player it's always covering two players so we are ready to attack here we are
ready to attack here we are ready to attack here we are ready to attack here that we always in the position where we can at least cover two players if we go from a high block to a mid block it stays like this if we go to a low block then we're going to increase the pressure and go closer in to to the man who's the most dangerous to score a goal the problems that we faced here was like again our trigger was the number nine we want to cover the the pockets with our Wingers
coming inside to to get these gaps as close as possible but again we also want to increase the pressure with them the the problem that we had was not only controlling vitina by pushing up always Fabian Ruiz he he was really really good especially in the first game that he always splitted our attention so our holding mid never knew should should I go or should the center back Mark him now and once he found out that the holding M was there he was just getting into this space so he was really really good in finding
the free space and this is where we really struggled in the first game and this is also something that we talked to at halim and this is something that we tried to adapt um in the second half and also in the second [Music] leg so defending in a deep block against PG um also is is is um something that needs not only a good focus and a good activity it also need a good communication of the players because we know ashf Hakimi and Usman de with a great link play so they can create 2v2 situation
on one side they can put Usman nele inside and ashaf just on on on the side to create One V ones against your Winger or against your fullback or this is what they really like and we're really good at to play this kind of one twos and then Asha gets into this position and all he's looking for is this Square pass or this cut back to to um Fabian Ruiz or Usman de or whoever is in this position and where they're really good at so what we knew is that again we need to put them
under pressure everywhere on the pitch we need to be on on on on our toes and then just make them playing back passes to push up again or to force them to make unforced errors and to use of course if they're playing this way with with with the players Asha fakim and Usman Deele very high on the pitch we know this is a space where we need to be ready to use it um on counterattacks but what was the challenge not only to stop crosses in here it was also a challenge that we knew that
Fabian Ruiz is having a great late run inside the box so they're using the situation that you try to to to create a plus one situation on the wing where you play three against two against Usman Deele and Asha fimi so for example now we have marel zabit Julian brand Emraan everywhere close to the ball everybody is focused on the ball and then they just play one back pass to mininos and with first touch he sends in AC cross and they're going to have a late run with Fabian Ruiz inside the box and this is
where they caed us especially in the first 10 minutes of the second half they caused us many many problems and this is where we um analyzed it not only before the game also at halim and also before the second game to cover this space and to leave these gaps as close as possible to be men marking as closer the ball went to the by line we need to be closer to the opposition and then again ready if they pass it back to push up to put them in the offside position is it two steps two
steps but this can be the the detail that brings us to the final if we are ready to make this two steps up front to send him in offside position if we are ready to close this gaps that they can't explore in between us if we are ready that we are not only facing the ball that we also always see the opposition player in our back and if we are ready to defend as a team as a unit and if we ready ready to win the ball to protect the ball to set the ball and
to explore these areas then we're going to be very dangerous [Music] [Applause] [Music]
