Quick build-ups are different to counter-attacks – and are on the rise in the Premier League

New York Times

28-05-2025

When a built-up offensive move slices through an opponent in seconds, there is a tendency to label it a 'counter-attack'.
The space the attacking team has once they reach the final third makes it look like a counter, but in reality, it's just a sequence that moves quickly up the pitch.
On other occasions, it's labelled as a 'transition', but this occurs when a team wins the ball and attacks an unstructured defence or vice versa — a change from the defensive phase to the attacking one or the other way round.
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These moves start and finish in the attacking phase, which is why putting them under the umbrella of transitions is peculiar. Another term that is used to define them is 'artificial transitions', which is more logical because it gives the feeling of a transition despite not being one.
However, when an attack is played out against a structured defence, it is simply known as a 'quick build-up'.
In the Premier League era, three Italian managers had teams that were distinctive by their quickly built-up attacks that cut through the opponent's press: Maurizio Sarri with Chelsea, Antonio Conte with Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Sarri, Conte and De Zerbi brought the idea to the league as The Athletic'sMichael Cox explains in his book, The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics. Since then, other coaches and teams have been taking note of quick build-ups and have been trying to use them as an attacking tool against the press.
In the seven seasons since Sarri's only Premier League campaign, there has been a consistent rise in quick build-ups. These are defined as short goal-kick sequences that reach the height of the opponent's penalty area or end in a shot within 30 seconds.
Looking at the rate of quick build-ups per 100 goal kicks in the Premier League, there has been a year-on-year increase, reaching 5.6 this season — double the rate in 2018-19.
Interestingly, the passing combinations that are used to cut through the opposition press have varied from one Premier League team to another.
Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa's quick build-ups have revolved around finding their attacking midfielders between the lines and allowing them to combine in those spaces.
In Villa's 2-1 victory against Manchester City in December, Morgan Rogers' goal started from a goal kick. Here, Rogers drops behind City's midfield to offer a passing option as Emiliano Martinez plays the ball to Pau Torres.
When Torres finds Rogers, Youri Tielemans is unmarked on the other side, with Rico Lewis in no man's land. Rogers' position forces Kyle Walker to move up…
… and the Villa forward receives the ball with his left foot and dribbles with his right to roll City's right-back.
Jhon Duran's movement creates a bigger space for Rogers to dribble into as the centre-forward moves Manuel Akanji away. Meanwhile, Lewis can't mark Tielemans because he has to drop and defend that space.
Rogers then plays the ball wide to John McGinn…
… and the unmarked Tielemans makes an overlapping run, which attracts Josko Gvardiol and forces Lewis to defend McGinn.
With Duran occupying Akanji and Walker, McGinn finds Rogers near the edge of the penalty area…
… and the latter strikes the ball into the far bottom corner to double Villa's lead.
Bournemouth have played in a more direct approach under Andoni Iraola, and the long balls down the left side have been a feature of their attacking play.
However, these long passes from their centre-backs aren't a reaction to the opponent's press, rather a solution to break it, with left-back, Milos Kerkez, and the left-winger synchronising their movements to combine and attack the space.
In this example, from Bournemouth's 2-1 victory against City in November, Mark Travers plays the short goal kick to Marcos Senesi and, as the left centre-back plays the ball to Antoine Semenyo, Kerkez dashes forward…
… and the left-back's run occupies Walker. This allows Semenyo to freely dribble forward after controlling the ball…
… which forces Akanji to step out of the defensive line. Meanwhile, Kerkez is continuing his run, and Semenyo finds him behind City's back four.
The speed of the attack and the movement of Kerkez create a four-versus-three situation for Bournemouth, and their left-back finds Evanilson's run into the penalty area…
… before the Brazilian slots the ball into the bottom corner.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have been using Mohamed Salah as an outlet against the press this season, with different build-up patterns to complement the Egyptian forward. One solution has been to drop the centre-forward towards the touchline when Liverpool are building up down their right side.
In this example, Darwin Nunez's off-ball run to the right drags Bournemouth's right centre-back, Illia Zabarnyi, out of position while the other centre-back, Dean Huijsen, marks Salah.
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From the short goal kick, Ibrahima Konate plays a long ball down the right wing towards Nunez. The peculiar positioning of Zabarnyi and Nunez, coupled with the trajectory of Konate's pass, puts Kerkez in a dilemma. If Bournemouth's left-back goes into the aerial duel and Nunez wins the header, Salah is in a one-versus-one situation; if he doesn't, Zabarnyi will be dragged out of position to defend Kerkez's zone.
Kerkez has less than two seconds to consider this and his hesitation allows Nunez to flick the ball towards Salah, with Zabarnyi being dragged out of position.
Salah then returns the pass to Nunez, who is attacking the space behind Kerkez…
… and the striker finishes the attack by curling the ball into the back of the net.
One team that has evolved their possession game in 2024-25 is Brentford, and their passing combinations in the wide areas are another variation of the quick build-ups in the Premier League.
Their first goal in the Premier League this season, against Crystal Palace in August, is an example of how their wide combinations cut through the opponents' press.
Here, Thomas Frank's side are building up in a 4-2 shape, with Christian Norgaard and Vitaly Janelt in front of the defence…
… and higher up the pitch, Yoane Wissa is dropping to act as the second attacking midfielder next to Mathias Jensen, while Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade are stretching the defence.
Wissa's movement drags Joachim Andersen out of position, and Brentford's right-back, Mads Roerslev, plays the ball into the dropping centre-forward to start the passing sequence.
Trying to find the free man before Palace adjust their pressing, Wissa plays a one-touch pass to Norgaard, and the Denmark midfielder quickly finds Janelt in space.
Having been dragged up to Brentford's half, Andersen tries to press Janelt but the German dribbles past him while Wissa and Norgaard attack the space the centre-back has vacated.
As a result, Adam Wharton is forced to leave Jensen free and defend Wissa…
… who receives the ball in space, with Marc Guehi (No 6 below) unable to commit to marking him because of the threat of Mbeumo out wide.
Mbeumo starts his run before Wissa receives the ball, which puts him ahead of Guehi when Wissa plays it into his path. Meanwhile, Jensen and Schade are in a two-versus-one situation on the opposite side…
… which adds to Mbeumo's options inside the penalty area. However, the Cameroon forward dribbles inside the pitch before curling the ball into the bottom corner.
When Sarri, Conte and De Zerbi used vertical passing combinations to play through the opponents' press, it was a distinct feature of their sides.
The effectiveness of the quick build-ups made it a lucrative attacking solution, and in 2024-25, it has become an important tool rather than a unique one.
To quote Conte's Instagram post about Tottenham's quick build-up goals against Manchester City in 2021-22: 'Counterattacks?!? Maybe not…'