Numerical superiority: football tactics explained

We’ve all watched or played football when you can feel one of the two sides has run out of gas. Inevitably that team ends up without the ball, dejected and hopeless. Chasing shadows.

Like a boxer on the ropes or being match point down in tennis, this is the point from where few return. But how are some teams often able to run others into the ground like this?

The answer may lie somewhere in the theory of numerical superiority. Here’s your tactical explainer on a key battle ground of modern football.

What is numerical superiority?

Numerical superiority is the term used when a team has an overload in one area of the pitch. For example, if team A had possession down the left flank with three players in close proximity, and team B only had two players in that area trying to regain the ball, team A would have numerical superiority.

Essentially, it means one team has an advantage over the other purely down to numbers in one area of the pitch. This is as opposed to qualitative superiority, which is when a player considered superior to their individual opponent isolates them in a one-on-one situation.

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A team could also gain superiority through positional play. Positional superiority over their opposition involves getting players into positions between or behind their defensive lines. 

If a team is able to achieve all of these advantages on a consistent basis, throughout a match, goalscoring opportunities are almost certain.

Who uses numerical superiority?

Pretty much every side that plays a possession-oriented game will be looking to achieve numerical superiority in one area of the pitch or another. Otherwise, you can end up with possession without any real purpose and struggle to break down a well organised defence.

If you watch the best possession-based teams closely, they will nearly always look to be targeting one specific area of the pitch. The key is finding that numerical superiority, where the opposition may have a perceived weakness.

It is not always easy to achieve. But like so many other things in football, and life, Pep Guardiola makes it look easy. His Manchester City side are constantly able to find numerical superiority against their opponents.

They do this from the very first phase of play. The deepest central midfielder, often Rodri, will drop between the two centre halves, who move wide to create a triangle. As very few teams go man-to-man against City, this naturally creates an overload.

Pep also introduced the regular use of inverted full-backs to create numerical superiority in the centre of the pitch. One of Guardiola’s successors at Barcelona, Luis Enrique had his treble winning team of 2014-15 also become experts in numerical superiority.

In the semi-final win over Bayern Lionel Messi and Neymar often played extremely deep to link with the midfield and outnumber Bayern in the middle of the pitch, helped by superbly energetic performances from full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba, who patrolled the flanks.

Ange Postecoglou’s teams, particularly his Celtic side, also focus heavily on creating numerical superiority. Like big Ange said himself after (Spurs)win over Bournemouth earlier this season, “I’m just copying Pep mate.”

It was firmly tongue in cheek. But if there’s one area Postecoglou’s teams do look similar to City, it is their ability to create numerical overloads.

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What are pros and cons of numerical superiority?

When you have a team full of excellent technical footballers, it is difficult to se a downside to targeting numerical superiority.

But to be implemented properly, you do need highly intelligent footballers, with a real understanding of positional play and how to alter their approach during the game. At the highest level not everyone can do this.

There is also the wider issue of having such a disciplined approach to attacking play. Naturally this narrows the space for creative players to exploit, players instead acting more as pawns in a chess set.

More teams adopting a rigid focus on numerical and positional superiority perhaps results in less room for individual flair players who like to drift around the pitch.

More tactical explainers

We have several tactical explainers to help you understand more about football.

When it comes to midfields, we have pieces on what a box midfield is, how double-pivot midfields function and explainers on the No.10 and the No.6, as well as attacking and defensive transitions.

We also have explainers on what gegenpressing is, what target men are how inverted full-backs work and what ‘between the lines’ means, along with explainers on overlaps and overloads.