Five Ways to Play Out from the Back in Football

There are five methods of playing out from the back.

Method one is playing around the press. This is most effective when the opposition stay compact centrally, leaving space in the wide areas that we can exploit to progress play.

And these exploits are typically done by using overloads or rotations.

Method two is playing through the press.

This is particularly effective when the opposition's pressing structure becomes stretched, allowing us to find players between the lines, where players can then turn or even play additional combinations.

Method three is playing into a teammate, and this involves using a clipped pass over the first line of pressure, typically into a fullback or a midfielder positioned beyond the opposition's forwards.

Method four is playing onto a teammate, and here we can play directly into a player with their back to goal, who can hold the ball up, bring others into play, or flick it on for a teammate to run onto.

And method five is playing beyond. Although not always considered as a method of buildup, exploiting the space behind the opposition, particularly against man-oriented presses, can create high-quality chances in just one or two passes,

but requires a combination of well-timed movements both towards and away from the ball.