Is it me or the game?

[WJ]

Been away on a training course all week with work this is me just getting back to the game. Started a new season and the first game is a perfect example of the inaccuracy of my strikers shooting. Can anyone suggest why this is happening based on the upload I've posted?

Anyway, I decided to have a look at the PKM.

First Impressions:

Before even watching, I noticed you had 27 shots with only 6 on target. That's slightly too many shots and extremely poor accuracy. Something that also stood out was the 14 long shots you took. That is way too many as well.

Looking at your average positions heat map, it seems extremely narrow. You've had to have made changes to the line-up (swap players around) surely, for it to appear that narrow. What's worse, is that you would have needed width from your fullbacks, but they appear to be extremely deep for the entire match. That's another minus point.

Onto the game:

4-4-2 Diamond (You - Milan) vs 4-1-2-2-1 (Sassuolo)

Your attacks seemed utterly reliant on breaking forward quick. Honda (AM) seemed to have an aggressive role. SS maybe? Pereyra (LCM) was also aggressively pushing up. CM/A?

Sassuolo defended fairly deep and very narrow. You needed to provide width. The fullbacks pushed up, but often way too late to come into play to receive the ball. Were both strikers on support duties? False 9 or CF/S?

What was painfully obvious to me was the urgency that your front 4 (STCL, STCR, AM and LCM) had to break forward and create something. They often had to do it vs 7 defenders (back 4 plus DM & 2 CMs). That meant that they struggled to break through. They often lacked passing options so had to shoot. (Edit: All 4 also attacked the same general area. There wasn't any great movement in general, apart from when Honda pushed forward right between the DCs, but that didn't happen often. It was all very predictable and narrow.)

Verratti (RCM) was uninvolved in build-up play. De Jong (DM - Anchor Man?) did nothing either. The fullbacks did nothing.

I think your Play out of Defence instruction was also hindering the idea of breaking forward quick and it allowed the defence to get into position easily, making it 4 v 7.

Honda fluffed one good chance (CCC) but he had to take it quickly and shoot first time. Berardi had a good chance (HC) but he was closed down quickly by the keeper. Apart from that, you had no other quality chances. It wasn't their finishing/shooting that was bad. It was your tactic.