Tactics Attacking 4-3-3 Alt. "The Beautiful Game" Unorthodox AP

[nate316]

This is my first time posting on here but I haven't seen anyone else make a tactic like this so I figured I'd give it a shot.

So I wanted to make an unorthodox 4-3-3 based on Barcelona's attacking style with a playmaker coming in off the wing (i.e. like how Messi played coming in from the right). Ideally we would keep possession and create chances by moving the ball quickly. I tested it first with Barca and it worked pretty well so I decided to take my new tactic to the Premier League. With Chelsea this tactic helped to win both the Champions League and FA Cup while being the runner-up in the Prem in my first season. This tactic sometimes struggled against big teams and Harry Kane (I swear that mf single handedly put up 10 against me over the season) but was overall very successful. My strikers scored loads of goals and surprisingly my outside backs contributed a lot of assists. My dual APs were not quite as effective in the final third as I would've hoped but still put up decent numbers My next save I plan on testing it with a lower level team to see how it goes

Now into the tactics themselves

Team Mentality

I chose an Attacking mentality (bc goals are fun) however I also had success with Control. Balanced width, Fast tempo, and Expressive creative freedom helped keep the ball moving and to create lots of chances. On the defensive side I played a High press (close down All Over and High defensive line) with an Offside Trap, with normal tackling. With the ball, I wanted to keep passing Short with a MIxed focus. In the final third I had Look for Overlap and Work into Box. Goalkeeper had short distribution

 

Player Roles

 GK - G (Arrizabalaga)

Your usual gk stuff. Also thank god Arrizabalaga isnt as trash in this as he is in real life

Essential Attributes - Kicking, Reflexes, Agility, Handling, etc. (the usual just have a good GK)

 

CBs - BPD (Christensen, Zouma, Tomori, most likely have Ampadu come in next season)

We want CBs who are good on the ball in order to keep position and keep the ball moving. Its possible to play with a CD/BPD combo however I'd recommend BPD/BPD

Essential Attributes - Tackling, Aerial, Passing, Decisions, Pace (not as important but helpful to prevent counters, try and have at least one pacy CB)

 

LB/RB - WB (James/Azpi, Alonso)

You need fullbacks who can get up and down the entire length of the pitch. This position definitely does the most running so having decent backups is important

Essential Attributes - Crossing, Tackling, Stamina

 

CDM - DLP/BWM/DM (Jorgino, Kante)

I had success using DLPs, BWMs, and DMs with this formation, however I had the most success using a DLP. Essential for breaking up attacks and recycling possetion

Essential Attributes - Tackling, Passing, Creativity, Decisions, Teamwork

 

Central Mid - BBM (Kovacic, Kante, sometimes Mount)

This guy is key to the formation as he is crucial to supporting the attack and the defense. My BBM almost always had the most key passes (& passes in general). Could also play as a CM, however I felt the player was more involved as a BBM

Essential Attributes - Passing, Tackling, Movement, Teamwork, Decisions

 

Attacking Mid - AP (Mount, Havertz, Loftus-Cheek)

One of two attacking playmakers who's role is to create chances

Essential Attributes - Passing, Creativity, Dribbling, Teamwork

 

RW - AP (Havertz, Willian)

The other attacking playmaker,. Comes in off the right to support the striker and create scoring opportunities. Highly recommend a left footed player 

Essential Attributes - Dribbling, Shooting, Creativity, Passing

 

ST - AF (Werner, Abraham)

Will score tons of goals if you get the right player here (even if you don't they'll probably still score). Tends to play on the shoulder of the opposition and looks to score rather than create

Essential Attributes - Shooting, Pace  (Dribbling, Teamwork, Movement also help but not as important)

 

LW/LF - IF (Pulisic, Werner, CHO)

Will look to get in behind to create chances, would recommend a player who can use both feet

Essential Attributes - Pace, Dribbling, Shooting, Crossing helps but is not as important

 

Without further ado here's my tactic and results from my first season at Chelsea

 

Tactics:

 

Player Stats:

 

Season Results: 

 

League Results:

All 4 of those Tottenham goals were Harry Kane I hate that mf 

 

Let me know how it goes if any of you give it a go, I'd love to get some feedback

Edited February 24, 2021 by nate316

[broodje kip]

Looks like you’ve made a pretty decent tactic using the unorthodox AP. I saw you said about him not contributing much, and I read and article about them a few years ago from @Ashez I think. It says, An unorthodox AP need a stationary role close to him which should be a basic CM that suits the role the most . You can change the BBM to CM as it doesn’t affect your results much.

Another thing I notice about using unorthodox AP are that they going to contribute depending on the player chosen. I remember while managing Celtic, Mikey Johnston scores quite a few bangers for me and chipped in a decent amount of assists while when I was managing AC Milan, I bought Domenico Berardi to fill in the role alongside Alexis Saelemaekers as his backup. Berardi barely even reach 10 goals or assists but he consistently contributed a lot in the build up giving him average rating of 8.00+ every season while Saelemaekers got 20 assists and scored about only 3 goals in 5 seasons.