Leeds — Southampton: Southampton Stop Leeds’ Line-Breaking Passes (0-1)

Southampton outplayed Leeds in the Championship Playoff Final to gain automatic promotion to the Premier League, thanks  to their impressive defensive organization which stifled nearly every attempted line-breaking pass from Leeds.

Tactical analysis and match report by Kyle Boas. 

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Southampton started the season well, suffering only one loss and a draw in the first five matches. However, they hit a rough patch with a four-game losing streak, Raising skepticism about Russel Martin’s appointment. Martin introduced a tight, intricate, short-passing, possession-based style of play. Southampton completed more short passes in the 2023/24 season (14,712) than the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons combined (12,061). 

Leeds have a lot of potential in their lineup, with the energetic Wilfried Gnoto and Crysencio Summerville being the standout talents attracting attention from across Europe, with both currently linked with moves elsewhere in the summer. They were one of the favorites to gain promotion back to the Premier League. 

Southampton have a lot of experience beating Leeds this season. Leeds lost all three of their matches against Southampton in all competitions this season, including this final. Southampton’s 25-game winning streak began right after their 3-1 win against Leeds in September, which broke a four-game losing streak.

Leeds lined up with Illan Meslier in goal. Archie Gray, Joe Rondon, Ethan Ampadu, and Junior Firpo at the back. Illia Gruev and Glen Kamara formed a double pivot. Georginio Rutter played in between Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville on either wing, with Joel Piroe up front. 

Southampton lined up with Alex McCarthy in goal. Kyle Walker-Peters, Taylor Hardwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek, and Jack Stephens at the back. Flynn Downes in holding midfield. Joe Aribo and William Smallbone played in advance of Flynn Downes, with Ryan Fraser and David Brooks on either wing, and Adam Armstrong up top.

A spring shower rained down on Wembley for the first fifteen minutes, causing the slick pitch to quicken the pace of play. This initially benefited Leeds, but Southampton soon grew into the game.

Southampton bully the ball carrier on every Leeds line-breaking pass

The highlight of the match was Southampton’s ability to prevent Leeds from converting their line-breaking passes into chances. The moment the ball was played forward, someone from Southampton’s back line was immediately pressuring the Leeds player receiving it. 

Archie Gray plays a line-breaking pass to Georginio Rutter, and Jack Stephens follows him. 

Ryan Fraser moved back to play as left wing-back, allowing left-back Jack Stephens to shift into a back-three with the center-backs, forming a back-five. All three center-backs patrolled the space ahead, aggressively following their man and crowding the ball. 

When the ball was played into the feet of a Leeds player, Southampton’s defenders immediately put pressure on them without committing a foul, most of the time.

Leeds tried to counter this by moving more bodies into the middle, with Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto inverting infield and pushing Junior Firpo and Archie Gray up the wings. However, poor first touches, inconsistent passing accuracy, and relentless pressure from Southampton’s defenders meant that Southampton frequently won back possession.

There were very few occasions where Southampton allowed these passes to be played effectively. They maintained this intensity the entire match, forcing Leeds to rely on mistakes to create chances. 

Southampton open the scoring

Southampton maintained their back-three shape during transitions to attack, with Fraser moving up to the left wing and Kyle Walker-Peters advancing on the right ahead of David Brooks. 

Passing options for William Smallbone when he turns with the ball.

Joe Aribo frequently made intelligent runs in the left halfspace, creating space centrally for Armstrong to move into or for Downes to dribble into. Southampton often switched play to Armstrong or Aribo on the left, but primarily focused their attacks down the right wing. 

A notable weakness in Leeds’s defense that Southampton exploited Junior Firpo. He often advanced far up the left-wing, and with Summerville not contributing much defensively, space was left behind him. 

William Smallbone often served as the short-pass outlet on the right. When he received the ball, Adam Armstrong would make runs behind Leeds’ left center-back Ethan Ampadu. This move led to Southampton’s goal, replicating Armstrong’s run from their 3-1 win in August against Leeds. Ampadu and Firpo were caught out of position, and Armstrong scored with a precise finish into the bottom left-hand corner.

Substitutions 

The first substitution came in the 35th minute when David Brooks had to come off due to a shoulder injury. 21-year-old Samuel Edozie replaced him on the right-wing. This substitution did have a big impact on the match. Edozie was less secure with the ball compared to Brooks, causingSouthampton to lose possession more easily and struggle to generate high-quality chances for the rest of the match. 

In the second half, Leeds made a surprising change, substituting Wilfried Gnonto for Daniel James. Gnonto is a difference-maker, who had an okay game, but the change seemed intended to inject more energy into the game. 

With Gnonto off, Russell Martin likely felt comfortable allowing Edozie to mark James. 

In response, Southampton made a smart attacking change in the seventieth minute, replacing left-winger Fraser with striker Che Adams. Fraser had put in a good shift, performing a lot of running up and down the left-wing, helping neutralize the speedy Wilfried Gnonto. Adams moved centrally, pushing Adam Armstrong to right-wing, while Edozie switched to the left, where he looked more comfortable. 

In the 73rd minute, Leeds made more surprising changes, replacing Connor Roberts and their best player of the season, Crysencio Summerville, with midfielder Glen Kamara and Jaidon Anthony, respectively. This removed  three of Leeds’ best performers from the match. The substitutions initially brought some energy but lacked the quality to make a significant impact. 

The final two changes came in the 83rd minute. Defender Ryan Manning replaced Samuel Edozie for Southampton, and striker Mateo Joseph came on for left-back Junior Firpo for Leeds. 

Takeaways

Southampton executed a superior game plan, showing better organization and tactical acumen. Leeds relied heavily on individual brilliance to brute force their way into the penalty box. 

Southampton’s defensive discipline and well-orchestrated offensive transitions were impressive and proved effective at targeting Leeds’s weaknesses on the right-wing..

Leeds had a better start to the first ten minutes of both halves, but the better team won on the day. Southampton will return to the Premier League right after their relegation last season. Despite their talents, Leeds, who were also relegated last season, are forced to spend at least another season in the Championship.

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