FM22 New Season | FM22 Maurizio Sarri 4-3-3 Tactic with Lazio 2022-23

Here’s our new season’s FM22 Maurizio Sarri 4-3-3 Tactic with Lazio. This tactic will be our last post for FM22, as we wait for the new Football Manager 2023.

Lazio finished 5th in the 2021/2022 Serie A campaign, thereby earning a spot in the Uefa Europa League. Lazio this season is doing well in the league, winning four of their first 7 matches, drawing twice and losing once. Sarri started his second season as the team’s head coach with a 4-3-3 tactic as he did in his first season. Therefore, in this post, I will discuss the tactical replica of Sarri’s 4-3-3 tactic in FM22.

Click here to view Sarri’s tactic with Lazio last season.

Equally, click here to get the file of the current squad in FM22, so with no further ado let’s get into the details of the tactic.

FM22 Maurizio Sarri 4-3-3 Tactic with Lazio: Tactical Instructions

In Possession

Sarri as we know him is a fan of playing out of defence. During the build-up the central defenders will give the goalkeeper width inside the box, the holding midfielder will drop close to the box while the centre midfielders will form a pivot above the holding midfielder. The fullbacks will sit narrower, sometimes they spread wide to provide a diagonal out-leg option to the goalkeeper.

Sarri’s general approach is to control possession of the game while using the sides of the field to focus his plays. Due to their possession style, they use a shorter passing directness to carry it out, plus the team plays an expressive football, giving the outfield players freedom to roam from positions.

Furthermore, Lazio tends to look for underlaps than overlaps on both sides of the pitch. Then they mostly work their way into the box in the final third.

In Transition

In transition, the attacking width is a standard width. Lazio attacked in numbers in the opponent’s half leaving the holding midfielder and the centre-halves to cover them. The Eagles do turn the defence into attacks by transiting to counters when they win the ball on the break.

While in transition, if they lose the ball, the team equally apply counter-press to win the ball higher up the pitch. Finally, the goalkeeper distributes the ball by rolling it out to a closer teammate.

Out of Possession

Lazio defends in a 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1 shape. They equally defend compact with their narrow defensive width which tends to force the opponent outside at the flanks. The eagles press the opponents at a higher pressing intensity with Immobile leading the pressing lines as a pressing forward.

Furthermore, They use a higher line of engagement and a higher defensive line to support the press – they use offside traps but that is not effective in FM22.

Formation Lineup

Individual Role Selections

GK

The goalkeeper, Provedel is a sweeper keeper on defence duty.

CDs

The centre-halves under Sarri are ball-playing defenders on defence duties. They will stay within the defensive line to mark the attackers, closing them down and preventing the ball from getting into the box. They equally have good passing range, and composure to pick out teammates positioned higher up the pitch. Romagnoli and Casale have featured more in these positions this season.

FBs

The fullbacks on the left and right side in this tactic, are inverted wing-backs on support duties. When the wingers stay wider, the fullbacks will sit narrower when they get the ball, they cut inside with it. When they are not with the ball, they will make underlapping runs into the box. Marusic and Lazzari have featured more as the left and right fullbacks respectively.

DM

Cataldi as the deepest midfielder is a defensive midfielder. His job is to win tackles, mark attackers, close them down and intercept passes. During attacks, Cataldi holds his position to protect the midfield against counterattacks.

CMs

At the centre midfield, Alberto and Savic are the main players for the role. Savic is more of a box-to-box midfielder that mostly gets forward during attacks, arriving late into the box to get the end of an attack. He equally has the green light to shoot at a distance outside the box which he is good at. Vecino is equally a box-to-box midfielder but a cautious one.

Luis Alberto on the other hand is an advanced playmaker on support duty. He has good passing creativity and vision to support the team attackers with killer passes. Alberto has the freedom to move around making himself available for passes.

Ws

The wingers are touchline oriented stretching the opposition’s defence and creating space for an underlapping fullback. Zaccagni is an inverted winger on support duty that will cut inside from the flank while Felipe Anderson is a winger on attack duty that will run wide with the ball and crosses the ball often. Pedro when introduced is an inside forward on attack duty.

CF

Unlike last season, Immobile is a pressing forward on support duty. He will lead the team’s pressing line forcing the opponents to go direct with the ball and equally drops to midfield to help set up attacking movement.

Team Mentality

At Home, a positive mentality works better for lower and average teams, but when I face tougher teams, I switch to an attacking mentality.

On Away, a balanced mentality works best against all teams.

Results and Stats

Data Hub

Scoring

Conceding

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