Fenerbahçe and Konyaspor faced each other in the Turkish Super League. With Fenerbahçe's manager, Jorge Jesus suspended, it was crucial for Fenerbahçe to win the game and reduce the gap with Galatasaray. With Mame Diouf's early red card in the 22nd minute, the hosts were able to win the match comfortably and reduced the point difference with Galatasaray. Konyaspor manager Aleksandar Stanojevic, who took charge after the departure of Ilhan Palut, suffered his 4th consecutive defeat. The starting 11s of both teams in the match were as follows:
FENERBAhçE IN POSSESSION
Even before Mame Diouf was sent off, Fenerbahce had more possession and Konyaspor being left with 10 players on the field allowed Fenerbahce to increase their possession rate to a very high 71%. The away team allowed Fenerbahçe to play out from the back and started the pressure in the middle third. For Konyaspor, who faced the opponent in a 4-4-2 formation with a deep and central block, the chosen structure caused some problems. While Konyaspor's 2 forwards matched up with the opposition centre-backs, Arao (and Zajc in some positions) was able to get between the centre-backs during the build-up, which meant a 3 v 2 numerical advantage for Fenerbahçe at the back. Making good use of this advantage at the back, the home team didn't have any problems during the build-up.
Konyaspor's 4-4-2 formation
Arao (as he has done all season) drops deep, resulting in a 3 v 2 numerical advantage for Fenerbahçe. Meanwhile, we see Konyaspor lined up in a 4-4-2 formation once again. M. Zajc is positioned between Konyaspor's front and midline and presents himself as a passing option
NUMERICAL SUPERIORITY at the back
So how did Fenerbahçe take advantage of their numerical superiority at the back? When the ball was received by Samet or Szalai, if Konyaspor's forwards were not close to the ball, the winger on the side where the ball was, would press. This meant that Fenerbahçe's full-back would be free. At these moments Fenerbahçe tried to build the game through Lincoln and Ferdi, and it was effective, even winning a penalty in one of these attempts.
The situation that arose when a Konyaspor winger left the opposition full-back and applied pressure on the free centre-back
Konyaspor left winger Kondrad Michalak applies pressure on Samet Akaydin and Ferdi is free, as Zajc and Rossi gesture. The ball is then received by Ferdi who has plenty of space
FENERBAHÇE'S FIRST GOAL
Fenerbahçe's was also able to win a penalty thanks to the aforementioned motion. Konyaspor, looking to prevent a 3 v 2 numerical advantage at the back, have right winger E. Çekiç applying pressure on the free centre-back A. Szalai
As a result, as E. Cekci later notices, Lincoln is left unmarked. Realizing the situation too late, E. Cekci fails to prevent the pass.
With plenty of time and space, Lincoln, after receiving the ball, plays a long ball to J. King (as A. Szalai gestures) who is making a run behind the defense
Lincoln's successful pass in received by J. King in the dangerous area and Fenerbahçe successfully moves the ball into the final third. The attack leads to a penalty for the home team and they take a 1-0 lead
KONYASPOR's PRESSing AFTER THE RED CARD
After the red card, Konyaspor had one player less at the front line end and the opponent was faced in a 4-4-1 formation, but some players were replaced. While E. Çekiçi shifted towards the left and Oğulcan to the right, Michalak was the one applying pressure on the centre-backs on the front end. One player less at the front meant that the Fenerbahçe centre-backs had more space to dribble, but Fenerbahçe didn't take advantage of this. Another thing that stood out was that Arao was still dropping deep. This brought to mind the +1 in defense rule that Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa imposed on his teams. Earlier we mentioned that Fenerbahçe had a numerical advantage of 3 to 2 with Arao going deep. However, after Konyaspor were reduced to 10 players on the field, this didn't mean much because even without Arao dropping deep, the home team could still have a 2-1 advantage at the back. In these moments, Fenerbahçe could have sent more players forward if Arao had not dropped deep and was positioned in the midfield.
Konyaspor's structure when Fenerbahçe had the ball (after the 22. minute )
Since Michalak couldn't apply pressure on the 2 centre-backs on his own, Samet Akaydin has space to dribble into. Had Arao not stayed back and positioned himself in the midfield, Fenerbahçe could have sent Zajc forward and created more scoring chances without losing the numerical advantage at the back.
Throughout the match, the Fenerbahçe players did not hesitate to play vertical passes with a low accuracy in order to move the ball into the final third, and they were successful in doing so. W. Arao, in particular, was able to neutralize Konyaspor players who were pressing with his passes, allowing his team to reach the final third.
Arao's pass neutralizes Konyaspor's pressure. Then Ferdi carries his team into the final third
Arao and a similar pass once again. He sends the ball to the player between the lines and helps create chances
FENERBAHÇE'S third GOAL
When Fenerbahce moved the play into the opposition half, the full-back on the opposite flank stayed back with the midfielders, ready to counter a possible turnover. This is how the hosts scored in the 60th minute. During an attack from the right flank, Lincoln, the full-back on the opposite flank, stood outside the penalty area ready to retrieve the ball if it bounced back. Lincoln struck the ball as it fell in front of him, the ball hit J. King went straight into the goal, extending the lead to three.
Rossi's cross bounces off E. Valencia and goes outside the penalty area
We see how the midfielders form a rest-defense structure with Lincoln. Lincoln stands there to prevent a possible counter-attack, and when Lincoln shoots, the ball hits King and finds the net
In the first half we saw Ferdi and Rossi rotating frequently on the right flank. However, in the second half, Ferdi Kadıoğlu was playing in the center. While contributing to the ball circulation in the midfield, he was also creating extra space for Rossi, who was positioned on the line on the right flank, by attracting the winger to him. As a result, Rossi was 1 v 1 with the opposition fullback on the wing. In the 80th minute, with the introduction of Serdar Dursun, Arda Güler moved into Rossi's area and was effective with his dribbling. In a game where Fenerbahçe had more possession, the introduction of Arda Güler, who was great with the ball at his feet, was the logical move.
KONYASPOR IN POSSESSION
Konyaspor had signaled from the start that they would let Fenerbahçe have more possession. With only 10 players on the filed, the visitors were forced to give the ball away and changed their tactics accordingly. Instead of going out from the back with short passes, they tried to win balls by sending the ball directly into the opponent's half and trying to retrieve the balls that bounced off, but without much success. Mame Diouf even received his red card after a 1 on 1 struggle to win the ball when he tried to bring down a long ball coming towards him. On the few occasions they tried to play out from the back, Fenerbahçe did not allow them to do so with their pressure. Fenerbahçe's 4-4-2 formation without the ball compared to Konyaspor's 4-4-2 when they had the ball made it easier for Fenerbahçe to press. Konyaspor couldn't capitalize on the 1v1 match-ups that arose and in these moments Fenerbahçe didn't allow their opponents to build-up play.
The position where Mame Diouf was shown a red card during a 1 on 1 struggle with Arao. After Konyaspor goalkeeper Erhan Erentürk's long ball, we see how narrow the away team was to collect the second balls
Fenerbahce's 4-4-2 pressing formation. The strikers pair up with the full-backs, with Arao and Zajc holding up the central duo. This creates 1 v 1 match-ups all over the pitch
We mentioned that Konyaspor put Michalak up front after being reduced to 10 players. The reason for this was to use Michalak's pace to get the player to receive the ball behind Szalai and Samet. Konyaspor tried this on a couple of occasions but the Fenerbahce centre-backs were able to gain control of the ball.
Conclusıon
Because of the early red card, Fenerbahce took a comfortable win. Although they were not as aggressive in their pressing as they were in the earlier part of the season, it was enough for this game. On the other hand, I would have expected Arda Güler to come on earlier in the game. Especially in games where Fenerbahce have so much of the ball, his off-ball load will be reduced and he can be even more effective in games where he comes on early. On the other hand, Konyaspor's winless streak continued with this match and their new coach A. Stanojevic failed to win points in this match as well.
