This video is about what happens when you’re late to the press, and why that’s where you become vulnerable.

Being late isn’t the problem.
What you do next is.

When you’re far from the player and still try to press aggressively, you expose the space behind you.

Space appears where the press starts, and the later you are, the easier that space is to exploit.

The key is understanding the shift:

When you’re late, it’s not about the ball anymore.
It’s about the space.

Instead of sprinting to the player, you sprint to the most dangerous space, usually central, and take that away first.

And if you can’t affect the ball at all, then you don’t press.

You delay and steer the play wide, instead of diving in and opening the middle.

Close = press.
Late = protect space.

That’s how you stop transitions instead of making them worse.