Connor, your game has a clear strength: you want to play forward.
But the way you scan limits how well you can actually do it.

A common pattern midfielders face is pressure coming from the outside toward the inside.
And when the ball travels in that same direction — outside → inside — the space always opens on the opposite side.

Top players scan that far side early.
Not because they’re guessing, but because they know how defensive lines behave.
Outside → inside ball = defense narrows = far side opens.

In your game, the habit shows up here:
you receive without checking the opposite side, so you end up playing back where the ball came from.

That’s not a technical issue.
That’s a scanning‑timing issue.

If you scan late, you receive closed.
If you receive closed, you add touches.
If you add touches, the press wins the moment.

The cue is simple:
when the ball travels outside → inside, your eyes go diagonally to the far side.
Scan while the ball is moving, not after it arrives.

This early scan gives you the picture before your first touch.
And with the picture early, you can play one‑touch or two‑touch across the press.

That’s how professionals break pressure.
Not with tricks — with timing.

Your next level is not about doing more.
It’s about seeing earlier.
Scan early → shape early → release early.

That’s when your forward instinct becomes a weapon instead of a hope.