The full-back who forgot his position

Watched Atalanta against Torino last week. Look at the first ten minutes. The space between the units told me everything.

Torino's left full-back kept pushing high to press the winger. Every time he went, the space behind him opened like a corridor. Atalanta found it twice in the opening phase. The passing lane to the far post disappeared because the winger tucked in, but the space behind the full-back stayed vacant. De Ketelaere drifted into that half-space twice in the first fifteen minutes.

The consequence: Torino had to drop their right-sided midfielder to cover. That pulled their shape apart. The distance between defence and midfield stretched from twenty-five to forty metres.

A disciplined full-back stays connected to the centre-back. When he goes, someone must cover. Otherwise the opponent just plays the ball into that gap and runs.

Watch where the full-back stands before the ball arrives. That tells you who will be free.

Question: Does your team keep the full-back connected to the centre-back, or do they let him chase the ball?