Alright, let's dive into this 5-2-1-2 formation, guys. I'm going to break down the custom tactics, show you some gameplay examples, and give you my honest opinion on whether it's Weekend League-worthy. Let's get straight into it!
Formation and Build-Up
So, we're rocking the 5-2-1-2. For the build-up playstyle, we're going with Counter. The defensive approach is set to High, with a 70 line of defense.
Player Roles
Now, let's talk player roles.
- Goalkeeper: I've got Kang-in Lee, who has Sweeper Keeper Plus+. We're definitely making use of that, combined with the Rush Out playstyle. So, he's on Sweeper Keeper and Balanced.
- Center Backs: The other center backs are on Defender Plus and Defend. Personally, I'm not a fan of Stopper because you always get caught over the top. Defender is a bit lower risk and gives you more control.
- Wing Backs: The left and right backs are like attackers in this formation. They're on Attacking Wing Back. Think of them like Grimaldo and Frimpong from real life. We don't put the focus on attack, though; we keep them on Balanced so they're back defending as well.
- Center Midfielders: Both center mids are on Box to Box. You need them to defend and attack because three guys in the middle isn't enough. They need to join in and be there in defense, acting like defensive midfielders.
- CAM: Our CAM is on Playmaker and Balanced. Honestly, I'm not sure what's best here yet, but Playmaker seems the best to me.
- Strikers: Advanced Forward and Attack on both our strikers. That's just the best for me. I don't know, I haven't really tried the other ones, but I see all the pros using Advanced Forward, so might as well copy them, you know?
Attacking Gameplay Examples
Alright, all the tactics are talked about. Let's get straight into the gameplay examples, starting with attacking.
- Example 1: This is a long attack to show you exactly what you want to do. Theo, our attacking wing back, gets the L1 command, so he continues going on the run. We take up some space with him, keeping our opponent's right back guessing. We find the passes inside in the end, then quick combination play with Mbappe and Vini. Pay to win, I know! But you can do this with every kind of team; it's more about the thought process. Build up from the back. First thing we want is to get Theo Hernandez involved, or Renan Lodi on the other side. Then, he needs to secure the depth in this formation. After that, it's just a matter of picking out the right passes, although it's very difficult this year with the passing system.
- Example 2: Vini and our box-to-box midfielders. As you can see, Valverde gets involved and has the space. Don't be afraid to shoot with your midfielders because the trivela is a very good way to finish or to get a long shot in from distance. We keep dribbling with Vini, pulling players out of the middle. In the end, we find Vini totally free because he committed already, and there's space for a long shot. This year, unfortunately, it's not possible to always score the perfect goal by just passing, so you got to take those long shots at the time as well.
- Example 3: Build up from the back. You see immediately that Yuri is running. We find him with the Patri long ball plus, very effective this year. Look to Mbappe, and then we need a moment of brilliance, which we do. The build-up is the most important. We send Lodi with the L1 button, then pass it to the person with the best long balls on our team, Patri, and we find Dodo in the end. We're already like 50 yards up the pitch instead of passing it by short passes.
- Example 4: Build from the back. See Theo running again; it's a common theme. Finding him with the long ball plus is a common theme in our attacks. Then, the P inside moment of brilliance from Vini and a goal once again. Theo L1 pass, then we search for pass three to give that over-the-top through ball. We find Theo, and then it's just so easy because there's so much space, and we stay composed for the finish.
Defensive Gameplay Examples
Enough attacking clips. Let's get over to the defensive clips now.
- Example 1: You play five back, so you want to keep that line of five and the midfielders in front. Midfielders running back, and the left back is closing in. You want to keep it as compact as possible, just as in real life. If you recognize a position where your opponent has no wingers, and he's trying to go through the middle, just take your left back or right back and pull them inside to make it even more compact.
- Example 2: He's building up from the back. Theo is gone because we counter. Just give him the time to run back. Run back with your other players, let him get into position, and then, if you see, we close the passing with Y, forcing him to play forward where F is, and then we recover the ball. What we did well in this clip is every time he gets the ball, cut out the most important passing lanes, forcing him to go back or take a sideways pass, and then in the end, being a bit more aggressive, covering off the passing lanes again with Yente, and then forcing him into a pass forward where F is, and we recovered.
- Example 3: He's on the wing. You see that Patri is there, but we want him in position, so we run everyone into position. Stay focused, just let him make the decision, and we get the ball off him. What's important in this clip is that you don't be so aggressive, for example, with a Kaliba or a center back. Just take your midfielder, keep him there on the wing until your left back gets into position.
- Example 4: He's building up from the back again, obviously trying to apply pressure with the strikers and midfielders. He switches the play, well done with him. What you want to do now is don't be too aggressive with the center back. Run back your midfielder. Then, we're still being aggressive with the center back. You can see the mistake we make there when we are being aggressive. There's still time to recover, so we take off a Verda and cover up the space we gave up with Rudiger to prevent him from sprint booting through it. As you can see, being aggressive is something you could get punished for, but when you just calmly run back your players, keep everyone in position, it's very, very easy to defend.
Final Thoughts
So guys, this was it for the 5-2-1-2. I also said that I was going to give my opinion. I played the Weekend League with it. It's a very, very good formation, especially when you want to play far through the middle. Wing backs, you got to get them involved as well. The only thing you have to watch out for is that it's obviously very narrow, but also in defense, which means that your opponent probably has a lot of time and space on the wing. If you don't really like that, maybe you should go into a more wide formation like a 4-4-2, 4-5-1, stuff like that. But if you have no problems with that, then 5-2-1-2 is an extremely viable formation, which is played by many pros, so don't be scared to use it, apart from against me, obviously, because I don't want to face a five-back.