Three and easy: Goals and three at the back

Will the allure of using the in-vogue back-three lead to more goals in the Premier League?

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The legacy of Louis van Gaal perhaps does not stand for much in the Premier League. Slow passing, tepid tempo and more square passes than would be found in a crab five-a-side fixture, he will hardly be remembered with much fanfare for the tactical innovations he brought across the channel.

Or so you might think.

Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford as a brazen, big-bollocked pioneer, fresh from his Dutch escapades in Latin America, where he stunned the world with a somewhat average side that was inspired by an unconventional 3-5-2.

The Dutch were one of the tournament's eye-catching sides. Using fast, effective and efficient counter attacking football, his wing men, namely Daley Blind and Daryl Janmaat, posed new problems for the conventional 4-2-3-1 brigade, as holders Spain notably discovered, when they were battered 5-1 on their opening day. The Dutch took third place in Brazil.

Yet his arrival in England, and his subsequent tenure at Old Trafford, did not capture the imagination like his Dutch trailblazers. Despite his best efforts at utilising that 3-5-2, United struggled, and he switched back to a back-four. After two miserable seasons, he was booted out of Old Trafford.

Lambasted, ridiculed and derided, his FA Cup success last season has quickly slipped from memory.

Of course, LvG was not the first to use the 3-5-2 in the Premier League (see Roberto Martinez at Wigan, or even Steve Bruce at Hull more recently). But the back-three, that same defensive line that shipped four away at Stadium MK,  is undergoing something of renaissance in English football.

Whilst van Gaal was floundering in the English top flight, Antonio Conte was preparing for another, record breaking season at Juventus, ahead of a third straight title. In Munich, Pep Guardiola was bringing his own, lauded Cruyffian style to Bavaria. Their success, and their recent arrivals in English football, may be about to have an impact that no one could have foreseen in the era of LvG's United. Goals.

Ironic? Just a bit. But beyond LvG, the back-three has never been known for goals. In Italy, where the supporting masses are more accustomed to a back-three, the style has been framed on defensive ambitions. Wing backs put emphasis on the 'back' in their name, and games are, on average, decided by lower totals.

Yet in England, the back-three is having the opposite effect. Its growing popularity in English football, and its misuse too, is beginning to ship goals. 

Guardiola's Manchester City, for one, are currently a ship more unsteady than than a post-iceberg Titanic. Their defeat at Leicester saw them ship three goals in the opening twenty minutes, ruthlessly exposed by the Foxes feted counter-attacking flair. But by the same token, they are among the league's top scorers.

Part of the reason for this is Guardiola's use of 'wing-backs' as just wingers. Against Chelsea, Guardiola used Leroy Sané and Jesus Navas as his wide-men. Both of whom are out-and-out wingers, with little defensive experience.

This leaves City exposed. But in West London, the '3-4-3' is working more efficiently. The Italian maestro Antonio Conte has used Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso in a slightly more defensive capacity. Aided by the engine of N'Golo Kante, the Italian manager has been able to build on years of fine-tuning the back-three in his homeland, ensuring the new approach is picked up quickly at the Bridge. And Chelsea are not leaking goals, conceding just two in their last ten league games. But they are scoring them, with 33, one more than Guardiola's City.

So there is a balance that is needed for the back three to work efficiently. Currently, Guardiola has not found the right formula to shut the back door - yet.

But other sides too are now seeing the attacking benefits of using a back-three. Hull City and Crystal Palace both adopted variations of it with progressive wide-men during their thrilling 3-3 draw at the weekend. 

Palace effectively switched to a back-three to put pressure on the home side after falling behind, leading to the Eagles taking a 2-1 lead midway through the second half. But that same formation fell victim to Mike Phelan's own deployment of a 3-5-2, one that freed Robert Snodgrass from his defensive responsibilities.  At 3-2, the goals were still not finished, as Palace nicked a point through Frazier Campbell.

Ronald Koeman also attempted to use a back-three to try to stop Conte's Chelsea at the Bridge last month. With a team unaccustomed to three at the back and a manager not known for his use of it, Everton were well and truly found out, losing 5-0.

A back-three, when imbalanced, clearly ships goals and scores goals.

The back-three is back in fashion. Flaunted by the stylish Conte and Guardiola, the lure of a formation that offers more options both up front and at the back makes it little surprise that other managers are beginning to experiment with it. As with anything, it takes to acclimatise with a new way of playing, especially one where, if imbalanced, it can just as easily lead to one man fewer defensively and offensively, as it does the other way round.

For fans of the Premier League, this new trend could well lead to more goals on Match of the Day, and more matches like Hull and Palace's thrilling 3-3 draw, where emphasis was placed on attack, rather than its traditional synonymy with defence.

Maybe Louis van Gaal's legacy won't be so tepid after all?