Curved runs in FC 27: how to trigger them and when to pass

Before pressing anything, see where the move should end. If the wing is open and you want to go down it, a straight run with L1 does the job perfectly. If the danger is the gap between the full-back and the centre-back, you want him heading into that gap. That's the value of the curved run: it changes its path to attack a different space and opens passing angles.

Three things have to make sense together, checked in this order:

• Your team-mate, the one who'll make the run.
• The defender who can track him.
• The area where you want him to receive.

If that gap is already taken, the button won't create a chance on its own. Don't expect the same curve every time, and remember that going round a defender can take much longer than a straight L1 run: read the movement before you press.

If you're coming from FC 26, the L1 run is still useful, just no longer essential. The curved run is one more tool alongside it, not a replacement.

The input is simple: point the left stick at the team-mate you want and tap L1 + R1 together, briefly. That's a request for a run, nothing more. The ball stays with you, and you're under no obligation to pass to him. Your job in the meantime is twofold: keep the ball carrier safe from the press, and keep an eye on the runner's path so you know when, or whether, to release the ball. When the moment comes, Triangle to pass.

Two beginner mistakes: aiming in a crowd, where the stick picks the wrong team-mate, so practise with an isolated player; and watching only the runner while the opponent presses the man on the ball.

Picked the wrong player, or the run isn't going anywhere? Point the stick at him again and press R1, which calls him short, the call for support, and reset the attack from there.

Runs also have a range now: in FC 27 a player runs for 10 to 20 metres and stops, where FC 26 runs went on indefinitely. If he's stopped and the move still makes sense, send him again with L1 or L1 + R1. Treat the curved run as the start of a move rather than its end.

Take the simplest case, the winger running into the gap. Once he's gone, your eyes go to the defenders, not to him. An opponent who hasn't switched to a defender has probably left the inside pass open. But a triggered run is not a pass order: the pass waits for the lane, not the other way round. You want the receiver to arrive with an advantage, and the window is narrow. Too soon and the ball beats the runner to the space. Too late and the gap closes, or he's drifted offside.

The other case is a defender who reads the run and goes with it. Now the pass has lost its value, and keeping the ball is the better choice: carry it, find somebody else or recycle. Sending a run costs you nothing, so send it and decide afterwards.

How the ball gets there matters too. With plenty of space and no defender nearby, a through ball or a ground pass is enough. Against an opponent defending manually with a centre-back, the run usually leaves room for a through ball over the top, L1 + Triangle. Direction, power and the passer's body shape decide whether it arrives, and no run fixes a badly struck pass.

Before the ball leaves your foot, three things have to be true: the runner isn't offside, the lane is clean, and he'll receive in a better position than the defender. If any of those is in doubt, keep the ball. If all three are clear, play it.

Once the run is in your game, the next step is the pass and go with a curved run, and using the run as a decoy to free up a third team-mate. Both are in “Decoy runs and the third man in FC 27”, in the Basic plan. If you'd rather control the runner yourself, deciding who moves, where and when, that's “Player Lock in FC 27: how to use it and when it's worth it”. And the decisions behind every pass are in “How to attack in FC 27: the five attacking principles”.