How to create chances in FC 27: from possession to a big chance

The first job near the box is to make the defence choose. Carry the ball at the man in front of you: nothing forces you to pass while he backs off, and every metre raises the pressure until he has to pick one of two bad options. Retreat and concede a shot, or step out and leave the space behind him.

Either way you win something. A moving defence is a defence with gaps: a team-mate loses his marker, a lane opens that was closed a second ago. The carry is a question you ask the defender, not just a way of getting closer to goal.

Near the box, the reflex is to bring everyone close to the ball. It looks like more options, but your opponent packs the same area and defends it with ease. Spread out instead, so he has to defend more pitch than he can cover.

• Width asks a question on the flanks: mark the man out wide and that defender is a long way from goal if he gets beaten; leave him and you have the wing to gain ground.
• Depth asks one behind the line: a striker threatening the run in behind forces the defence to watch its back, not just the ball, even when the pass never comes.

Between the two, space appears between the lines, which is exactly where you want to attack. Every player poses a different problem: one threatens the run, one holds the width, one drops between midfield and defence.

Runs are usually judged by whether the pass arrives, but a striker sprinting in behind is useful even when you never pass to him, because his centre-back faces the same dilemma: follow the run and give ground, or hold his line and gamble on the pass not coming. If he follows, your attack has moved up the pitch for free, and someone else can use the space he left.

So read the defender rather than the runner. Opponents have patterns: one closes down the carrier every time, another never leaves his zone, and they tell you which movement, a run in behind or a player dropping short, opens which space. Keep one question running: what is he deciding, and what does that make our best decision? Against a passive opponent who sits deep, the answer is almost always to carry the ball at him.

This is where many moves die: everything right, then no connection. Slow down, get your head up and find the defender who has committed, a centre-back out of position or a full-back who shifted too far.

The advantage often isn't the first, obvious pass; an extra one pulls their shape apart further. Inside the box, a 50% shot becomes a 90% one if you're patient enough to find the extra pass, a turn or a skill move that frees a team-mate. Outside it, use both wings: pull the whole team to one side, then switch, where your winger and full-back can make a 2v1.

Creating the advantage is half the job; the other half is telling a real chance from a low-percentage shot, because a 2v1 is wasted if you shoot with a man on you. Three checks:

• Your shooter. Position in the box, body shape, what he can do with the ball. A card with great shooting, on his strong foot and facing goal, is one thing; a less agile card with a poorer shot, facing the touchline, is a different chance altogether.
• The nearest defender. If he can reach the extra pass, shoot. If he's too far away to ever get there, his reaction doesn't matter and the pass is on. Read him rather than deciding in advance.
• The minute. The urge to finish quickly peaks in a tight game late on, but your opponent is panicking just as much at the back: whoever stays calmer chooses better.

Pin, move, free up, attack the space and finish. Every opponent is different, so build principles rather than sequences: if he gives me space, I take it; if a defender leaves his position, I look for what he left. Don't play like a robot.

Sending runs, calling for support and opening a lane with a decoy is in “Off-the-ball runs and movement in FC 27”, in the Basic plan. The principles behind every decision are in “How to attack in FC 27: the five attacking principles”, and reaching the box with numbers is in “How to get better at FC 27: build up in 3 phases”.