What to do When: Defending Against a False 9

The false 9 has been causing even the top defences problems after it's creation in 2007, when Luciano Spalletti invented it for Francesco Totti at Roma. Players such as Totti, Messi and Fabregas have proved to be very effective in this role as he drops deep into the midfield from the position of a central striker's, as he leaves the opposition defence with a big dilemma, which can result in a lose-lose situation in most cases.

When the false 9 drops deep, the defender has two options; one, he could go with him and leave his defensive line but reduce the effect the deep striker has in the attack, but leave his teammate isolated as the only centre-back for the time. Or two, he stays where he is and keeps the shape but gives the opposition false 9 a great amount of room to work with, in which he could destroy the defence by orchestrating his side's attacks from in between the lines.

Borussia Dortmund 2 - 1 Real Madrid: BVB Capitalize on Poor Defending from Madrid

Dortmund were the better of the two sides as they won against the odds over a side containing some of the best talents in the world. This victory will come to most as a surprise, however followers of the Bundesliga will find little shock in this result. The Germans played to their strengths with quick counter-attacking and high pressing to exploit a poor Madrid defence, which was missing a natural left-back as Essien filled in but poorly as he was one of the weak links which Klopp took advantage of.

Sunderland 1 - 1 Newcastle: Away Side Score Early and Sit back, but Late Own-Goal Equals it

Newcastle were 10 minutes away from gaining a great win over their rivals until a Demba Ba own goal equalised the scores. Despite conceding late on, Pardew will be the happier of the managers as his side dealt with Sunderland's attacks well despite having one less player after Cheick Tiote was sent off in the 25th minute by referee Marting Atkinson.

Both sides lined up in similar formations, with Sunderland playing a 4-4-1-1, with a back four of Rose, O'Shea, Cuellar and Craig Gardner in front of the Belgian Mignolet in net. The bank of four infront of the defence consisted of McClean, Colback, Larsson and Adam Johnson, who saw a lot of the ball especially in the first half. The attacks were lead by Steven Fletcher in front of Sessegnon.

The away side played more of a 4-4-2, with Demba Ba and Ameobi starting up front. Behind them lied a bank of four consisting of Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Tiote and Gutierrez. The defence which had a great game consisted of Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini and Davide Santon which protected Tim Krul's net.

Defending in Italy

One thing that I find myself repeating to many football fans is that the Italians aren't purely defensive and negative in their football, and that they are simply better at the art. The Catenaccio is probably where most pundits get their idea of Calcio being boring and negative from, the highly defensive formation which was created around the 1930s in Switzerland by Karl Rappan but then made it's way to Italy in the 1940s and '50s was used to great success by both Milan sides in the '60s.

Playing Out of Position - Is it All a Bad Thing?

Rinus Michels' totaalvoetbal revolutionised football in many ways, introducing the use of space to benefit oneself, and a greatly innovative view on movement, which brought about the positioning of players in a position which is not their natural. In Michel's system, this was used to conserve energy, for a further reading of the topic, I have an article on some of the tactical innovations in the Dutch system.

There are a few main examples of this 'switch' of players; the midfielder in defence (Sergio Busquets at Barca in the 4-3-3 under Guardiola, or Mascherano now) the midfielder in attack (Fellaini recently at Everton, Fabregas for Spain and Barca) and the striker into midfield (all false 9 roles). Some players have made a permanent switch to a different position, and proved to be very successful in their new spot, these include; Ashley Cole (striker to left-back), and Sol Campbell (striker to centre-back).

What to do When: Up Against a Big Target Man

A target man can turn an average team into a strong one. As seen in Andy Carroll at Newcastle and now West Ham, and Marouane Fellaini's performances with Everton in the opening games of the Premier League. With the majority of the opposition's attacks focused around one player who dominates the aerial duels, a tall target man can be a side of any quality's downfall, just ask Mr Ferguson.

However, since their attacks are predominantly centered around this player, shutting him out and curtailing his effect can restrict the opposition's chances greatly. The problem is, it's extremely difficult to do so.

What to do When: Finding that Last-Minute Equaliser

Every team is hard to beat if they choose to sit back deep, put 11 men behind the ball and look for a draw. There has been countless times in the Premiership alone where we have seen an underdog put out a resolute defence and snatch a one-nil win over title contenders. By denying them space, the opposition are often left without ideas to conjure up a chance in the little space they have, but when there's 10 minutes left and you're about to be beaten by relegation candidates, what can you do?

Manchester City 1 - 1 Borussia Dortmund: BVB Outperform City but Leave with just a Draw

Borussia Dortmund will be travelling back to Germany wondering how they didn't leave with three points, as they put up a great performance at the Etihad to leave with just one point. The Bundesliga-winning side worked tirelessly to nullify City's threat as Mancini's side played like the away team in this Champions League fixture.