FineSoccer Drill 135

Here is a good way to work on preparing for utilizing numerical superiority out wide.

This game can be anything ranging from 11 vs. 11 to 6 vs. 6 and the size of the field would be adapted accordingly. If you are playing 11 v 11, you could go with a field that is 60 yards long and 70 yards wide with side lanes built into the field (with cones) that are 8 yards wide. See diagram below

One player from each team is designated to stay in each of the outside lanes at all times. When a ball gets played out wide to one of these designated players, the designated player from the opposing team is the only one allowed to defend BUT another offensive player is then allowed in to create a 2 v 1 situation. This is a great way to work on overlapping runs (either by a back or a center midfielder) and while it might seem somewhat artificial, if you pay attention to this type of situation, if more teams would send their backs forward on overlapping runs, you would see this very situation happening on a regular basis.

Not only does this work on making these types of runs but also, it forces the players in back to make sure there is coverage for the back or midfielder making this run. Other variations would include making bigger lanes out wide and having 2 v 2 situations with an added player for whichever team has the ball. So many different situations can be created and different aspects of the game can be worked on by making different alterations to this game that it can be used over and over again without seeming too repetitive.