How Rangers' 'cat and mouse' pressing overwhelmed Hearts

However, the entire performance was underpinned by intent organisation, clever pressing schemes and a clear identity off the ball. The eventual 3-0 scoreline flattered Hearts heavily. 

“I thought, out of possession, we were excellent in terms of our pressing and our regains and it caused a lot of problems for Hearts where we won the ball,” Michael Beale said speaking during his post-match press conference.

Off the ball, Rangers lined up in a narrow 4-3-1-2.

The plan was to guide Hearts into areas of the pitch where the visitors could press and get superior numbers around the ball. Beale wants his team to press ‘to the line’ out wide because the touchline acts as an extra defender.

His team’s pressure map from the fixture clearly shows this trend.

While the height of their defensive activity is also a notable feature.

Rangers overloaded numbers around the ball constantly. Take this still as an example. Hearts have two free men on the far side but because of the angle Malik Tillman and Alfredo Morelos press at, the hosts are forced backwards.

Whenever there was the opportunity to steal the ball aggressively the Ibrox side did just that. If not, they guided Hearts backwards into the defence, biding their time before picking a moment to pounce.

READ MORE: Rangers' convincing Hearts win showed Michael Beale's blueprint

Take this example. Alex Cochrane is forced to throw backwards because all of his potential passing options are marked up. Rangers have more numbers around the ball than Hearts.

The home side then look to switch play, with the front three blocking off passing options through the middle, but Borna Barisic jumps up aggressively to win the ball. Now, with the attackers staying high throughout, Rangers have the numbers to transition forward quickly.

Often the visitors didn’t have to wait when pressing. They trapped Hearts on one of the sides and outnumbered them, before quickly moving forwards. With their narrow shape keeping the attackers high, they could often create a three-vs-three in space against the home side’s defence.

Here, just after Morelos’ opener, the visitors again trap Cochrane by the touchline.

Hearts may well have three ‘free players’ outlined, but because Rangers press at all angles with intensity, those players are not in the game. Beale’s side are owning the pitch even though they don’t have ownership of the ball.

After winning it back, they can attack the goal with numbers.

In this example, Morelos wins it back again. Stealing in on Josh Ginnelly’s blindside, with Hearts unable to find their free man on the far side.

The corner from which Rangers would score a second came as a result of pressure after losing the ball, forcing Stephen Kingsley backwards and nearly scoring through Sakala.

Notice the ‘free men’ in a Hearts shirt here. Kingsley, a left-footer, can’t find them and his passing lanes are blocked regardless. Rangers continually made the pitch small by overloading with intensity. This pattern repeated itself throughout the fixture.

“I picked the team to score goals and I thought Ryan, Fashion and Alfredo were fantastic and I thought Malik went on and joined it in the game as well,” Beale added.

“I thought particularly out of possession we were excellent in terms of our pressures and regains. It caused a lot of problems for Hearts where we won the ball. They were quite expansive in the way they tried to play. We had to be good defensively and we won a lot of duels.

“Again tonight when I watch it back, a lot of the approach play, the defending and the way we played as a team was fantastic but let’s just keep rewarding ourselves in the final third.

“If we can just improve our last shot, our last pass more often, we’ll score more goals.”

On another day with greater incision in the front three, plenty more goals would’ve followed. What’s important to consider is the reason why Beale’s team were able to rampage up the pitch so consistently. They played with a clear plan off the ball and regularly regained possession as a result.

This is a good example. After John Lundstram wins a slide tackle, look at the position of the Rangers front three. Kent is ready to latch onto the loose ball while Sakala and Morelos are on the last line. Rather than tracking full-backs and staying deeper on the pitch they’re high, ready to pounce on any opportunities and attack.

Contrastingly, Hearts have their free men wide on the left but throughout, Beale’s men did an excellent job of keeping them quiet and ensuring they were not in the game. They always seemed to have an extra man on the pitch because, in one sense, they did.

While the manager reiterated a need for more during his post-match press conference, this was the closest demonstration yet of the philosophy he's seeking to establish.

As outlined during a Coaches Voice seminar in 2021, Beale views keeping his attackers high as a game of ‘cat and mouse’.

His team will gamble on the benefit of retaining two or three players in attacking areas outweighing the risk of being overloaded in defence. The manager wants his side to defend with a view of their attack, be organised to play with less stress and run forward off the ball.

All of Rangers' off-ball work last night played into creating these dangerous attacking opportunities that, on another day, would’ve translated into goals.