What the second phase tells you about a build-up

Most build-up play gets judged on the first pass. The real tell is what happens two passes later — and it’s the phase most people stop watching.

The first phase is rehearsed. Every side has a pattern for it, and most sides can execute that pattern against a passive press. What separates teams is what happens once the pattern runs out and someone has to make a decision that was not on the training-ground whiteboard.

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