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The moment a team loses the ball and has to shift from attacking to defending. The first few seconds are critical - either you press immediately to win it back, or you sprint back to reorganize. Teams that handle defensive transitions badly get picked apart on the counter. It's tracked analytically now and coaches drill it constantly.
Real Madrid's 2022 Champions League comebacks often started with poor defensive transitions - they'd concede, look vulnerable, then their individual quality would bail them out. Other teams would've collapsed from the same situations.
Robbie
Jan 21, 2026
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