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Event Type Pressure Rates (~120/game benchmark)

Pressure AnalysisLevel 2 — Intermediate

What It Is

Different event types are pressured at very different rates. Passes and ball receipts dominate in raw count (~120 total pressured events per match), but the proportion of each event type that occurs under pressure varies dramatically. Missed controls have the highest pressure ratio of any event type. Dribbles under pressure are defined distinctly: the pressure event initiated the need for the take-on (defender forced it), rather than the attacker proactively taking on a defender at speed.

Correct Execution

Correct analysis: always report both absolute count AND percentage-of-type when comparing event pressure rates. Passes dominate by volume but that's just their overall frequency. Missed controls at the highest ratio makes sense — losing the ball under duress is directly causal. The dribble distinction matters: a dribble tagged under_pressure means the defender closed down first, whereas a dribble not tagged under_pressure means the attacker chose to take someone on proactively.

Progression Levels

Diagnostic Tree

Coaching Cues

  • "~120 pressured events per match is your sanity check. Passes and receipts dominate by count; missed controls dominate by ratio." — Thom Lawrence, 2018
  • "A dribble tagged under pressure means the defender came to you. A dribble without it means you went to the defender." — Thom Lawrence, 2018

Common Errors

  1. Comparing raw counts across event types: A sport where passes dominate will always show passes as "most pressured" by count — use % of type.
  2. Treating dribbles as a homogeneous category: Proactive vs. reactive dribbles have different success rates, different contexts, and different things they reveal about the player.

Sources

  • Thom Lawrence, StatsBomb Data Launch presentation, YouTube, 2018-05-23 — provided the 120/match benchmark, event type pressure rate distribution, and the dribble-under-pressure definitional distinction
  • Ted Knutson & Siqur Arshad, WFS 2019 StatsBomb presentation, YouTube, 2019-10-02 — demonstrated the magnitude of the pressure gap using Firmino: 55 defensive actions without pressure events vs. 733 with pressure events in the same season. Stated pressure is "probably the single biggest difference maker" in coaching and opposition analysis, and that data providers without pressure data are delivering fundamentally incomplete defensive profiles