YBCA

Based on Man U's defense against Arsenal:

http://www.runofplay.com/2010/…..ver-rests/

when soccer teams defend exceptionally well, the experience—for the opposing team and for observers also—is more like a subtle but accretive disorientation, a cumulative frustration. It’s “negative football”…in a mathematical way: an iterative algorithm of subtraction, as the opponent’s offensive opportunities are reduced and reduced until their each possession seems to occur under a minus sign.

When a defense is playing as well as United’s played Monday, it’s hard to know what to say: no one defender stands out, because everyone is doing his job, which is to say, everyone is just getting in the opponents’ way.

This kind of achievement is almost invisible: when defenders are well-schooled and thoughtful, they get themselves into the proper position before they need to, which means that attacks don’t need to be thwarted because they can’t really get started.