One of the best defences for resisting pressure and retaining possession of the ball with a defender breathing down your neck is the use of the elbow. This is a hard point which can direct a lot of force backwards when applied correctly. That said, very few players know how to apply it correctly and thus fail to use their full potential for keeping defenders at bay.
In terms of timing, the elbow is used when throwing one’s body into a defender while under tight pressure. Leading with the elbow makes it not only difficult but also painful for a defender to come in too aggressively. In most cases players bring the elbow back to their side perpendicular to the body. Although this is effective for generating power, it is then dissipated across the entire chest of the opponent. A tweak our professional players use is to bring the elbow back in at the point of contact so that it comes in and upwards rather than across the opponent (see the final position above). This retains the force much greater and centralises it in one place. In combination with good pinning habits like dropping the hips and therefore centre of gravity, this becomes incredibly difficult for a defender to fight through and thus protects the ball much greater. In fact, what typically happens is that many defenders will simply drop off and allow space for the player on the ball instead of attempting to get past this elbow.
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