lines of four players, and counter-pressing in their opponents' third to win the ball high up the pitch. When the ball is won, the team attack as a unit, deploying their fluid 4–2–2–2 formation, with the forwards often shifting to the flanks to create even more space. In defense, the key idea is to force opponents into wide areas, gain numerical dominance in the ball's zone and steal the ball or force the opponent into a backward pass. Counter-pressing consists of reducing an opposing team's space, disrupting their build-up and reducing the number of "safe" positions for opponents' movement on the pitch, thus eliminating goal threats. Claudio Ranieri's Premier League-winning 2015–16 Leicester City team has been compared to Simeone's Atletico Madrid for upsetting bigger teams by also playing a narrow 4–4–2 and being compact in defense and midfield. In the short time he managed Italian side Catania in 2011, he switched between a 4–2–3–1 and a 4–3–1–2 in order to bring out the best from playmaker Adrián Ricchiuti while employing many of the counter-attacking features that would later become his trademark at Atlético. Ricchiuti was tasked with linking the midfield and attack and creating chances for whichever of Maxi López, Gonzalo Bergessio and Francesco Lodi were selected up front. Simeone said he did not want to "fossilise [himself] with a rigid tactic," saying managers cannot have a favourite formation "for the simple fact that we have to adapt not to what we like but to what we have to work with". His players stayed compact and narrow when defending, with the widemen – two of Ezequiel Schelotto, Giuseppe Mascara, Raphael Martinho and Alejandro Gómez – expected to drop back and tuck in when out of possession; meanwhile, playmaker Ricchiuti and the central striker – more often than not López – moved back into midfield rather than pressing the centre-backs, with the aim being preventing simple passes into the middle of the pitch. Simeone is also renowned for his attention to detail and quick adaptability to a game's changing situations. During his time as manager of Atlético Madrid, he has placed emphasis on creating chances from set-pieces, while not allowing the opponent to create chances from set-pieces. Several important goals, including the one that gave Atlético the 2014 La Liga title, have been scored from set-pieces. While his teams aren't known for controlling possession, they are lauded for controlling the pace