Matos blends Liverpool pressing with Porto positional play as Swansea top Championship
Swansea manager Vitor Matos explains how counter-pressing lessons from Liverpool and positional-play ideas from Porto shape his 4-3-3, with the Swans top of the Championship after 10 games.
Vitor Matos took charge of Swansea in November 2025 amid concerns about relegation, yet almost a year later the Swans sit top of the Championship after 10 games. The hire looks like a masterstroke given that Matos had managed only 12 senior games, in Portugal's second division, before moving to Wales — behind which lies a coaching journey of 23 years across several continents and roles.
Before managing Maritimo, the 38-year-old spent five years at Liverpool as an elite development coach under Jurgen Klopp, then joined Red Bull Salzburg as Pep Lijnders' number two. Matos credits Liverpool with shaping his commitment to counter-pressing, pressing and intensity, saying belief in that idea is how he sees football and why he made it Swansea's foundation. He stresses he was influenced by many styles, however, and his game model also draws on time at FC Porto and Shandong Taishan.
On replacing Alan Sheehan, Matos prioritised restoring confidence and making players enjoy playing together. He wanted the team more aggressive without the ball, arguing that high regains and tackles lift the group's mood, and he settled on a back four for consistency after a prior mix of four and five. In Swansea's 4-3-3 he seeks a brave pressing side, but insists the route to those principles must be shaped by the players available, including who starts the press and which triggers to use.
From his Porto youth work came positional play: a positional 4-3-3 based on understanding spaces and timings, moving the ball until gaps open. Against zonal defences he wants Swansea to move opponents to create a free player, while against man-marking he draws on his China experience, keeping players closer to the ball to generate overloads and tempo before accelerating — "when we go, we really go." The full-backs are key tools, since opponents must decide how to press those spaces, potentially unbalancing their structure.
Matos describes valuing everyone and allowing people to be themselves, saying only then can they add value. He calls his time with Klopp massive in shaping him as a leader and in how Klopp cared for the club and players, and now applies that sensitivity to a multinational squad with different backgrounds.
Supporters' concerns about relegation when Matos arrived have given way to a side sitting top of the table — a factual start to the season, though whether the approach sustains a promotion push is a matter of opinion rather than established fact.
Image: Getty Images / BBC Sport
