Gomes receives the ball but with pressure tight to him immediately after but as he created some separation before hand he is able to get control of the ball and get his body in between the ball and the opposition

Then he can calmly play the pass across the Lemina in space.

Gomes uses a change of speed to create separation from Aribo as he is torn between following Gomes and staying with the man behind

As Gomes moves towards the ball he scans behind him to check if he can turn or has to play back or round the corner out to Lemina

A good framework for a player to know when to make the right separation movement is just before player A passes to player B, player C makes the movement in to the space to be ready to receive as player B gets the ball.

A = Dawson
B = Bueno
C = Gomes

The ball is played back and Gomes is tightly marked by Aribo

So for Gomes to be able to receive he needs to create space away from his marker at the right time

If he creates space to early he will be marked again, if it's too late the ball carrier will already be closed down

One of the core football skills needed is the ability to create separation from your marker.

Being able to create separation at the right times in the right places is crucial to allow you to receive the ball.

Joao Gomes shows a simple but effective example against Southampton.

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