Defend a 3v2 counter. Retreat and delay rather than dive in, jockey the carrier, protect the killer pass with the second defender, and step in to intercept the forced ball.
Three attackers break against two defenders. The defenders retreat and delay, the first jockeying the carrier and showing him wide, the second staying central to protect the pass to the far runner. Slow the break down, then step in to cut out the forced ball. Emphasise not diving in and protecting the central pass. Rotate the roles.
Two defenders against three are not trying to win the ball, and framing the exercise any other way guarantees they will do the wrong thing. Their job is to buy seconds. Every second bought is a recovering teammate getting closer, and a 3v2 that becomes a 3v3 has been successfully defended without a tackle being made.
That reframing changes every decision. Diving in is the obvious error and it is caused by the belief that defending means winning the ball. A defender who commits and misses turns three against two into three against one, which is a goal in almost every case. Retreating while staying goal-side costs territory and costs nothing else.
The division of labour needs to be explicit. The first defender addresses the ball, jockeying and showing the carrier wide, away from the centre where the highest-value chances come from. The second defender does not join him. He sits slightly deeper and protects the central pass, because that is the ball that actually ends the move. Two defenders both approaching the ball is the fastest way to concede.
Staying compact between the two matters as well. A gap between them is the through ball, and it opens whenever one steps up without the other adjusting.
The interception comes last and only when it is forced. Once the attack has been slowed, shown wide and denied the central pass, the pass that eventually gets played is usually a difficult one, and that is the moment to step in rather than earlier.
Save it to your private drills, then change the animation, adjust positions, swap equipment, or drop it into a session block. Or start from a blank pitch and build your own.