Force an error high up and finish. Press immediately and intensely, angle the run to cut off one option and show the ball where you want it, then win it and attack the goal.
A centre-back plays out with a wide option and a keeper. A forward presses immediately, approaching on a curved run to cut off the wide pass and show the centre-back inside or backward. Force the rushed ball, intercept, and finish. Do not press straight at the ball, angle it to block a lane. Rotate and add cover pressers to build a front-three press.
Everything the rest of the team does is decided by the first presser's angle, which makes it the most consequential individual action in defending and the one most often left uncoached. A forward who runs straight at a centre-back has told nobody anything: both passes remain available, the midfield behind him cannot anticipate, and whatever happens next is a guess.
A curved run changes that completely. Approaching from an angle that closes the wide pass makes the inside pass the obvious one, and now four teammates know where the ball is going before it goes there. The press becomes coordinated without anybody communicating, because the first defender's body has already communicated it.
Which side to show depends on the team's plan rather than the individual's preference, and it should be decided in advance. Showing inside packs the ball into midfield where numbers are, and suits a team that presses centrally. Showing outside sends it towards the touchline, which is a defender that never gets beaten. What must not happen is one forward showing inside while the midfield sets up for outside.
Speed of approach matters as much as angle. Sprinting the whole way arrives out of control and gets turned. The pattern is fast while the ball travels, slowing over the last few yards to arrive balanced and side on, which is the same shape as defending a 1v1 and worth linking explicitly.
The intensity of the first press also sets the tone: a half-hearted one invites the pass everyone else was preparing to intercept.
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.