I noticed the pressing part of this, and guessed at the breaking with pace and skill part. Didn't notice the roles of the midfielders.
I'd add there were quite a few of the kind of break-up-play type fouls team commit against us at the Lane, and we didn't get booked (for the most part), just like the teams who come to the Lane don't.
What concerned me was how often and how cheaply, or even freely, we gifted them possession. The BBC stats had it at about even, so maybe I missed something, but time after time set-pieces, sometimes in what would ordinarily be considered promising situations, would just sail into touch, or go straight to their players.
Not satisfied with being shite at corners we're working at being shite at free kicks (and bloody throw-ins) too.
That said, genuinely, it may be a tactic,: challenge the opposition to break us down - it's just that it looked to me like we could and should have done an awful lot more with the possession we had.