Tactical Breakdown: Liverpool 1-0 Ajax
After last week's home defeat to Atalanta - Liverpool's twelfth loss at Anfield in the European Cup/Champions League - Group D was suddenly fraught with unexpected possibilities. Jürgen Klopp's men, amidst a biblical injury crisis, needed to settle their European affairs as soon as possible, but given the nature of recent performances and the strength of Ajax, victory was by no means a foregone conclusion.
The Reds set up in a 4-3-3, with Salah and Mané flanking Jota, in place …
Tactical Breakdown: Brighton 1-1 Liverpool
Before looking at tactics I think it's important to preface any tactical discussion within the unique circumstances players, managers and clubs find themselves in, especially Liverpool FC.
Jürgen Klopp's team is currently in the midst of a season in which their pre-season was disrupted, their transfer plans unexpectedly affected and in which games are being played at a faster rate than I can write them up. The nature of this campaign has resulted in a number of decisions being made …
Tactical Breakdown: Liverpool 3-0 Leicester
With injuries aplenty following the international break and a deluge of fixtures awaiting Jürgen Klopp's red men, an acceptable result seemed more important than a strong performance.
With Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Thiago all unavailable, the champions were without their three best creative players, leaving the creative burden upon a midfield and forward line that has had little time to develop the sort of relationships required to pick apart a defence. Likewise, Leicester was without Ndidi - their most important midfield …
Tactical Breakdown: Ajax 0-1 Liverpool
Despite both clubs' European pedigree, the last competitive game between these two sides was played back in the time of Bill Shankly. Much has changed since then. Nonetheless, football is still football, and tactics are the gameplans employed by managers to produce a particular outcome. These gameplans are often the product of the manager's philosophy, the players available to them and the opposition team, all of which characterised both manager's setups on Wednesday night.
Liverpool set up in their usual …
Tactical Breakdown: Everton 2-2 Liverpool
Liverpool's goalless draw against Everton back in June - the first game of the restarted league season - was an intriguing affair in which Everton posed a number of tactical questions to Liverpool, and was able to slow down the red juggernaut. With Ancelotti's coaching clearly making a difference to Everton's performance, this game had an exciting tactical dimension to it. Yet despite Everton's superb form leading into this game, it was one which Liverpool dominated, with a number of …
What Makes The Reds So Great Part 2
Before the worldwide coronavirus pandemic ground the Premier League season to what we are assured is a temporary halt, Liverpool looked set to win the league title at a canter.
Winning 27 out of their 29 games, the Reds — who have beaten every other team in the league on their remarkable run — find themselves a full 25 points ahead of second-place Manchester City and, mathematically, only need two more wins to claim the clubs’ 19th league success and …
Tactics Weekly: The Tactical Evolution of Jurgen Klopp
Daniel Rhodes hosts Ray Power, a UEFA A license coach, academy manager in the UK, Africa and Ireland as well as prolific tactics author. Topics include:
Some background about Ray, and how he got into football coaching.
Tactical analysis requires an understanding of the four phases of the game: what are they and why are they so important?
Where did Klopp start tactically, and have these four phases always been crucial to his teams?
Alongside tactics, how important is his man management and what does it involve?
Are these just intangibles we can’t measure? Or even copy.
Who were the best man managers? …
Liverpool vs Sheffield Utd - Tactical Analysis
Liverpool met Sheffield Utd at Anfield for their first game of 2020, hoping to pick up where they left off in 2019. In securing a comfortable 2-0 victory, they did just that. Liverpool's tactical approach was an intelligent one given the challenges presented by their opponent's system & Christmas scheduling.
They were able to simultaneously control possession of the ball whilst seeking to exploit their opponents' pressing system. Klopp's tactics contributed to the team breaking the club record for passes …
Liverpool 1-0 Wolves: A Tactical Breakdown
"This was a marvellous tactical battle, but for Nuno Espirito Santo, despite his best efforts, couldn’t quite deliver a surprise in morphing into Nuno Espirito Santa(!!!), but with Liverpool, rather unexpectedly, now four points clear of Manchester City, it seems Christmas may just have come early…" - Wolverhampton 0-2 Liverpool: A Tactical Breakdown, 23/12/2018It's remarkable how much, and at the same time, how little has changed in just over a year. Indeed, given Wolves' comeback against Manchester …
Tactics Weekly: Reds Click Into Top Gear With Two Convincing Victories
Daniel Rhodes hosts Hamzah Khalique-Loonat to look back at two away wins as well as two impressive performances, topics include:
The shock Minamino
news that he will sign in January if he passes his medical.
Continuation of the
rotation theme versus Bournemouth, and how did Klopp intend for his team to set up?
Did Eddie Howe adjust
anything to deal with our specific threats?
Was any of it effective
before Nathan Ake went off?
The Reds start to
run riot
What tactics did
we employ to do this so effectively?
All three goals discussed
Game killed off early
with a cameo for Curtis Jones
The line-ups in the
Salzburg game & and the key areas to consider
The home team starts
the brightest but it is Mo Salah who has the first of many big chances in the game for Liverpool (seven)
Did they start to
commit too many players forward in search of a goal, and is it the only way they can play?
Salah ending up with
2.1 xG & xA combined!
Naby manages to open
the scoring, assisted by Mane and calming the Reds’ nerves
Mo seals the deal
with a moment of magic.
…