The biggest Premier League match on the calendar took place on Sunday, with Manchester United playing host toLiverpoolat Old Trafford.
To cover the high-profile clash, Sky Sports assembled their team of big-name experts. Roy Keane was involved, as was Graeme Souness, Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Jose Mourinho.
The match failed to live up to expectations, though, ending1-1 with Adam Lallana securing a late drawfor the visiting side. Throughout, theRedsstruggled to impose their game as effectively as usual, withJurgen Kloppstating after the contest: “This year, last year and the year before, they just defended.”
That statement was quickly forwarded to Mourinho in the studio, with the former United boss responding with a critique of Liverpool in regard to their attacking game.
“They (Liverpool) have limitations against teams with low blocks,” he said. “They can smash opponents that play the way they want to play.”
There was a degree of animosity in the words of the former United boss, but regardless, his take on Liverpool is very much outdated.
Klopp’s side, since around January 2018 whenVirgil van Dijkarrived at the club, have demonstrated a proficiency when tasked with breaking down defences that employ a low block.
The tactic involves a deeper line of engagement, whereby Liverpool are effectively invited into the final third by the opposing team. The opposition then aim to soak pressure for large periods, with a view to counter-attacking when presented with the opportunity to do so, with an example pictured below.
Low blocks can be difficult to break down because of the lack of space in behind. Everything happens ahead of the defense, shape is retained, and Liverpool instead have to rely on intricate, shrewd possession-play rather than speed.
United, coincidentally, are suffering from that problem at present. Newcastle United employed a low block against the Manchester club fairly recently, and Solskjaer’s team failed to score because the likes of Marcus Rashford and Daniel James weren’t allowed excessive space to dart into using their pace.
During Klopp’s early years on Merseyside, Liverpool struggled against the likes of West Brom, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Hull City and Newcastle. Rather than allowing Liverpool to use their pace by stretching the play and playing expansively, those sides instead opted to sit back, concede possession and force the Reds into creating.
This placed an emphasis on Liverpool’s deeper players to forge openings, with players such as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino unable to influence actions as much as usual due to the lack of space around them.
(In) , Liverpool lost 2-0 to Hull, before then beating Spurs 2-0. In the following match, the Reds lost 3-1 to Claudio Ranieri’s deep defending Leicester City, before battering Arsenal 3-1. That *** match sequence epitomised Liverpool’s problem.
Gradually, though, with effective recruitment, tactical development and work on the training ground, Klopp improved his team’s prospects against teams of this nature.
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Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold,Alisson Becker, Fabinho and van Dijk sured up Liverpool’s defensive game while also offering considerably more in attack than the players they had replaced. The offensive profiles of the two full-backs in particular permitted Klopp to use his central midfielders as primarily defensive-phase players, rather than burdening them with creating.
Robertson and Alexander-Arnold now effectively operate as wingers against low block opponents, with the latter breaking the Premier League record last season for most assists made by a defender.
In addition to signing deeper players with valuable offensive qualities, Liverpool also sold Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian is incredibly gifted, but he was problematic for the Reds in the sense that he’s inclined to dominate his team’s attack.
The 27 – year-old tends to demand plenty of the ball while also taking plenty of shots, similar to Lionel Messi at Barcelona which is perhaps why pairing the two in the same team resulted in one suffering.
Based on the past four seasons excluding the current campaign, Coutinho has averaged 52 passes per 90 in all competitions, compared toSadio Mane‘s 32, and he’s also posted around 3.4 shots per 90 over the same period compared to Mohamed Salah’s 3.3.
“Coutinho was a very dominant player in our game,” Klopp said when the Brazilian departed, “on a good day it makes you more unpredictable if you don’t have this dominant player.”
Coutinho possesses traits that can be applied to breaking down low block defences, but his departure from Anfield permitted the Reds to transition wh olly into their new offensive shape, pictured below.
Those are the vague positions that are taken up by Klopp’s players whenever possession is secured. The team are now much more suited to breaking down stubborn defences than before.
If the front three are struggling for space, then it’s likely that Robertson and Alexander-Arnold will be unoccupied and vice-versa. If opposing teams try to escape the pressure by hitting long, then it’s reasonable to suggest that Joel Matip or van Dijk will command the resulting aerial duel.
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Liverpool played 20 matches against the bottom ten sides in the Premier League last season, winning every single match having scored 59 goals while conceding only 11. Manchester City for example, managed to win 18 of those matches and suffered defeat twice, while United won only
Not every opponent used a low block, but it’s clear that Liverpool’s previous limitations have been eradicated over time, regardless of whether Mourinho recognises it.
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