Liverpool, together with Man City, are two of the best team in Europe right now. I have been looking at some of their matches and there isn’t a game where they didn’t dominate and win.
I have sort of concluded the following:
Liverpool‘s style
1) Gegenpressing - This year, they have improved on their high octane pressing style with every players understanding exactly how to press as a team. Many teams have struggled to handle this, especially at Anfield. Lesser teams have sought to play deeply and surrender possession while those bigger clubs tried counter pressing and usually conceded more goals against Liverpool than they can score.
2) Use of offensive fullback. Both Robertson and T Arnold each has double digit number of assist this year. Both likes to roam forward and can support attacking plays or press high when they are without possession.
3) Firmino acting as a false nine to support Salah and Mane. Firmino can draw out defenders to him and in the process free up room for Salah and Mane to run into the spaces created. This strategy has created tonnes of goals for them this year. If Firmino is left unmarked, he has the ability to shoot accurately from distance or pick up telling passes that leads to dangerous situations.
4)Low drilled crosses into the penalty box for tap ins. Henderson/Wijnaldum can combine effectively with the fullbacks to overload the flank, leading to opportunities to drill low cross into the box. This has also contributed to the numbers of goals they scored this year.
5) Solid overall defensive pillar in the likes of Van Dijk supported by Fabiano. Before Van Dijk, Liverpool struggle with pacy counter attacks or long balls. Eg., we won huge against them (3-1) at Wembley almost 2 years ago. We adopted a counter attacking game which they never really manage to cope. With Van Dijk and Fabiano, they seemingly do not have an obvious defensive weakness this year.
How should we play to neutralise all these and give ourselves a fighting chance to win this year UCL?
Comments?
