Tactical analysis: Liverpool - Leicester City 4-1/Premier League/10-9-2016

Liverpool returned to winning ways hosting the champions, Leicester City. The brand new main stand proved to be beneficial for the team as the noise the fans were making helped the players and the team spirit.

Defence: Although Leicester were unable to create anything from open play, Liverpool’s errors and shiftlessness to defend set pieces gave the Foxes hope. Despite this fact, Liverpool coped really well with breaking down the opposition’s play, hence not many times Mignolet was needed.

Attack: The Reds were able to convert most of their chances with 11 of 17 shots in total being on target. Quick, direct play made the team unstoppable in the final third of the field.

Positive

-Cutting through the lines

Leicester City tried to press high when Liverpool had the ball in defence giving no options in the middle for the defenders to pass. However, this gave the chance for Liverpool to be more direct and play the ball immediately to the attackers. In this instance, Lucas plays from behind a long pass to Firmino cutting through all the Leicester City lines, which press high on the pitch.

-Smart move by Sturridge

 Firmino opened the score in the 10^th minute giving Liverpool the lead but credits must go to Sturridge as well. The Englishman made a very smart run taking on two Leicester City defenders and creating space between the two centre backs for Firmino to run into.

-Always ready for a counter attack

In the late stages, Leicester tried to take whatever they could from the game leaving spaces behind for a counter attack. Liverpool players know this and so, there are players running forward instantly after someone intercepts the ball even if he goes backwards. Such is the case here, where Mane starts running immediately after the ball is stolen. 

Negative

-Suicidal tactics

 It is common in modern football for the keepers to pass the ball to defenders after a goal kick instead of kicking it far away. Nevertheless, this isn’t a tactic which should be used blindly. There are four Liverpool players waiting for the pass and four Leicester City players ready to press. It’s suicidal to pass the ball to the defender who could be overwhelmed by the pressure and make an error such as the howler Lucas made.

-Matip steps out poorly

Matip has shown plenty signs of his abilities already providing hope that he might give an end to Liverpool’s defensive woes. However, in this case he makes a common mistake stepping out of the defensive line as the ball was intercepted in the middle of the field. His reaction is careless as he leaves a lot of space for a lethal player such as Vardy to move into.

Tactical Analysis: Tottenham - Liverpool 1-1/Premier League/27-8-2016

After that awful defeat last week against Burnley, Liverpool ended the first month of the Premier League with a draw at White Hart Lane. Many fans feel that Liverpool deserved the three points; They had plenty of chances, they had a (wrongly?) disallowed goal, they hit the bar and overall in many times they seemed like the best team. However, the end result is that once again Liverpool failed to maintain the lead which they got in the 43^rd minute after James Milner converted the penalty Roberto Firmino earned. But let’s get into more details.

Negatives

Milner being exposed

As Alberto Moreno has been nowhere near good enough for the first team, James Milner has stepped into his place as a left back. Although Milner is one of the more hard working players, he can’t learn that easily and quickly his new position. In this case after the ball is played behind his back, he doesn’t get close enough to Lamela giving the Argentinian many options. 

Counter attacking flaws

Many times counter attacking has proved beneficial but not this time. Liverpool try to get the ball up front quickly but they are doing this with too many players. Hence when Wijnaldum can’t get the ball through Wanyama there’s too much space and too many Tottenham players who haven’t managed to get back creating a very dangerous situation.

Positives

Geggenpressing mentality

 Last year we saw in a matter of cases geggenpressing in practice, the philosophy of Jurgen Klopp, trying to press high and get the ball immediately after losing it. This year it seems like it has been implemented well into the player’s brain and this is another proof of this. As Tottenham plays from behind, 4 Liverpool players are creating a line difficult to get through and when the mistake is made, two of them rush to take advantage of this. At the same time Firmino (no.5) is sitting high waiting to get the ball after it has been stolen.

Bossing the midfield

 Liverpool have the lead and they try to protect it. Divock Origi presses the Tottenham playmaker as 5 Liverpool players in the middle ensure that noone is getting between the lines. In fact, this type of defending needs someone or something special to get through it. And, unfortunately, that special was the ball played by Alderweireld, getting behind the whole Liverpool defence and ending up with the leveller.

Lallana nailing the new position

 We talked already about a player learning a new position. Another one, is Adam Lallana. The Englishman is proving how effective he can be in the middle of the pitch both attacking and defensive wise. His high work rate and exceptional control of the ball make him the perfect man for the job. In this situation he comes back to defend and blocks a shot by Dele Alli.

Tactical Analysis: Arsenal - Liverpool 3-4/Premier League/14-8-2016

Liverpool started the season with a very important win against Arsenal at Emirates. Those two have provided the fans some exceptional games over the last years with plenty of goals and this match was no exception. Despite going 1-0 down, Liverpool managed to get back into the game with a stunning free kick from Phelippe Coutinho. In the second half 3 quick goals by Lallana, Coutinho and Manè extended the lead to 1-4. However, Arsenal tried to level things up managing to reduce the difference just to one goal. Fortunately Liverpool was able to hold to their lead and get the tree valuable points.

Despite Liverpool showing some great attacking signs in periods of the second half, there was a lack of communication between the lines which was more evident when Arsenal pressed high. Hence it would be better to give more emphasis on the negative than the positive aspects of Liverpool’s game.

Problem on the flanks -

-Moreno woes defensively

 Alberto Moreno started the new season as he ended the last one, horrendously. Early into the game he intercepts a pass to Walcott with his head only to assist Ramsey. Trying to make up for his mistake he rushes erratically out of position and tackles the Welshman. In this example he got out on top but his lack of discipline was not only highlighted on the penalty which he gave away minutes later but also… 

…here. Moreno is the one to start the counter attack coping well with Walcott. After that his attacking mind makes him go forward, miles away from the player he should be aware of. Moreover, he is nowhere near the defensive line as he should; thus when Arsenal get the ball back, Moreno no matter how quick he is, he can’t catch the equally quick Walcott.

Statistics don’t lie. Moreno ended the game winning just 50% of his tackles and 62,5% of duels. Is it time for a new left back?

-Clyne steps out of position

Clyne was one of the most consistent players last season. However, in the second half and especially after the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain he lost his concentration at times. In this case, he steps out of position meaninglessly trying to intercept a pass to Cazorla leaving Chamberlain behind him ready to make the run as he is onside. 

Liverpool defend too deep -

As Arsenal attack mainly from the flanks the ball ends up to Santi Cazorla on the edge of the box. The space and the time which is given to him call for an easy try. The shot is made but the Spaniard doesn’t even hit the target. Regardless, at least one of Liverpool midfielders should step out to block his shot. Instead the only one to react quickly is Sadio Mane. 

Attacking trio cooperates well +

Liverpool presented some great pieces of play during the game and the second goal from Lallana emphasized that. Liverpool attacking trio –Coutinho, Firmino, Mane- exchanged a couple of passes wide on the pitch getting most of the Arsenal defense high in order to mark them. As a result, when the ball is played to Wijnaldum, Arsenal’s defense is all over the place with Lallana and Clyne making runs while totally unmarked.

Premier League: The 2016-17 season starts

The 2016/17 Premier League season starts today with a plentiful of games. However Liverpool's season doesn't start until tomorrow when the Reds travel to Emirates in a clash with -hopefully- title rivals, Arsenal.

After a long time without any major game to comment on, the blog is back on track with tactical analysis on every Liverpool game. Stay tuned!

Tactical Analysis: West Bromwich Albion - Liverpool 1-1/Premier League/15-5-2016

In the last game of the season Liverpool faced West Bromwich at Hawthorns. A fairly boring game finished level after Jordon Ibe’s solo goal cancelled West Brom’s lead taken with a beautiful strike by Salomon Rondon. Klopp’s men were woeful both attackingly and defensively wise, hence there is no attacking play worth analysis. The only positive sign was Cameron Brannagan in midfield. The final 8^th place means that the only way European football will be played next year at Anfield is a win on Wednesday.

Smith's lack of attention

 The defense, consisted of Flanagan, Skrtel, Lucas and Smith was horrendous throughout the game. West Brom got in front, following a bad pass in the midfield. Skrtel is sitting too deep as Lucas isn’t aware of Rondon making the run behind him. In addition Brad Smith should mark Rondon or at least get quickly back. Only until the ball is delivered to Rondon, does the youngster sprint towards the attacker, showing a total lack of awareness.

Rondon unmarked

 Rondon created all type of problems for the Liverpool defense and should have scored in a number of occasions. In this instance, Brad Smith once again fails to defend on the flank forcing Lucas getting out of position. Skrtel shows once more that he isn’t able of adapting to the Klopp system as he stays too deep without on the same time marking someone closely. This situation finds Rondon alone in the edge of the box catching, at the end of the move, a header just wide.

Three players keeping everyone onside

 It gets kind of repetitive to mention the same thing every week out, but Liverpool players are unable to defend set pieces properly. As the ball is delivered, there are three Liverpool players on the same line with just one West Brom player. That means that every other West Brom attacker behind him is onside. Not only this, but the one West Brom player in front, Rondon eventually manages to fire a powerful header in the post showing the inconvenience of this Liverpool defense.

Ojo's lazyness

Sheyi Ojo has been excellent lately showing great ability when attacking. However he lacks awareness when defending set pieces being lazy marking his player. In this picture Salomon Rondon is in the heart of the Liverpool box all alone with Ojo nowhere near him. Moreover, when the West Brom attacker miscues his shot, Ojo stops running towards him, giving the striker time to unleash another effort on goal.

Tactical Analysis: Liverpool - Chelsea 1-1/ Premier League/11-5-2016

Christian Benteke’s late equalizer secured Liverpool a point in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Anfield. After some great chances in the first fifteen minutes, Liverpool didn’t show the desire to win the game, hence the rejuvenated Hazard found the opportunity to score a fantastic solo goal. Chelsea looked also dangerous while counter attacking, with Simon Mignolet making some outstanding saves. But, all this doesn’t matter as every Liverpool fan’s attention is on the Europa League final on Wednesday. 

Tactically correct, skillfully wrong

Hazard scored a wonderful solo goal to give Chelsea the lead taking on four Liverpool players. However it is interesting how bad Liverpool defended. Although Milner and Can are in good positions Can gives space to Hazard going in the other way. Moreover, Lovren, who again is in the right spot, as the Belgian is one on one with him doesn’t move towards him letting him have a free shot.

Opportunities are wasted frustratingly

 Liverpool were awful for the majority of the game until Klopp made his substitutions. However this situation was caused by the selfishness of a lot of players shooting from distance. In this case Sturridge has the ball in the edge of the box. Lallana is on the far post waiting for a cross, Milner asks for the ball unmarked, Firmino runs towards Sturridge to give him options and Coutinho is standing behind the Englishman alone. Disturbingly, Sturridge decides to shoot aimlessly causing frustration.

Substitutions change the game

 Klopp’s changes really helped the side to get back into the game. Joe Allen makes a superb cross into the box which eventually ends up to Ojo. The young Englishman gets behind Azpilicueta in the far post. At the same time, as Liverpool throw bodies into the box, with the presence of the physical Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge is unmarked, despite all the blue shirts around him.

Benteke's presence is useful

 Although Begovic gifted Liverpool the equalizer, was it a good cross from Ojo, it could have well ended up in the back of the net. Benteke again is inside the box providing danger for the Chelsea defenders while Sturridge is once again totally unmarked on the edge of the box waiting for a poor clearance or a pass from Ojo.

Tactical Analysis: Liverpool - Watford 2-0/Premier League/8-5-2016

Following another magical European night, Klopp rested, yet again, a lot of his star players in the premier league. That didn’t create problems for the Liverpool team, which overcame the obstacle of Watford by 2-0. Klopp’s focus is certainly the Europa League, thus young players will continue to play in the final two Premier League games. Benteke made a rare appearance on the starting line up, contributing to the first goal. 

Benteke poor positioning

 This image shows why Christian Benteke should play with a partner up front. Coutinho gets the ball inside the box, however there is noone inside the penalty area to notch the ball into the net. Benteke, as the main striker should be in the highlighted area. Instead he is behind every Watford defender leaving no options to Coutinho, who ends up shooting just wide.

Benteke plays behind the defense

 Liverpool caught the Watford defense sleeping, after a quickly executed foul. Christian Benteke plays behind the defense but is aware of it hence, before the ball is delivered to him, he gets onside. As he makes a simple header, the incoming Joe Allen finishes calmly, getting Liverpool in front.

 Lucas steps poorly out of the defense

 Watford could have pulled one back, wasn’t it for Mignolet denying Ighalo outstandingly. Lucas Leiva partnered Martin Skrtel in the defense although he is a defensive midfielder. This flaw is highlighted in this image. Lucas steps out of the defensive line to mark closely Troy Deeney, not realizing that he creates a huge gap between Skrtel and Moreno where Ighalo could run into.

Gegenpressing once more results in a goal 

This is yet another example of how effective is the way that Klopp wants his team to press. Although the ball is in Watford’s half, three Liverpool players move forward instead of going back. Ojo ends up intercepting the ball and Roberto Firmino takes advantage of this scoring a solo goal.

Tactical Analysis: Bournemouth - Liverpool 1-2/Premier League/17-4-2016

Jurgen Klopp made 10 (!) changes to the side, which made that huge comeback against Dortmund on Thursday, including a lot of youngsters into the line up, one of them being Danny Ward who made his Premier League debut with Liverpool. Despite all those changes, the brilliance of Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino was enough for Liverpool to win easier than the final 1-2 score might seem. 

Roberto Firmino works as a false nine

 When most of Liverpool’s attackers were on the sidelines, Roberto Firmino was taking their place showing with goals what an excellent goal instinct he has. In this image all of Bournemouth’s defense attention is on Sturridge and Ibe. Firmino watches the empty space into the box and runs to get there. Eventually this movement sees him getting the rebound from Sturridge’s strong backheel which was saved by Artur Boruc.

 Sturridge's brilliance

 Sturridge is through on goal, however there are two Bournemouth players catching up with him. Having Ojo way behind him and Origi also marked, the Englishman has limited options either to go through either to produce some great skill and break some ankles as he does. This proves why Sturridge is vital for Liverpool; no matter how marked he is he can create something from nothing.

Gegenpressing at its best

Allen, becoming slowly but surely a cult hero at Anfield, presses high on the pitch winning eventually the ball. The moment he gets it, Sturridge and Firmino are making runs. The Welshman passes to Sturridge, who is through on goal and chips the ball over Boruc just to see it hitting the post. This is another example of gegenpressing, Klopp’s method of winning the ball shortly after losing it, and counter attacking immediately.

No matter the defence, set pieces are a threat

Kolo Toure and Lucas Leiva were deployed as centre backs while Randall and Smith were on the flanks. This whole new defense showed exactly the same inefficiencies when it came to set pieces. Six Bournemouth players are inside the box when the ball is delivered. No1 is all alone in the far post, while no 6 is standing with two Liverpool players marking him despite not posing any threat whatsoever. In addition one Bournemouth player is outside the box waiting for a poor clearance without anyone’s attention on him.

Tactical Analysis: Liverpool - Stoke City 4-1/Premier League/11-4-2016

Despite Klopp making seven changes to the line up which faced up Dortmund on Thursday, Liverpool were able to overcome the obstacle of Stoke City. As usual, Stoke approached the game defensively, trying to exploit Crouch’s power in the air as well as the strong wind around the Merseyside area. Although Liverpool did well to break the opposition’s strong defense down, it wasn’t the same case for set pieces and corners

Set piece problems continue

 Liverpool gave away their lead, which came from a splendid strike from Alberto Moreno, after a header by Bojan Krkic. As the ball is delivered inside the box, Kolo Toure is marking no one while on the same time he keeps every Stoke player onside. Bojan takes advantage of the Ivorian’s poor positioning and gets behind Ojo, who should mark the striker closely.

Toure defends poorly

Again, coming from a set piece, Cameron had a huge chance to get Stoke back in the game, only to watch Simon Mignolet denying him with a wonderful save. Kolo Toure starts the run too soon to keep the dangerous Peter Crouch away from the ball, but he doesn’t realize that he keeps onside two Stoke players, who are behind the Liverpool defense. 

Liverpool stretch the opposition apart

In order to break up Stoke’s defense, the Liverpool full backs are high on the pitch stretching Mark Hughes side. Ojo and Sturridge sit between the lines, waiting for the chance to get inside the box, as Firmino waits for the ball just behind those two. In addition, since Milner and Stewart rest behind, Allen finds the opportunity to get higher on the pitch giving options to Toure. 

 Ojo makes wonders, Sturridge scores

 This image shows exactly the same example of how Liverpool attacked Stoke’s defense. Stewart and Milner stay behind aware of a possible counter attack. Moreno and Clyne are high on the pitch, with the Spaniard giving options to Ojo who works this time as a winger. Sturridge makes the run into the box and Allen is ready to copy the striker’s move. Finally, Firmino, in his no.10 role always behind Sturridge and Ojo, gives choices to the young Englishman, who ends up assisting his partner after getting away from Shaqiri with an out-of-this-world move.

 Tight space, yet nice play

 Every Stoke player, apart from Crouch, is defending creating a very tight space for Liverpool to play with the ball. However, the Reds find a way to overcome this wall of Stoke players with Firmino shooting on target, following some great passing by his teammates as it is seen in this image.

Tactical analysis: Liverpool - Tottenham 1-1/Premier League/2-4-2016

Liverpool drew 1-1 with in-form Tottenham, who is currently sitting in the second place at the Premier league table. An enjoyable game ended level after two beautiful finishes from Coutinho and Kane. Both teams had a lot of chances to win the game, however, the draw seems like a fair result for the performance which the two teams put in. Now let’s make some points about this Liverpool game.

Klopp’s gegen-pressing put into practice 

 As Tottenham has possession in its half, seven Liverpool players are there in order to press. Dier, who has the ball, is put under pressure by Lallana and Can and loses it in a very risky place. Worth mentioning is Sturridge’s position, as the Englishman waits unmarked for the ball to be stolen in order to run into the empty space behind the Tottenham defence.

Sakho’s shambolic error

Mamadou Sakho showed again his inconsistency and this image proves why. While he is very far away from his defensive partner, Lovren, he tries to win the ball. As he fails miserably to do so, there are four Tottenham players ready to strive counter attacking. Mistakes like that should be punished but, luckily for Liverpool, Dejan Lovren defended the situation exceptionally well.

Sturridge misses a sitter

Daniel Sturridge could put Liverpool ahead in the 35^th minute but he fails to do so, as  he fires straight at Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The Liverpool no.15 doesn’t hold to the ball long enough even though neither Lloris comes out nor any Tottenham defender comes to mark him. Lallana is also there to give Sturridge an option to pass but the latter doesn’t notice him.

Moreno caught sleeping

This is another moment to emphasize how poor Moreno can be defensive wise. As the ball comes in, Son makes the run immediately as the Spaniard doesn’t notice him. At the same time Sakho and Lovren aren’t keeping the same defensive line, thus the Croatian keeps onside both Son and Kane. 

Tactical Analysis: Southampton - Liverpool 3-2/Premier League/20-3-2016

When the referee blew the whistle for the start of the second half nobody could think that Liverpool would let their lead slip not only because they were two nil up, but also because they had chances to score more goals. In this analysis my focus is on the defensive side of the second half, with Skrtel on the pitch, where from the first minutes it was clear to everybody who watched the game that Liverpool wouldn’t have a stroll in the park in the end.

Skrtel concedes a penalty just 3 minutes in the second half

In this picture we can see where Flanagan and Sakho have set the defensive line. However, Skrtel is behind
this line along with Pele. In addition, he has already started pulling the Southampton man’s shirt, which led to the penalty. Worth mentioning is the fact that Skrtel is on the back of Pele standing while the Italian is running into the area to catch the ball from a beautiful pass by Steven Taylor.

Flanagan loses concentration as well

This is another example of the same miscommunication at the back for Liverpool. This time not only Skrtel but also Flanagan is way behind the defensive line which is set by the rest of the team. The Slovakian misses the header once again and Sadio Mane, who isn’t offside due to all this lack of communication by the Liverpool defense, could have scored.

Liverpool gets finally punished

Since Liverpool didn’t get the message by these two big Southampton chances, they got punished. Can makes a poor pass to Flanagan who loses the ball at a risky area. Although Southampton is pressing high, there is a huge gap between the defense and the midfield. The only player to be in that space is Sadio Mane. Martin Skrtel is concentrated on his player and once more standing instead of closing the channel where Mane is running towards to.

Liverpool show no desire at all

Skrtel loses one more header and leaves just Sakho and Flanagan at the back. But those two make the same mistake that Liverpool did in the second half. They don’t keep a defensive line. That eases Shane Long to make the pass to his Italian partner without any pressure whatsoever. Another thing to notice is that Emre Can is just jogging instead of getting behind the defense.

The same mistakes happen again

It's possible to actually copy the same things that I’ve said about the previous image and paste them in here. Skrtel loses the header and gets in a no man’s land; Flanagan is too deep and marks noone; Sakho, not being as rapid as Mane, should close him down better, maybe giving away a foul for the team. And the icing on the cake is Emre Can who shows no desire to defend, standing for another time and making Joe Allen run to mark where he himself should have been in the first place. 

Sometimes the statistics may lie but in this case they tell the truth about one player. Dejan Lovren in 45 minutes won 66,7% of his duels and 100% of his aerial duels. On the other side, Martin Skrtel won 37,5% of his overall duels and 40% of his aerial duels… 

Opinion: Southampton - Liverpool 3-2 /Premier League /20-3-2016

At st Mary’s stadium Liverpool gave away a two nil lead, suffering three goals after the break. 

The introduction of Martin Skrtel coming on for, already booked, Dejan Lovren played a major role for the defeat, as the Slovakian was horrendous for his first 45 minutes back in the senior team after injury. Minutes into the second half he gave away a typical of him -shirt pulling- penalty, which thankfully for the defender, Simon Mignolet was able to catch. However he lost all of his aerial duels; he didn’t make a single tackle and overall he was abysmal. However, although nobody can defend Skrtel, we should remember that it was his first game after a long spell out due to injury. Hence, we shouldn’t bash on him and blame him for the loss.

Another player who received a lot of stick was Christian Benteke. Coming on for Sturridge, the Belgian wasn’t able to produce anything attacking wise, while he tossed away a glorious chance to put Liverpool back in front by two goals. It was yet another horrendous miss for the striker who cost Liverpool 32 million pounds.

However the blame doesn’t fall just for those two players. In fact the whole Liverpool team didn’t show up in that second half. Jon Flanagan, as a skipper, made a lot of mistakes and couldn’t carry the team on his back after Sadio Manè put Southampton back in the game. The whole team didn’t show any desire and took the game for granted. Jurgen Klopp is another man to blame for this performance in the second half. His substitutions didn’t make any impact, whatsoever, and moreover cost Liverpool the game.

Now the Reds have once more to pick their pieces up as important games are ahead. Firstly Liverpool host Tottenham at Anfield next Saturday and after this comes the first leg with Borrusia Dortmund for the Europa League quarter finals.

Stay tuned for the tactical analysis for all the details about this shambolic Liverpool performance in the second half.