OVERVIEW
- Klopp operated a counter-attacking strategy.
- He was happy with Spurs having the majority of the possession
- Liverpool concentrated on narrowing down the centre channel & high-pressing the fullbacks to retrieve the ball and start a counter.
- Early balls into the final third directly from the CB was another plan which they executed quite often.
TACTICS
Team shape in possession
- Almost a diamond. Firmino dropping in the pocket.
- Salah and Mane operated more centrally.
- Dependent mainly on the long balls from the CB.
Team shape out of possession
- A solid 1-4-3-3 flat shape
- Narrowing the midfield
- Centrally reducing space for Tottenham to operate in.
- Front 3 press high up the pitch
- Pressing more when the ball is with the fullbacks. Creating a 3v1 scenario to retrieve the ball and start a counter
BUILD UP
- 2 CB outside penalty box on each side of the GK
- 2 CM/DM in straight line (#5 and #3)
- Henderson is just a bit high alongside Firmino
- Fullbacks “almost” in a straight line, keeping their width
TRANSITIONAL PLAY AND ORGANISATION IN THE MIDDLE THIRD
- Mainly direct long balls to the final third for the wingers coming inwards.
- Didn’t have much link-up play via the CMs
- The CMs were mostly cleaning up any 2nd phase balls
- Liverpool had only 35% of the possession
- Their prime focus was hitting the opponent on counters
- All of the mids were top-notch in cleaning up duty.
- Henderson (#14) & Wijnaldum (#5) were the supports for the wingers in the wide areas
HOW DID THE FRONT PLAYERS PLAY?
- Firmino drops deep drawing his marker
- Allows Mane or Salah to make an inward run through the space created
- The main link-up was between the wingers with Firmino
SET PIECE ANALYSIS
- Left Corner: Inswing (Arnold), 5 players congested near the GK, Salah hoping to get onto the 2nd ball, staying at the edge of the box.
- Right Corner: Outswing (Arnold), VVD and Matip start behind everyone and run to the front post alongside Mane to attack the ball. The ball is mostly delivered in the first post.
Defending corner
- They operated with a positional marking tactic
- Van Dijk covered the middle area
- Matip covered the front post
- Salah at the edge of the box to start a quick counter
STRENGTHS
- Front 3 threat
- Counter Attacks
- High pressing
Goal threats
- Both Mane & Salah’s inward runs created a lot of chances
- Firmno’s role as a deep-lying forward created a vacant space in the box where he could arrive late.
WEAKNESS
- Gaps in behind due to high-pressing
- The majority of possession was with the opponent, so Liverpool was always under pressure.
CREDIT: I do not own any of the original match clippings. The match clipping is taken from the official streaming of the game. I have used Play by Metrica Sports to telestrate and do my analysis. The analysis is completely my own work.
Insightful