"Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day" - Jurgen Klopp.
On June 25th 2020 Liverpool finally won the English Premier League. I have been a passionate Liverpool fan for many years now and have decided to analyze some of the tactics utilized by Klopp to create one of the best teams ever in soccer.
When they have possession Liverpool attacks with a 3-4-1-2. The Defensive Midfielder (DM) (either Fabinho or Henderson this season) drops in between the centre backs (Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez). When fit Fabinho usually plays as a DM and Henderson plays as a Center Midfielder. The pace of both Gomez and Van Dijk helps compensate for having three defenders instead of four defenders. The fullbacks (Robertson and Alexander-Arnold) both press really high, effectively making them wingers. When they get the ball out wide their job is to deliver crosses into the box. Wijnaldum’s job is primarily ball retention, he gets close to whoever has the ball so that he is an easy option to pass to. The other midfielder is a box to box (B2B) midfielder which means that his job is to receive the ball from Liverpool’s half of the field and dribble up to the opponents box. This task is usually performed by Keita, Oxlade Chamberlain or Henderson. Keita is currently the best player on the squad at being a B2B midfielder, Oxlade Chamberlain plays this role late game when Liverpool need a goal because he is really good at shooting from distance and Henderson plays this role when Fabinho is fit. Firmino plays as a false 9. This means that even though he plays as a striker he tracks back to receive passes from the midfield and to create space for both Mane and Salah to score. Mane and Salah play as a Left Forward and Right Forward respectively. They both position themselves in between opposing defenders and try to make runs into the box to score. Salah is very good at counter attacking while Mane is very good at creating chances from nothing.
When Liverpool defend they usually set up in a 4-3-3. Firmino and Henderson initiate the press to gain back possession. Salah and Mane usually assist the press. The other two midfielders sit in front of the two center backs, and the four defenders maintain a straight line in front of the goal. Usually the midfielders will try to cut off passing lanes to opposing players which helps with the press. If Liverpool lose possession when attacking the pace of Van Dijk and especially Gomez helps give both fullbacks enough time to track back. Additionally Alisson frequently comes out of his net to help when both centerbacks are beaten.
When losing or drawing a game Jurgen Klopp typically uses the formation shown below. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho can both score from distance, while the other two midfielders go wide to help the fullbacks. Robertson and Alexander-Arnold play essentially as wingers who cross the ball into the 18 yard box (also called the penalty box). All three forwards (and sometimes a midfielder if Klopp is really desparate) make movements to get a free header and or close shot inside the 18 yard box. Typically Origi would sub in because at 6'1" he makes a great target man and can easily head the ball in. Defensively only two centerbacks stay back. The centerbacks are sometimes assisted by a deep lying playmaker (Henderson, Milner or Wijnaldum) to build up play from the back.
When winning a game Jurgen Klopp typically uses the formation shown below. This is a tactic called "Parking the bus" where the back four and the midfield four form two striaght lines in front of the net. This formation makes it so that the opponent cannot take shots inside the penalty box and are forced to either cross the ball into the box or shoot from distance. The two strikers chase down whoever has the ball in order to keep the opposing team on their toes. Whenever anyone on our midfield or defence gets the ball they kick it up to either of the two strikers. Typically a Centerback substitution occurs along with Shaqiri in the Striker/Right Wing position or Origi in the striker position.
A "Set Piece" refers to any situation when the ball is returned to open play. This includes corner kicks, free kicks and throw ins. Most set piece plays are designed to allow Alexander-Arnold to get a cross in. From the left corner flag Alexander Arnold delivers a cross directly into the penalty box, and from the right corner flag someone does a short pass to Alexander Arnold so that he can deliver in a cross. When it comes to free kicks it is either Alexander Arnold with his right foot or Salah with his left foot to try to score directly. When the free kick is too far to score from but close enough to deliver a cross in it follows the same routine as corner kicks. When the free kicks are to far to score or cross the ball in then the closest defender takes it to keep the play running. When the ball goes past the left touchline then Robertson throws it in and when the ball goes out of the right touchline then Alexander Arnold throws it in. When the ball goes out of one of the touchlines but is close enough to the goal then Gomez occasionally throws it in because he has the strength to deliver the ball straight into the penalty box.
As you can see from the attack formation and defense formation from further up in the analysis Liverpool attacks with 7 players and defends with 7 players despite only being able to field 11 players. Each player must be able to cover a lot of ground quickly over the course of the entire game. Attackers must constantly make runs through the opposing teams defence, midfielders must cover for both attackers and defenders and defenders must have the energy to press high up the field and stop counter attacks. This is why the most important attribute that every Liverpool player must have is a high workrate. If one player is unable to cover a lot of ground then the whole system falls apart.
The biggest change to Klopp's tactics from the 2018/2019 season to the 2019/2020 season was the shift from Gegenpressing to a more subdued press. Instead of everyone chasing down the ball at once one person chases down the ball while the other attackers close off passing lanes. If not all passing lanes can be closed then lanes to players that have good ball retention skills are closed. Forcing a pass to a player with poor ball retention skills makes it easier to stel the ball off of him. As you can see from the pressing statistics below Liverpool is 1st in success rate of pressures and 1st in final third pressures per game in the Premier League. When it comes to all teams in the top 5 leagues in Europe Liverpool is 6th in success rate of pressures and 1st in final third pressures per game.
Another factor that helped Liverpool be successful this year was actually two years of smart spending. Klopp only buys players that he thinks will fit into the system. The upside of this is that he can get the most out of players that were only average at other clubs, the downside to this is that it takes a couple of seasons to get the right players for the system. Creative players (Like Dybala, Ozil, Coutinho etc) dont fit into a Klopp system because every player has to be constantly pressing and or closing passing lanes. Slow players (De Ligt, Busquets, Jorginho) dont fit becuase players need to run constantly in Klopp's system. Players that arent special creatively but have a great work ethic and are flexible and positioning (like James Milner) are a vital part of the squad for a very low price (Milner was bought for free).
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