Premier League 2018/19 Tactical Analysis: The tactical battle of Klopp vs Guardiola

Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are two of the best managers in world football at the moment, with both picking up major trophies this season. Yet both employ styles that contrast and contradict each other perfectly, leading to some of the best tactical battles in the world of football when their teams play one another. In this tactical analysis, we will look at the features of these tactical battles and what makes them so interesting.

Pressing vs build up play 

Jurgen Klopp’s pressing system is something which he has become well renowned for, and against Guardiola’s sides, it is a vital part of the game plan. Guardiola has always set up in a 4-3-3 against Klopp, where usually in deep build-up play, the full-backs push high and wide, while a central midfield player drops to form a back three. Klopp’s pressing system revolves around forcing the opposition into the centre, where they can then be pressed by the midfield. To do this, Klopp instructs his wingers to simultaneously press the central defender on the ball, while using their cover shadow to block the passing lane to the full-back. This effectively means this winger is pressing two players at once.

For example, below we can see Hoffman presses the central defender while David Alaba tries to move out of his cover shadow.

This leaves both teams in this kind of structure seen below. Reus covers the central area and is backed up by the midfield in a mid-block, meaning that Dortmund’s front three can press five players if their movements are effective.

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