The first 2021/22 FA Cup semi-final was played on Saturday the two best teams in the world, Man City and Liverpool meeting again after playing against each other in the Premier League one week ago.
However, this was not even a close tie as Pep Guardiola’s side lost the game already within the first half it was a very disappointing performance from the Citizens. By contrast, Jürgen Klopp was able to correct himself based on the information from previous clashes and his Liverpool looked better not only better mentally and physically, but also tactically.
This tactical analysis will illustrate how Klopp adapted the pressing to give Man City a very hard time.
Lineups
Guardiola himself said some players would not be playing because of fitness, the likes of Rodrigo Hernández and Aymeric Laporte had too many minutes this season, they needed to be rested, while he also wanted Kevin De Bruyne to be ready for future games, so he did not take the risk to play him in this game. But it was still a very strong team, including Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, and Gabriel Jesus, who did not start in the away game against Atlético Madrid.
Liverpool was able to rest some key players in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, and Klopp also had some interesting selections in this game, such as partnering Ibrahima Konaté with Virgil van Dijk and keeping Joël Matip on the bench. In the midfield, the trio was formed by Fabinho, Naby Keïta, and Thiago Alcântara, as the skipper Jordan Henderson did not start. Since neither Diogo Jota nor Roberto Firmino was very fit, they chose Sadio Mané as the striker, and Luis Díaz was given a chance to start as a left-winger.
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