In the end the result was incredibly emphatic. A 5-1 win at home to a talented Arsenal side has seen Liverpool open up a seven-point lead over their closest challengers at the top of the table. The most impressive aspect of the match, however, was not the score but the way that Liverpool played with a swagger that suggests that they are beginning to suspect that the title is in their hands. Their coach, Jurgen Klopp, will continue to play down any talk of the title publicly, but within the confines of the changing room confidence must be high.
In recent weeks we have seen Klopp move away from his standard 4-3-3 system to utilise a double pivot at the base of the midfield in a 4-2-3-1. What is interesting in this new system is that Klopp has taken the natural movements of two of his key attacking players, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, and built it into the structure of his tactical system.
In the 4-3-3 we normally saw Firmino operate centrally while Salah operated from the right hand side. As part of their natural player ID we would see Firmino continually drop deep to link in with his midfielders. Salah on the other hand would drift into central areas to form the focal point of the attack. Klopp has taken these movements into consideration and shifted Salah into a central striking role while Firmino has had his positional slot changed so that he takes a more natural number 10 position.
This slight change of structure may seem a small thing, but in making these changes Klopp has created different angles of attack across the width of the final third of the field. It is a mark of a great coach to be able to recognise when a tactical change is necessary, even when that means changing a winning formula.
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The key to the 4-2-3-1 lies in the attacking third with Mohamed Salah leading the line while Roberto Firmino sits in the pocket just behind him. The change of structure from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 also creates space in the starting lineup for Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri on the right. Sadio Mane remains on the left.
The double pivot at the base of the midfield sees Fabinho partner Georginio Wijnaldum. In defence the only change from what could possibly be the best XI for Liverpool sees Dejan Lovren on the right of the central defensive partnership with Joe Gomez still being injured.
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