Tottenham tactical adjustments undone by own goal against Liverpool

The headline match of the weekend saw Liverpool host Tottenham to Anfield in Premier League action. Liverpool came away with the 2-1 victory thanks to a Roberto Firmino header and a 90th-minute own goal by Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld. The victory put Liverpool ahead by two points in the standings to title favourites Manchester City. The important Liverpool points kept the title pressure on as Manchester City have a game in hand. The loss dropped Tottenham into a tie for fourth with Manchester United.

While the match turned on the scoreboard on an own goal, the game was a clear tactical battle of two halves. The first half was dominated by Liverpool while Tottenham made important half-time adjustments to swing the play in their direction. Using tactical analysis and statistics we will look at the cause of each team dominating a half.

Lineups

The home team, Liverpool, came out in a 4-3-3 formation. Alisson was in goal with a back four of Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Joël Matip, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. The midfield consisted of James Milner, captain Jordan Henderson, and Georginio Wijnaldrum. The dynamic attacking trio of Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah completed the lineup.

Tottenham countered with a 5-3-2 lineup with Captain Hugo Lloris in goal. Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose were positioned as wing-backs. Toby Alderweireld, Davinson Sánchez, and Jan Vertonghen lined up centrally in defence. Moussa Sissoko anchored the midfield with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. Harry Kane and Lucas Moura led the front line.

First-half dominance from Liverpool

From the off, Liverpool had control of the first half. Possession statistics for the half showed 56% in Liverpool’s favour. Liverpool were able to control the play due to Tottenham’s strategy for dealing with the dynamic movement of Salah. It was clear that Danny Rose was keyed in on the Egyptian.

Here we see Rose pulled completely out of shape fearing the speed and movement off the ball of Salah. Rose is way behind his teammates hugging Salah’s run.