UEFA Champions League 2020/21: How Atalanta’s smart tactical choices disarmed Liverpool – tactical analysis

Group D of the UEFA Champions League 2020/21 turned out to be full of surprises. The 2018/19 title holders Liverpool started their journey strongly being the favourites for the first place in the group but after their fourth-round defeat against Atalanta, things look completely different.

The other participants Atalanta and Ajax made sure they don’t leave Liverpool with a lot of room for mistakes, closing the gap difference to only two points, which keeps the pressure on for the two upcoming rounds. The only team that has no chances of qualifying are Midtjylland.

Liverpool, who were on the verge of securing their spot in the next round, fell victim of Atalanta’s smart tactical approach and their own squad depth struggles, leaving the final standings in the group way more unpredictable.

La Dea managed to take advantage of Liverpool’s vulnerability and controlled the game from the beginning till the end in a very tactically intelligent game led by Gian Piero Gasperini.

Although this tactical analysis will touch on both team’s tactics and performance, our focus will go to Gasperini’s smart tactical choices in this game. We will use analysis to see how his approach, combined with the players’ impressive execution, allowed them to dictate the tempo, limit Liverpool’s attacking efforts and respectively win 2-0 at Anfield.

Line-ups and formations

Liverpool started the game in their usual 4-3-3 but with quite limited options on some positions as a result of injuries and positive COVID 19 tests. The side who have a very intense schedule lately were missing some of their key players which has partly affected their performance and left the manager Jurgen Klopp with a sour taste after an unimpressive game with a lot of defensive mistakes and lack of creativity in attack.

Alisson started on the goal and was supported by Konstantinos Tsimikas, Rhys Williams, Joël Matip and Neco Williams in the backline. James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum and Curtis Jones formed the midfield, while Sadio Mané and Divock Origi were joined by Mohamed Salah who was finally available after testing positive for COVID 19 during the international break.

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