Liverpool’s tactical approach under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp has always been based on energy. A German tactician brought ‘gegenpressing’ with him to England, with those at Anfield expected to close from the front and cover every blade of grass across any given 90 minutes.
Said system is easy to implement when you have the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane at your disposal, with three destructive forwards bringing different qualities to the table that complement each other perfectly.
Successful
Only clubs from Madrid have knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League under Jurgen Klopp ? pic.twitter.com/4Je2BQUco6
— GOAL (@goal) November 7, 2022
When you add creative qualities in midfield to the fold and a couple of attack-minded full-backs, it is easy to see why the Reds have been so successful in recent times. They expect to challenge for every major honour at home and abroad, with Champions League betting in 2022-23 rating them as 9/1 shots to conquer Europe again.
Odds have lengthened when it comes to the Premier League title, with an uncharacteristic stumble out of the blocks suffered on Merseyside. That was partly due to the absence of Senegalese superstar Mane, with a proven performer having packed his bags for Bayern Munich.
Klopp still has plenty of firepower to choose from, with Luis Diaz supposed to be the natural heir to a departed team-mate, but untimely injuries have delivered unfortunate selection headaches for a manager who has been forced into shuffling his pack.
Unsurprisingly, that has led to a slightly different approach being favoured at times. Liverpool have, despite their reputation for playing free-flowing football, never been afraid of going long and turning opponents with chipped passes over the top or down the channels.
Former England boss Sam Allardyce once said: “Liverpool play long ball very well indeed from right to left, and very quickly. But nobody will say Liverpool play long ball. They play long ball exceptionally well and better than anybody else. And that’s why they do it.”
It has to be noted that Liverpool appear to be favouring that blueprint again at present. Prior to the World Cup break being reached, only two sides in the Premier League had played more long balls than the Reds’ 871.
Those figures average out at 62 per game, which is more than the Reds have tended to play across Klopp’s tenure. Since his arrival in 2017, Liverpool have sat 15th in the long-ball table on two occasions, 14th and 12th last time out in 2021-22. Only twice before have they gone long on 60-plus occasions per outing in any given campaign.
Strengths
55’—Nottingham Forest 1-0 Liverpool
Liverpool concede first for the ninth time this season ? pic.twitter.com/9HmhkSK0iW
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 22, 2022
Said approach is being forced somewhat, with Klopp having to play to the strengths of those who are available to him. He still boasts plenty of pace down the flanks, so looping the ball into those areas makes sense, while the Reds have also been forced onto the back foot on more occasions than they are accustomed to.
In situations such as that, there is often no choice but to put in a pass or clearance of more than 20 yards. There is, however, no escaping the fact that, for whatever reason, Liverpool have become more direct as they search for a formula that puts them back in contention for the biggest of prizes in domestic and continental competition.
