Liverpool are an exciting, attacking side but one whose defence regularly comes under
fire. “All over the place” is a description
that is often used, and when one considers how many goals Liverpool have
conceded so far this season, after 14 games played, it does seem like rather a lot for a team in fifth.
But what are the Reds getting wrong? Liverpool customarily line up as a 4-3-3.
This should ensure two things: firstly, a flat-ish back
four should be spaced at regular intervals across the pitch; secondly, that the midfield
three should ensure a degree of vertical compactness
to protect that back four, and horizontal flexibility to cover the wide spaces, if the
front three don’t drop off to help.
Liverpool’s first two issues spring from the midfield’s positioning. Liverpool are
especially vulnerable to being attacked on the counter,
and this is because their midfield pushes high in
support of the front three. This is also the case when Liverpool press, as gaps appear
​between the lines of the midfield and the
defence. Rather than push as a line, Liverpool often sit deeper at the back, then try to
react if a ball is played into the space between the
lines, which causes defensive dog-legs – Dejan Lovren is especially culpable of being dragged
forwards in this way, but the space is there partly because the midfielders don’t drop
enough, and partly because the whole defensive line should push forwards. The second issue is that while the midfield
three of Liverpool track their men reasonably well, the wider midfielders seem to do this
most when the man they are tracking starts centrally and moves wide – they are less
keen on pulling wide to an opponent who is already
there, understandably given it would isolate the most central midfielder.
This creates a situation where the Liverpool
full-back is dragged forwards to compress the
attacking space, or chooses to stay in line with the rest of his defence, which in turn
allows more room into which the attacker can run.
If the full-back pushes up then there is a gap into which a pass can be played to an even wider attacking player; if he stays, then
the space is in front of him, rather than to the sides, but this is still dangerous.
Liverpool look most vulnerable to quick balls pulled back from the by-line, and this is
in part a function of the errors we’ve already seen.
If a centre-back pushes up too high, or a full-
back is dragged forwards to compensate for a lack of cover in front of him, then gaps
appear through which passes can be played. Liverpool
are also weak moving backwards, being attacked at pace through the centre before
the ball is moved wide. As their defensive line
back-peddles to take up a low block, they have a marked tendency to split. Three players
move in the general direction of the ball and the attacking line, while the opposite
full-backstays wide. This would not be an issue if the attacker
was swamped by defenders or there was no overlap. But what often happens is that Liverpool’s
defence lose shape and create room for an overlap, because the full-back is not helped,
or the unit doesn’t move across enough. A
ball can then be played out wide. The far full-back is then is a dangerous predicament,
should he be attacked by two players. He can’t with ease look left and right, or in and out,
and so he is caught trying to cover the central gap that has opened as his colleagues have
moved across, and the run in behind him to the far post. Add in to this mix the fact that Liverpool’s
full-backs are not the strongest aerially, and Simon
Mignolet can at times lack authority in his area, and Liverpool are also vulnerable to
far post crosses in the air, as well as ones whipped
along the ground. ​ While Liverpool are far from a bad side, they
have a few systemic weaknesses in their defensive positioning that leave them open
to quick counters, especially out wide when teams generate overloads or bunch in between
the lines, as Spurs did so ruthlessly. The back four do not position themselves well
relative to each other or the midfield, but the
midfield does not help sufficiently out wide. If Liverpool can address these issues and
retaintheir attacking identity, they will be a formidable
force. If not, they will struggle to be regular challengers for the title.