Liverpool have begun the defence of their Champions League title in reasonably good
shape – despite a 2-0 reverse away to Napoli, two wins on the bounce, and an upcoming home
tie against the bottom side in the group, Genk, should put the Merseyside team in a
strong position before they host Napoli and face RB Salzburg away in the final group stage
fixture.
As these stats from OneFootball show, Jurgen Klopp’s side are, on average, dominating
possession, but their free-scoring approach is marred by the concession of six goals so
far in the group, including three at home to an admittedly good Salzburg side.
Liverpool have generally stuck with the now-preferred 4-3-3, although Klopp will still use a 4-2-3-1
at times, especially if the full backs require greater cover. The general pattern is that
the midfield three stay compact and narrow, ball-winning rather than playing too progressively
– width comes from the full backs, while the forward line also stay fairly narrow with
Roberto Firmino dropping off to create space and passing opportunities to the wide forwards.
This is the formation and system most associated with Liverpool and stylistically, this is
usually backed by a concerted press. Klopp has long been a proponent of pressing and
counter-pressing, the concerted effort by a team to close down space to win the ball
back, especially immediately after losing possession, in order to exploit the position
and state of the opposition side.
Liverpool have evolved under Klopp, with 2016/17’s more possession-based approach, relying on
creative passing from players like Adam Lallana and Coutinho to try to spring Sadio Mane forwards,
giving way to a more direct style in 2017/18. The arrival of Mohammed Salah was key, allowing
Firmino to come inside and orchestrate play from a false nine position, as was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s
role as a more progressive 8 on the right-hand side of a midfield three, supporting attacks
and assisting a more energetic press. Nonetheless, pressing numbers were high in both seasons,
although arguably it wasn’t until 2017/18 that Klopp really had a squad who understood
his concepts.
Then, last season, Liverpool dropped off the press somewhat. The attacking threat of the
full backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson allowed a slightly narrower midfield,
while the arrivals of Alisson and Fabinho allowed Liverpool to control the game more
and keep a higher defensive line. This did indeed see a reduction in pressing numbers,
as measured by Passes Per Defensive Action, effectively the number of opposition passes
allowed per proactive defensive act – the lower the number, the more proactive the defence
in its pressing.
But, as we can see, Liverpool are, in fact, pressing more this season – albeit with
a smaller number of games played. While the trend prior to this season for Liverpool was
definitely towards a lower intensity of press – although still above league average – this
season’s Liverpool is once again pressing more. So why the general feeling that they
aren’t?
Compare, for example, the pressing numbers for different fixtures. What’s clear here
is that arguably Liverpool’s worst performance saw them press least, but that otherwise,
pressing levels are variable. Obviously, Liverpool still press more than most teams, but within
that there is a real range.
There are two main reasons for this. The first is to protect the full backs slightly. While
Liverpool were extremely reliant on Robertson and Alexander-Arnold last season for ball
progression, in some games Liverpool were caught out with direct passing in behind.
They therefore want to control some matches in terms of possession more, rather than be
direct all the time, another facet of Klopp’s evolution, and so here the full backs will
tend to offer width along the midfield line, rather than acting almost as wingers with
a defensive responsibility.
This means that Liverpool’s midfield line is where the pressing happens, and so they
will allow the opposition to progress the ball in their own defensive third before engaging
the press, rather than looking to choke them higher up the pitch. In other words, Liverpool
are pressing more situationally, which at times means that the press is engaged later.
The second reason is that Liverpool are currently lacking the sort of midfielder who can push
up and support attacks in the half spaces. Concerns around the long-term fitness of Naby
Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and the injury to Xherdan Shaqiri, have robbed Liverpool
of the sort of progressive, attacking midfielders that can support attacks where the ball is
won higher up the pitch. If Liverpool’s full backs are hanging back, and Firmino is
dropping off, there are spaces that would be occupied by onrushing midfielders to assist
the attack, but the more workmanlike set-up used by Klopp in many games prevents this
– this was seen clearly against Napoli, where a flatter midfield and full backs who
didn’t push up meant that Liverpool’s front three was quite isolated.
With this being so, pressing high and further up the pitch would expose Liverpool’s midfield
– sitting off didn’t work well against Napoli, but in games where Liverpool’s lack
of forward thrust from midfield could be exposed, Liverpool are more content to block up the
middle and press situationally, especially in the wide areas of the middle third, before
countering quickly against a defensive line that have pushed up.
So, while Liverpool are pressing more overall, they are pressing less in some games. The
general trend of the last few seasons might give the impression that Klopp is moving away
from his pressing style – the truth is, he is becoming more discerning in when and
how his teams press on a game by game basis.