Liverpool have stabilised themselves in the last few weeks, changing system at the end of November and going nine games unbeaten.
After winning the Premier League last season, Arne Slot’s side have struggled to keep pace at the top of the league this season, starting well but quickly fading after the first seven games.
Slot’s side went on a run of form which was Liverpool’s worst in 71 years, with their 4-1 loss to PSV making it nine losses in 12 games.
Therefore, after a summer of big spending, Slot had to try and make his move, tweaking his title-winning system, in order to stabilise the club and platform his new players to their best abilities.
In this article, we’ll cover
Mid-season change
After the 4-1 loss against PSV, Slot decided to make the tweak of dropping Mohamed Salah and bringing another midfielder into the lineup, now allowing Liverpool to have all four of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz in the same team.
Since changing to this new system, Slot’s side have averaged 590.5 passes attempted per 90 minutes, compared to their 526 passes attempted per 90 prior to the West Ham game.
This extra control has seen Liverpool concede fewer shots inside the box (from 7.67 per 90 to 6.38 per 90) and fewer shots from outside the box (3.92 per 90 to 3.38 per 90).
Liverpool have been able to minimise the threat against them, only conceding eight goals in their last nine games, keeping four clean sheets in those nine fixtures.
The Reds have also managed to score more goals, averaging 1.75 goals per 90 in their last nine games, despite taking fewer shots (14.63 per 90 compared to 15.33 per 90).
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Florian Wirtz revival?
One player who is thriving from Slot’s system change is summer signing, Wirtz, who is now playing with more freedom in the middle of the pitch.
Due to the central overloads, Wirtz now has the freedom to drift and provide overloads on either side of the pitch, combining with players in closer proximity and allowing his creative spark to come through more.
Slot’s side had struggled to find Wirtz between the lines, with their build up becoming sterile after the loss of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
However, by bringing lots of midfield profiles into the team and playing in this more narrow fashion, Liverpool have been able to use rotations to get the likes of Curtis Jones in the first line, who can find those line breaking passes more naturally.
This has seen Wirtz getting more of the ball in dangerous areas, and building connections in the attacking unit, especially with Hugo Ekitike who has already scored 11 goals from 26 appearances this season.
What’s missing?
The change of system has seen Liverpool take much better control in games, stabilising the team in a rough patch and getting lots of hard working technical players in the team.
Slot’s changes to overlap the full-backs as width providers and overload the centre is very much like Pep Guardiola’s changes at Manchester City this season, but a key difference is the personnel within their central “cluster”.
Manchester City create an overload between the lines by moving Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku inside, joining Phil Foden to create a line of three.
While Cherki and Foden are more ball to feet, quick combination players, a natural winger being part of this cluster gives them explosivity and variety, which is why Doku is the key difference between the two utilisations of central clusters.
Liverpool instead lack players who can threaten with a higher volume of dribbles, powering past players, winning a 1v1 duel and opening up the game.
Instead, Wirtz, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Jones all prefer to combine with each other to progress via passing.
The few times Liverpool have been slightly more explosive with central carries, is when Gravenberch finds himself higher up, having the frame and power to drive through the middle of the pitch and add variety.
Once Salah returns, it will be interesting to see if he can add this within the new system on a consistent basis, being quick off the mark and looking to use his pace to change the picture in attacking scenarios.