Arne Slot needed to do something after Liverpool’s 4-0 dismantling away to Manchester City in the FA Cup.
With a trip to Paris next up to face reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain, the Dutchman had to come up with a tactical plan to ensure everything was still to play for in the return leg at Anfield next week.
Slot has dabbled with a few ideas this season. For example, Jeremie Frimpong, Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz had all been given some minutes on the right-wing in place of Mo Salah. That was a possibility for the Champions League clash if Slot wanted to move away from the diamond he’d been trialling over recent weeks.
Liverpool could have moved away from their usual 4-2-3-1 shape and adopted more of a defensive 4-5-1 with Szoboszlai and Wirtz on the wings. Cody Gakpo may divide opinion with his on-ball stuff but defensively, he’s put in a shift this term to execute Slot’s instructions. The Reds had a number of options if they wanted to solidify things in order to make it difficult for their hosts.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Slot’s solution
Few expected Slot to go with the system he opted for, deploying Liverpool in a 5-2-3 shape. The attack was made up of Hugo Ekitike on the left, Szoboszlai in the middle and Wirtz on the right. Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister played as a double pivot with a back five made up of Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Milos Kerkez.
Why was it such a shock? Back at the end of November, Slot suggested a dramatic system change wasn’t really possible for Liverpool.
“Is the question should I change dramatically? If for example you want another system with five defenders that could be an issue,” Slot said ahead of a trip to West Ham United.
“I don’t even have five defenders. It suits the players best the system we are playing now, they have played this system probably throughout their whole career and there is hardly any training time for us. So it is almost impossible to change our complete idea about football if we play every two days.”
Liverpool would have had two training sessions between their defeat to Man City and the trip to Paris. Nowhere near enough time to familiarise themselves with such a different system. And you could tell.
Sky Bet Offer: Get £40 in free bets when you place any bet
Looking for some free bets to boost your betting fund? Sky Bet are offering customers the chance to get £40 in free bets when they sign up and place any qualifying bet.
- Sign up at Sky Bet using this link
- Place a qualifying bet of at least 5p on a single or each way bet at odds of 1/1 or greater, as your first bet
- Claim your £40 free bet bonus
18+ NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. FIRST SINGLE & E/W BET ONLY ODDS OF 1/1 OR GREATER. 4 X £10 BET TOKENS. FREE BET STAKES NOT INCLUDED IN RETURNS. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. FREE BETS ARE NON WITHDRAWABLE. FREE BETS EXPIRE AFTER 30 DAYS. ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS AND FURTHER T&CS APPLY.
Liverpool’s struggles in Paris
Not only did the Reds use a different approach, they also adopted a man-to-man pressing approach. This alone caused a lot of confusion due to the fluidity of the PSG team.
Instead of the shape giving Liverpool a solid structure with defined roles, it caused chaos. At times, you had Van Dijk stepping into midfield and leaving a gap in the centre of the defence for the hosts to exploit. Konate would, at times, follow his man all the way into the Liverpool final third.
Not only were the players having to come to terms with a new system, almost on the fly, but they were also being dragged all over the pitch, as seen in the average position map below.
Liverpool lucky at the back
Defensively, Liverpool looked questionable. With better finishing, the tie would already be is over. Ousmane Dembele spurned two good chances and hit the post. Desire Doue shot straight at Giorgi Mamardashvili after being played in by Nuno Mendes and the PSG full-back took one touch too many when in on goal late on. The Georgian also made good saves from Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
It’s not an exaggeration to say 4-0 would’ve been deserved for Luis Enrique’s side. And this was with Liverpool playing a defensive set-up.
Out of sorts without the ball and a non-entity with it. PSG showed Liverpool the importance of runs in behind. The Reds offered zero threat in that regard with their front three all dropping deep in an attempt to pick up possession.
There was no pace in the attack and it was telling. The away side couldn’t escape. There was no relief for them. Ekitike struggled to hold the ball up whenever it was punted forward but there wasn’t ever much on for him. Likewise with Wirtz. Whenever the Reds had possession in the PSG half, they were outnumbered because of how deep the defensive unit was.
Liverpool had no threat going forward. It’s why they finished the game having taken just three shots and amassing an Expected Goals total of 0.18. They had no control in defence either, giving up two goals and 18 shots. Slot set up to limit the damage the opposition could cause but unintentionally limited what his players could do.