Reconfiguration
The reconfiguration continues, Arne Slot’s reds continue to rearrange their puzzle. This time it was a 2–1 victory against bottom of the table outfit, Wolverhampton. The performance was far from convincing but all in all, the reds were good for 3 points. Liverpool registered their seventh game unbeaten in all competitions, winning 5 games, drawing 2. The occasion was no doubt an affectionate one, the lives of Diogo Jota, alongside his brother Andre Silva. Both sets of fans stood together in a genuine act of commiseration. The message was loud and clear; forever remembered and adored, Diogo and Andre.
Moving on to the game and the tactical battles it offered, it largely followed our presuppositions, especially in the first half. Liverpool had the ball; Wolves were without it. The initial plan by Rob Edwards was one of self-preservation and caution. The 352 formation was compact and resolute, especially within the low block. For Wolves it was about stationing themselves on top of their penalty box, blocking any curious entries into the penalty box and most importantly, denying Liverpool space in-behind to run into. So, following on from this, the most common game scenario we were privy to was one where Wolves were stationed on top of their penalty box, focusing all their efforts on stopping the reds from getting into it.
To assess the efficacy of this approach, the returns were clear. Liverpool probed and pressed Wolves to varying degrees, hitting the post twice. Apart from that however, Arne Slot’s men struggled to break down the opposition. From a Wolves perspective, they spent an excessive amount of time defending, lacking the ability to transition into an attacking situation from their deep defending positions. Mattheus Mane was of most interest in this regard, the 18-year-old provided glimpses of relief for his team, any space afforded to him by Liverpool’s rest defence, he made something of it.
Already alluded earlier, Liverpool were not at the races in an attacking sense, they struggled to break into the Wolves penalty box with regularity, finishing the first half without creating a single big chance. Despite this however, there were some interesting in-possession dynamics to observe, particularly on a group and individual level. Curtis Jones and Florian Wirtz had several coy exchanges between themselves that allowed them to release their comrade Milos Kerkez into the spaces closer to the box, the underlap run to meet the diagonal pass in-behind the opposition was a pleasing sight.
Liverpool were so obviously left-side dominant. No doubt due to the amalgamation of players on that side, compared to the right. On the right-side, the most common pathway to goal was often direct, with Jeremie Frimpong and Federico Chiesa insisting on taking on their opponents with dribbles and crosses. Whilst those on the left side would almost ‘dilly-dally’ before speeding up the tempo of play to exploit any spaces Wolves were not attentive to. Florian Wirtz, the star of the show was a chief instigator in this regard. Exploiting these spaces via the use of close-quarters dribbles and diagonal passes to feed the underlap runners.
Adding to this, to make any inroads into the Wolves box, Liverpool had to circulate the ball for prolonged periods of time. From left to right, to and fro. For Wolves it was the midfielders who were perhaps more defensively active, jumping out into the sides of the pitch to press for the ball.
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Jeremie Frimpong’s performance was exciting to say the least, he offered Liverpool a breath of fresh air, exciting the crowd with his take-ons and dribbles. With the team permanently camped in the Wolves half, Frimpong was able to station himself in the final third almost exclusively, presenting him with more opportunities to make ends meet in the final third, that he did. Praised by Arne Slot in his press conference, the importance of a dribbler against teams who defend almost exclusively in a low block is priceless. Liverpool created their best chances in settled possession from this fact. In the lead-up to the first goal, Frimpong beat 3 players before cutting the ball back for the onrushing Ryan Gravenberch. What defensive approach can sufficiently account for this fact?
Out-of-possession, Liverpool served up the same meal we had last week, alluded to in my previous piece, Interference, I spoke about Liverpool’s tendency to wait, giving the opposition in front of them, time and space to make their next move. This situation reoccurs especially during the moment’s possession has been reset, it is in these moments that the front players are caught standing on a straight line, unstaggered, revealing structural weaknesses within the opposition block. Namely the space either side of the midfield players who have been left to their devices.
In the example below, Liverpool were caught waiting, giving Andre the time and space to find Mattheus Mane, who then was able to thread a pass forward into the path of Arokodare, who won the corner which led to the goal.
Within 5 seconds of Andre playing the ball forwards, Wolves managed to find themselves almost through on goal, ending up winning a corner that led to the goal.
To put a temporary full-stop to this discourse, it is fair to say that Arne Slot is still reconfiguring the configuration of the team. Relationships are beginning to be formed, Curtis Jones and Florian Wirtz can attest for that, Milos Kerkez has also begun to find his feet and Jeremie Frimpong is starting to prove to be a best for teams in the final third. Out-of-possession, the same problems keep propping up and Arne Slot must address them in-order for the team to become more complete across the various phases of play.
Up next, Liverpool face Leeds. In what promises to be a game of attack vs defence, its Liverpool’s out-of-possession game that will be put to the test. Dominik Szoboszlai is now back in the fray, Cody Gakpo too. It will be interesting to see the configurations Arne Slot comes up with.
