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Jürgen Klopp returned to his beloved 4-2-3-1 against Sheffield United on Saturday.
On paper, it is a set-up that makes a lot of sense: Roberto Firmino falling into the hole, Salah going to the tip of the spear and Sadio Mané and Diogo Jota sharing the duties of left and right.
Close your eyes and you can imagine it: Let’s sign it using its gravitational force on the defenders to drag the defensive line out of position; Salh broke in from behind, a trail of defenders in close pursuit; Mané and Jota flying diagonally, from outside to inside; a pair of filters (Gini Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson versus Sheffield United) protecting in case possession is lost; Firmino already sat there ready to counterattack if the ball is given away.
It should work. It worked. Some kind of kind.
It didn’t quite fit, such is the case with a quartet of players who played midweek and are still trying to bring a new piece into the fold (Jota). But there was a notable absence: Movement.
A 4-2-3-1 that includes Salah, Mané and Jota should be everybody about movement. One of the key features of the three is their interchangeability. Salah is in his prime at the front of the formation, but he can also slide to the right or left. Mané is a talent from around the world in any of the three places (and he could be the best in the middle too!). Jota can play directly on the front three, and he’s happy to slide left or right into a pseudo front-two appearance, occupying the defenders alongside Salah while leaving room for Mané and Firmino.
“It was like, how can we change, how can we start, how can we do all the things that are important in the game, how can we cause problems for them? Klopp said about the change to 4-2-31 after the game. “We thought that with a little change we could at least give them some trouble.”
The change caused problems for Sheffield United because the change involved bringing together four talented players and attackers on the field. But for most of the first 60 minutes, he was powerless; Liverpool had only one shot on goal in the first 41 minutes.
The question was precisely what force should be: movement. Or the lack of it.
Salah, Mané and Jota should They’ve been moving and wandering and changing positions constantly.
Hey, I’ll move to the right for five minutes. Let me have a chance at that showdown. This guy can’t turn hatred on the line, slide Sadio over there.
The movement should have been continuous. Exchange in transition. Rotation in possession. Firmino, Wijnaldum and Henderson’s protective layer is the trio that should be a constant counter and parry; the other three should have the freedom to move here, there and everywhere.
Instead, Liverpool’s three tallest forwards were static, with the exception that Mané slipped into a narrow central two alongside Salah, a move that often left Jota in a no-man’s-land; Of the three cases in which he was caught behind the play in the first half, two occurred when he had moved to this central position.
That move should come with time. It was the first time Klopp started the game with all four in the lineup. The possibility of the quartet forming a free roaming brand similar to Henry, Ljungberg, Bergkamp and Pires or Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez is tantalizing.
That Here’s how this Liverpool remains unpredictable, not through line-up changes, but by having three or four players who can switch to different places on any possession, let alone in the game.
What I’m reading …
Dan Morgan was on the podium last night. Joe Gomez picked up the gold, but a special shout out is the right receiver for the Bronze picker-top.
Get ready for it: Liverpool are about to link up with 10,000 centers. Here’s one of particular intrigue.
Has Man City lost its aura? Do you have Guardiola?
Athletic has a fascinating insight into what it’s like to a player when he’s been “frozen” from the first team. It is worth your time.
What I’m hearing …
It is doubtful that you care about the craft of writing as much as this author. But if you do, you should check the Two writers throwing Yang podcast. Most Recommend Episode: Chuck Klosterman.
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