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The addition of Diogo Jota to Liverpool’s front row will give Jürgen Klopp the tactical and stylistic flexibility he has longed for since his time at Dortmund.
He learned a valuable lesson from the end of his days in Dortmund, something that links the recruiting room with the room of his coach. As the magical race was coming to an end, he knew that his side had to evolve. The opponents had adapted to his go-go style; at the end, the peak, Dortmund was dangerously close to one dimension.
Klopp worked hard to bring stylistic divergence to his side from Dortmund, although he was often affected by the loss of his stars (Gotze, Lewandowski, Kagawa). Their ultimate goal, as noted in the seminal book “Building the Wall,” was to establish a side that could attack with patience or pace, with skill or muscle, depending on the situation.
Liverpool have already adapted with Klopp. These days, they’re more of a possession-oriented team than the fast-transition heavy metal team they were in Klopp’s early years; the creative load has shifted to the flanks; the press is less intensive and more specific; there have been adjustments year after year in training and philosophy in general.
Adding Thiago Alcantara and Jota marks the next stage of evolution. Both bring formative and positional flexibility that will allow Klopp to adapt from game to game and within game, which has been the team’s only weakness in the last two seasons.
It will be interesting to see how Klopp navigates his attack line this season. In Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino, he has the most efficient and destructive front three in Europe. They are resolved. The pieces fit.
Jota will add another dimension. Or rather, let Klopp apply new dimensions. As Dan Morgan pointed out yesterday, Jota’s statistical output is almost a carbon copy of Sadio Mané’s final year in Southampton before moving to Liverpool.
As both Mané and Salah have shown, what they do in their last year at their club before Liverpool doesn’t mean much about what they’ll do with Klopp. The player profile, including that exit, is what draws him in, but he will have his own vision of the player.
What Jota showed, both with the visual test and with the numbers, is the will to run, lethal speed, intelligent pressure and nous to know when and where to move in the last third. Other than that, her game is a skill set Klopp can look to shape – she’s not shaping up to be a fake 9, but could creativity become a stronger feature of her game? Will you rotate with Mané and Salah? Could you lead the line?
All those options are open. At Wolves, Jota split time between playing down the middle and lining up on the left: 38 percent of his minutes were as a center forward; 32 percent as a left forward; 8 percent as number 10.
Mané – Salah – Firmino
The old classic and still a favorite. Jota will provide quality depth, a great option off the bench, and someone who can spell any of the top three in stretches.
Jota – Firmino – Incorrect
There are few, if any, such as similar replacements for Mané, but Jota’s underlying numbers place him closer to Mané on the Salah-Mané spectrum. Jot should fits comfortably on the left side of Liverpool’s traditional three forwards.
Mané – Firmino – Jota
It will be interesting to see if Klopp tests Jota from the right in a bid to get Salah to get some rest. Most likely it will. Jota’s willingness to run behind would help maintain a similar threat to Salah, which often forces defensive lines to sink deeper and thus free up space for Firmino and Mané to do damage.
Mané – Jota – Salah
This could easily be read or lined up as Jota-Salah-Mané or Jota-Mané-Salah. A Nascar attack of free roaming, change of position and breakneck pace. Would Klopp pitch this trio instead of sliding Takumi Minamino to false 9th spot?
Jota – Salah – Firmino – Mané
You could also format this in different ways: a change to 4-2-3-1 with Mané back on the right side and Firmino hiding behind Salah. When Klopp has changed to 4-2-3-1 in recent years, it has been with Salah at the tip of the spear and Firmino in the hole. Usually Klopp finds someone to play on the right (Xherdan Shaqiri, Minamino, Divock Origi et al.) With Mané still on the left. If Jota looms as someone who can play on the forehand, Klopp could maintain the fruitful Robertson-Mané relationship. This, as much as any other, feels like one that could trade possession for possession: How about Salah and Mané on the wings with Jota leading the line and Firmino trailing against super defensive teams? Funny.
Firmino – Mané – Salah – Jota
More or less free for everyone. And more or less what 4-2-3-1 would look like today: four smart, technically gifted players capable of taking up space here, there and everywhere. Klopp switched to what was, in essence, a 4-2-2-2 against Arsenal in the Community Shield. It was equivalent to the old Brazilian model: we will have two players to sit down and protect the defense, the rest of you, go create!
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