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The central game of the 13th day of the English Premier League took place at Anfield. In front of two thousand Liverpool fans, the teams of Jurgen Klopp and José Mourinho disputed the sole leadership.
It was a vivid confrontation between two stylistic antipodes. Positional play in Liverpool’s attack against Tottenham’s elite zone defense. After a series of unsuccessful seasons, Mourinho returned to the big game and formed a Tottenham team, which from the start of the season was involved in the race for the Premier League championship.
The position of the teams in the tournament also added interest to the match. In the head-to-head confrontation, “Liverpool” and “Tottenham” came out with the same number of points, dividing the first and second places in the table. Mourinho’s team scored 10 points against Manchester United, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal, proving their great ambitions.
Both teams have had personnel problems, but Liverpool have much more. There are eight players in the “red” infirmary, including nearly all of the top center-backs: Van Dyck, Gomez and Matip. As a result, at the center of Liverpool’s defense came 19-year-old Premier League rookie Williams and defensive midfielder with organizational skills: Fabinho. The pair played very poorly, but luckily for Liverpool, Bergwijn and Kane did not convert their chances.
In midfield, the 19-year-old Jones joined Henderson and Wijnaldum and played well again. Zhota’s injury left Klopp no other option on the attack line. The three best attackers were represented exclusively by the old guard: Mane, Firmino and Salah.
In preparation for the match, Mourinho did not have the injured Lamela and the ill Bale.
The starting line-up of the “seasoned”, as Mr José called himself, was not surprised, but Tottenham suddenly changed the tactical scheme. Instead of the usual 4-2-3-1, the base formation at Anfield was the classic 4-4-2.
In my opinion, this setting was dedicated to maximum flank reinforcement. The choice in favor of Bergwijn and Sissoko left Tottenham less resourceful up front, but at the same time it should have added efficiency to the defense. And so it happened.
Liverpool – Tottenham – 2: 1 (1: 1)
Goals: Salah 26, Firmino 90 – Son Min 33
“Liverpool”: 1. Alison, 3. Fabinho, 26. Robertson, 46. Williams, 5. Veynaldum, 9. Firmino, 10. Mane, 14. Henderson, 17. Jones, 66. Alexander-Arnold, 11. Salah.
Tottenham: 1. Lloris, 4. Alderweireld, 15. Dyer, 24. Aurier, 33. Davis, 5. Heybjerg, 17. Sissoko, 18. Lo Celso (Lucas Moura 58), 7. Son Min (Alli 86), 10. Kane , 23. Bergwijn (Regilon 76).
Warnings: Lo Chelso 48, Heibjerg 54
Average player positions
The guests had no right to control the ball. Mourinho’s low and compact blocking was practically flawless from the first to the last minute of the match. His “Tottenham” grows before our eyes. The Spurs are so dangerous in their counterattack game that even Liverpool, with their counterattack, has been unable to find an antidote.
In the first half hour of the match, the home team seemed to be in full control of the game. “Liverpool” realized one of their half chances. The ball after being hit by Salah was blocked, but bounced off the corner of Lloris’ goal. In this case, the statistics show the progress of the match well. The “Reds” were in possession of the ball 80% of the playing time and with intense counterattacks they simply put pressure on the opponent in their third of the field.
The heat map of the match is enough to understand how great Liverpool’s territorial advantage was. In the first half hour we had 75% to 25% control of the ball, 5: 0 in shots (4 from inside the penalty area), the accuracy of the pass was 87%: 63%. In thirty minutes, the guests made only 26 assists in the last third of the field, while Liverpool had 107 such TTDs.
Despite such a total opponent’s advantage, Mourinho’s team held on calmly, continued to confidently hold onto their compact phalanx, and as the intensity of the champions’ counterattack began to drop, it was time for Tottenham’s swift, vertical attacks. .
The guest counterattacks were very simple in structure, but at the same time quite effective. “Spurs” tied the score with their first shot on goal from Alison. The deciding factor was exit speed and the ability to play on the line with the defenders of rival Sona. Korean, converted a heads-up with the Liverpool goalkeeper after a longitudinal pass from Lo Celso.
In fact, the “experienced” played four centrals. Aurier and Davis acted very closely, often during the home team’s flank attacks, they secured winger Sissoko and Bergwein, whose task it was to meet Robertson and Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool faced difficulties in the areas marked in blue in the diagram.
The home team often tried to create a phase space through the left flank / semi flank. 44% of all Liverpool attacks went through this vertical zone. The activity of the guests in this part of the field was almost 50% of the shares.
In positional attacks, Henderson often sat in line with center-backs and threw the ball through the mid-spaces to the last third of the field. Mourinho sacrificed these areas, throwing the maximum forces to the flanks. The Liverpool footballers moved well, Firmino sank deep, the attackers changed positions, boldly attacked the pieces of space found with Jones’ mobile, but all these efforts were not effective. The teams went into halftime with a draw. The guests were not induced to move the “red”, they disciplined their zones.
The first half of the second half could well have become a key segment of the match. It was during this period that Tottenham created several dangerous moments: two one-on-one by Bergwijn and a point-blank head kick by Kane. These were the episodes that had to end with a goal. Liverpool are very lucky. And again the guest combinations consisted of one or two shows.
The indicator of 64% accuracy in the pass between 46 and 68 minutes into the game did not prevent Tottenham from creating three clear scoring opportunities (with a bar) and winning the segment by strikes: 5: 4. Without realizing their chances , Mourinho’s team got hooked at the end of the match and clearly weren’t against the draw. But the home team was rewarded for their perseverance. Despite the difficulties, “Liverpool” had no choice but to keep pressing the accelerator, control the ball and maintain a high intensity of pressure during losses. This was the only way to protect himself from the opponent’s quick attacks. It is symbolic that Firmino scored the decisive goal of the match. The Liverpool forward had a very strong game.
In my opinion, a draw would have been a more logical end to this confrontation. On the one hand, Liverpool had an impressive advantage in many respects, but on the other hand, Mourinho’s plan worked and if it weren’t for the poor implementation of chances Tottenham would probably have taken three points away from Anfield. In any case, the match showed that Mourinho’s team is capable of facing the reigning champion on equal terms, both in absence and in the middle of the fight for the title.
At the end of the article I offer the most interesting quotes from the team coaches’ post-game press conferences.
Jose Mourinho: “After the game, I told Jurgen that the best team lost today, and he did not agree, but this is his opinion. If I had behaved the same way as him in the band, they would have sent me off.
Tottenham controlled the game, I’m happy. Losing is an undeserved result, but it is football. We played against the champions in their stadium, we had a better chance of winning. Today, Liverpool did not seem like a champion team, European champion, world champion; that difference was not in the field. “
Jurgen Klopp He was also categorical and confident in the objectivity of the result: “Tottenham goal? I think there was an offside position. The referees saw the opportunity 20 times, but I saw that there was an offside position. The best way to defend the Spurs is the whole game to control the projectile.
They are monsters of the counterattack. The guests scored a goal, they had two chances at our goal and that’s it. They are three well-deserved points for us, I’m happy. “
