Arne Slot has resorted to all-out assault in two of Liverpool’s current defeats and it has barely suited them – in truth, it goes towards what makes them so robust.
Throughout his first press convention as Liverpool head coach, Slot took exception to a query on his system.
“I hoped if folks checked out my group they might not say it’s 4-2-3-1 or it’s 4-3-3 or no matter formation you need to name it. I hoped they might say there’s a whole lot of freedom after they have the ball to take it in several positions,” he defined.
Slot did, although, add: “When you would have requested me, I’d have mentioned we performed 4-3-3 as a substitute of 4-2-3-1 at Feyenoord…I’m curious who informed you we performed 4-2-3-1, perhaps that one ought to go get his [coaching] license.”
However for all intents and functions, Slot’s Liverpool have shifted between a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 all through his first marketing campaign on Merseyside.
Roles might be tweaked, most notably his centre-forward and full-backs, however the greatest distinction game-to-game is how Slot deploys his midfielders: typically there are two No. 6s and a No. 10, others a No. 6 and two No. 8s, and so forth.
Swapping management for chaos
Management has been the defining phrase for the beginning of this new period for Liverpool – and at occasions, that has seen Slot’s model being seen as much less thrilling than his predecessor’s.
However that management has led the Reds to the brink of a Premier League title with by far the league’s finest purpose distinction, no less than 5 extra wins than some other group and 20 greater than relegated Southampton.
Not too long ago, nevertheless, Slot has resorted to a brand new tactic, for need of a greater phrase.
Within the second halves of each the Carabao Cup remaining towards Newcastle and Sunday’s Premier League conflict with Fulham, the Dutchman went all-out assault.
Each video games noticed Slot use all 5 of his allotted substitutes and each occasions they have been all attacking adjustments:
Subs vs. Newcastle: Nunez for Jota; Jones for Konate; Gakpo for Mac Allister; Chiesa for Gravenberch; Elliott for Diaz
Subs vs. Fulham: Diaz for Gakpo; Elliott for Szoboszlai; Nunez for Jota; Bradley for Konate; Chiesa for Robertson
In each Slot noticed match to deliver off a centre-back in Ibrahima Konate, towards Newcastle he introduced off two midfielders in Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, and towards Fulham he additionally substituted a full-back in Andy Robertson.
The ultimate lineups for these two video games after 5 adjustments have been as follows:
Vs. Newcastle: Kelleher; Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Elliott, Szoboszlai; Salah, Chiesa, Nunez, Gakpo
Vs. Fulham: Kelleher; Bradley, Van Dijk, Gravenberch; Mac Allister, Elliott, Jones; Salah, Chiesa, Nunez, Diaz
Each occasions it was nominally a 3-3-4 setup however in execution it was rather more chaotic and got here with various levels of success.
The place the concept started
The primary seeds of this method truly got here within the reverse fixture towards Fulham at Anfield in December, when an early crimson card for Robertson pressured Slot to take motion.
As a substitute of sacrificing a ahead to deliver on an orthodox defender, the pinnacle coach turned to Gravenberch as a stand-in centre-back in a system which started as a 3-4-2 and later settled as extra of a 4-2-3.
Slot positioned extra demand on his two remaining midfielders and in that occasion was rewarded as Dominik Szoboszlai produced a tireless show in a 2-2 draw which, after Diogo Jota‘s equaliser within the 86th minute, felt like a victory.
However whereas that was seen as a masterclass of types from Slot, these two newer iterations of the all-out-attack setup have resembled extra contrived chaos.
On each events it has felt just like the determined gamble of sending a goalkeeper up for a late nook looking for a purpose.
However in contrast to the short roll of the cube that led to Alisson‘s winner at West Brom nearly 4 years in the past, that is an altogether shift of construction and it permits opponents to regulate and exploit gaps in an unfamiliar setup.
Fulham, who ought to clearly not be underestimated, managed to try this and it was not solely on account of tweaks from Marco Silva.
Extra our bodies, much less management
In transferring him right into a three-man defence with Gravenberch and Van Dijk, Slot stifled the pure attacking high quality Conor Bradley had supplied when first launched halfway via the second half.
As a substitute Bradley, who set Luis Diaz as much as make it 3-2 simply 5 minutes after the pair have been despatched on, was pressured to play centre-back, right-back and central midfield .
And bringing off Robertson for Federico Chiesa could have added one other physique within the remaining third, however it denied Liverpool an outlet on the left at a time when the Scot was lastly providing a real menace going forwards.
In opposition to Newcastle, with Liverpool chasing an unlikely end in a one-off remaining, even Virgil van Dijk ended up enjoying the ultimate throes up entrance with Curtis Jones dropping again to cowl at centre-back.
Put merely, there could also be extra attackers on the pitch, however it usually means they only get in one another’s means.
Whereas this criticism comes beneath the lens of a bitter defeat, and had Liverpool pulled it again for a draw or perhaps a victory issues could be seen in another way, it’s troublesome to shake the sensation of desperation round this all-out-attack mode.
After a 3rd disappointing outcome within the final 4 video games the most important takeaway stays that these further attackers – and mainly Chiesa and Harvey Elliott – ought to actually be trusted extra beginning in Slot’s 4-3-3.
