Liverpool FC has once again turned into a rampant force in the World stage with their aggressive style of play under current boss Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool FC was considered as one of the greatest clubs in the 1970s and 80s with numerous Premier League titles and European Cups. But, gradually the team lost its dominance and became a very mediocre side. Their ray of light came in 2005 when manager Rafa Benitez led the Reds to Champions League glory, and a couple of years later they again went on to the finals but ended up in the losing side. Unfortunately, Liverpool FC had nothing to show in the Premier League, except in 2013-14, when Liverpool FC squandered the opportunity of winning the title.
Liverpool FC hasn’t looked back after the 2014-15 season when manager Brendan Rogers was sacked and was replaced by Jurgen Klopp. He previously managed Dortmund and had led them to the Bundesliga title and Champions League final. Klopp took his time to assemble a team that comprised of very capable players, mostly at a cheap price. Klopp was known for his attacking game-play with a typical pressing called the “Gegenpress”.
His Liverpool FC side put the opponents under pressure from the word go and continued to do so for the entire match. They maintain a very high defensive line and the players are instructed to press the opponent having the ball and cut off passing lanes. Klopp’s Liverpool FC has reached new heights and it is mainly because of the free-flowing and high-scoring front 3 of the team. The front 3 of Liverpool has Roberto Firmino down the middle, Mohammed Salah on the right, and Sadio Mane on the left.
The three players complement each other very well and are great on and off the ball. Firmino and Mane are tireless runners, who hunt for the ball for the entirety of the match and Salah is a great goal scorer. Firmino, being a Center-forward is involved heavily in the build-up play and it is him, who makes the goals for Mane and Salah.
Mane and Salah both possess great finishing ability and thus score bag-loads of goals. The front 3 of Liverpool FC has haunted defences and wreaked havoc all over the World, putting Liverpool FC on top of the footballing maps again. Liverpool has won the Champions League in the 2018/19 season and is on course to win the Premier League this season with a massive 22 point gap on top of the table, at the time of writing.
Amongst them, Firmino, Salah, and Mane have scored 94 goals in the last couple of seasons for Liverpool. Salah and Mane were the joint highest goal scorers with Aubameyang of Arsenal. So what makes the front three of Liverpool FC so lethal? Let us have a look at how Reds line up and play.
This is how Liverpool FC has lined up for most of the games this season as well as the previous season. The 4-3-3 system is used to great effect by Jurgen Klopp to implement his Gegenpress. All the players in the team are instructed to play high-intensity football and the Gegenpress is used to choke down and pin oppositions down in their half.
The full-backs have the license to join the attack as the front 3 drift into the box. The crossing prowess of the full-backs has helped the front 3 scores a lot of goals, like Firmino, Salah, and Mane have the great aerial ability.
Let us have a look at where Reds players place themselves for most of the match.
This is mostly how Liverpool FC has played this season. Once in possession, the Reds turn into a 3-5-2 formation, as the full-backs are allowed to bomb forward and Firmino drops to the midfield along with Henderson to create openings. Once the ball is switched to a side, Firmino, Salah, and Mane are all waiting in the box and Wijnaldum makes late runs into the box.
Firmino is often criticized for not scoring a lot of goals, but he is the main link to the front 3 and the most unpredictable player in the Liverpool FC side. He regularly swaps position with Salah or Mane and confuses the opposition. When he drops to the midfield to receive the ball, he drags a Center back with him, creating space for Salah and Mane to run into.
Both Salah and Mane are great finishers and have scored loads of goals between each other. They don’t just stop at scoring, as they have also been one of the highest assist providers form the past couple of seasons. The water-tight defence along with the lethal front 3 of Liverpool FC has taken the Premier League by storm. The Reds are on their way to break many League records this season, as they have won 27 out of their 29 matches, with only 1 defeat, at the time of writing.
Even the most stubborn of defensive sides have failed to contain Salah, Mane, and Firmino making the front 3 of Liverpool FC undoubtedly the most lethal attacking trio in the World.
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