Over the past decade, Liverpool football club had experienced it all, from challenging for the title back in 2013/14 kudos to Suarez’s stellar season and Brendan Rodgers efficient management to barely qualify for the Europa League spot in their very next season.
For a club that had won the most number of Champions League titles in England, not even qualifying for the Champions League was a massive downgrade. This was a cumulated result of bad management who let their best players leave and got absolutely bang average recruitments to replace them. Loss of world-class players like Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and retirement of their club hero Steven Gerrard left a massive void in the club. The club was left with massive shoes to fill and the scousers spent hundreds of millions on players like Mario Balotelli, Christian Benteke and Ricky Lambert who hardly justified their worth. That’s when the club decided to revamp their strategy and part ways with Brendan Rodgers to hire the former Borussia Dortmund manager, Jurgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp’s managerial career in brief
Borussia Dortmund / Mainz 05
Jurgen Klopp, the man who popularized the term ‘Gegenpress’, (a tactic in which a team immediately tries to win back the possession after losing the ball instead of regrouping tactically) is regarded as one of the best coaches in the world right now. Before joining Liverpool, Klopp had successfully managed to win two Bundesliga titles, two DFL- SuperCups and one DFB- Pokal with Borussia Dortmund.
He had also won his Mainz 05 team a promotion back to Bundesliga and finished 11th with them despite having the smallest of budgets and stadium. But he announced himself to the world when Dortmund put 4 goals past Real Madrid to qualify for the Champions League final, which he eventually went on to lose to their German rivals Bayern Munich.
Liverpool
On 8th October 2015, Jurgen Klopp took charge of Liverpool and they haven’t looked back since. Klopp seemed to breath new life into Liverpool as they qualified for the EFL and Europa League finals only to lose both of them. ‘The Normal One’ promised the fans that Liverpool would win at least one trophy in the next 4 years and boy did he keep his word! After a magnificent Premier League campaign with a staggering total of 97 points, only to lose out to Guardiola’s Manchester City by just a mere point, Klopp finally succeeded in winning the Champions League trophy, after losing twice in the finals previously.
He began his 19/20 campaign with a bang, winning almost every Premier League game except the draw at Old Trafford and just a single loss to Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli. With their title rivals Manchester City losing games extensively, Liverpool capitalized the situation and took a massive lead in their Premier League campaign (22 points as on 4th March 2020). With their 44 games unbeaten run in the League, Liverpool seemed likely to share the ‘Invincibles’ tag but that’s when things took a turn.
Liverpool’s dip in form
Liverpool faced Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in the Champions League round of 16. Atletico took an early lead from a corner, thanks to Saul and managed to defend the scoreline till the final whistle. This seemed to shake the mighty Liverpool’s confidence as they’ve managed to win just one out of their last three games, scoring three and conceding seven in this process. They ended their unbeaten Premier League run against Watford, who managed to put three goals past them. Watford is currently on the 17th spot, crawling their way out of the relegation zone. A couple of days ago, Chelsea knocked them out of the FA Cup, thus ending their chances to win a treble.
Tactical Analysis/Breakdown
Have Liverpool’s rivals finally found a flaw in Klopp’s system? The answer is, yes. Liverpool usually plays a 4-3-3, with a very high defensive line. This enables them to push the opposing team in their own half and have a control on the game. This defensive line also lets them set an offside trap for the opposition team. Their fullbacks push forward to attack and the midfielders like Fabinho, Henderson, Milner etc. do the ‘ dirty runs’ to win back the ball once they lose possession. With Henderson, Kieta and Milner sidelined for a few weeks and Fabinho just returning from an injury, Liverpool’s defensive line has become vulnerable.
One common tactic that has been deployed by the rival teams are long balls. The forwards time their run to perfection, thus beating the offside trap and getting a one on one situation with the keeper. This has happened multiple times over the past few weeks with Jarred Bowen almost equalizing for West Ham and Oliver Giroud extending Chelsea’s lead only to be denied by the fantastic efforts from the respective keepers.
Another reason for their dip in form is due to the lack of confidence. Liverpool have conceded two goals in two games due to individual errors, one from Willian’s shot at Adrian and Trent Alexander Arnold’s pass which led to Watford’s third goal.
Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are set for a season-defining week after reality checks, already losing one and exiting the FA Cup in the process. They face Bournemouth in the Premier League and Atletico Madrid at Anfield in the Champions League, which could be season-defining moments for them.
Will Liverpool rise back from this or fall further? Let’s wait and watch.
