Tactical Profile: Jürgen Klopp & Liverpool 2021/22

For my first tactical profile there was only one coach and one club I could have chosen and that is Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. The Reds are currently on track for an unprecedented quadruple after already winning the League Cup in February v Chelsea and have everything still to play for, will the quadruple happen? It’s unlikely but it’s not impossible, especially with the quality Liverpool possess.

With 30 matches already gone in the 2021/22 Premier League season they are one point behind the league leaders Manchester City with the same amount of games played and both clubs play each other at the Etihad Stadium on April 10th which may well decide who wins the title this season.

Coach Profile

Everyone should be familiar with Jürgen Klopp by now as he’s been one of the best coaches in the world for a number of years now but if you don’t, the German played as a right-back for Mainz 05 for the majority of his career appearing 325 times for the German club. After retiring he became their coach in the 2001/02 season and he secured Bundesliga promotion in the 2004/05 season and became their longest-serving coach up until his resignation in the 2008/09 season. Thanks to Jürgen Klopp and his coaching staff at the time he helped Mainz 05 to become a familiar club in the German top flight, as they have done since then. After leaving Mainz 05, he joined Borussia Dortmund and guided them to an unprecedented Bundesliga triumph two years after joining in the 2010/11 season before winning Dortmund’s first-ever domestic double during a record-breaking season the year after. He also guided them to a Champions League final in the 2012/13 season but lost 2–1 to Bayern Munich. Klopp transformed Dortmund in to what they are today, they are synonymous with finding players around Europe, polishing them up and selling them for huge fees, they’ve been the second best team behind Bayern Munich for a decade now. He left Germany with two Bundesliga titles (2010/11 & 2011/12), a DFB Pokal (2011/12) and two DFL Supercups (2013 & 2014).

He joined Liverpool in the 2015/16 season after replacing Brendan Rodgers mid-season, the German has since then transformed the Reds into one of the best teams in the world, he has guided them to successive Champions League finals in 2017/18 and 2018/19, winner the latter and securing his first and Liverpool’s sixth title in the competition. In the 2018/19 season, Liverpool finished 2nd in the Premier League behind Manchester City registering 97 points, the most by a team without winning the title and it’s the third-highest total in the history of the English top flight. The season after that he won the Super Cup and Liverpool’s first Club World Cup before delivering Liverpool’s first Premier League title amassing a club record 99 points and breaking a number of top-flight records along the way, that was Liverpool’s first top-flight title for 30 years.

This season, the German has already added the League Cup to his collection and is on track for a potential quadruple, he has cemented his legacy already in Liverpool and in England but he’s not finished yet and this season goes to show that the Germans business isn’t done.

Liverpool Formation & Players

Liverpool set out in a 4–3–3 formation: Alisson Becker; Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Joël Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Fabinho, Thiago Alcântara, Jordan Henderson; Sadio Mané, Diogo Jota & Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool have played all of their matches this season in their favoured 4–3–3 shape while sometimes switching to a 4–2–3–1 to accommodate for all four of their attackers whilst also having a double pivot to protect their back line.

With Alisson Becker behind the defence, the Brazilian has been one of the best goalkeepers in the world for a number of seasons now and has continued his form this season, conceding only 0.7 goals per game. With Andrew Robertson on the left, Virgil van Dijk returning from his season ending injury last season, Joel Matip in the form of his life and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right, Liverpool have one of the best back fives in Europe and has shown it yet again this season, conceding only 20 goals and have 18 clean sheets with 8 games to go.

In midfield, Fabinho protects the back line as the holding midfielder with Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcântara (when available) as the preferred midfield partnership, they give the balance to the team and control the tempo of the games with their wonderful passing range and direction.

At the front end of the pitch, Liverpool’s legendary front three of seasons past has officially been disrupted by the form of Diogo Jota this season, the Portuguese forward has 14 goals and sits only behind his counterpart Mohamed Salah (20) in the Premier League this season for goals scored. Liverpool have scored the most goals, created the most chances, taken the most shots per game and have the best xG in the league and undoubtedly have the best attack in Europe this season, scoring 2.7 goals per game (116 goals so far in all competitions). It does help when you have Mohamed Salah in your team though, the Egyptian has arguably been the best player in the world this season and has 38 goal involvements in the Premier League and Champions League, a goal involvement every 76 minutes and the season isn’t over yet.

Attacking Principles

Liverpool are the most clinical and productive attacking side in the league this season as they have created 124 goal-creating actions in 30 matches so far this season, that is 4.2 per game. Manchester City on the other hand have created 97 goal-creating actions so far, that’s 27 less than the Reds. Liverpool also lead the league for goals (77), expected goals (74) and shots on target per 90 (7.2) and that’s unsurprising when you have players like Sadio Mané, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah up front being supplied by the excellent creators in the form of fullbacks Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Liverpool’s attacking style and build-up play is as exciting as it is fascinating to watch, they lineup in a 2–5–3 formation when they have the ball and are on the offence. Fabinho regularly drops back into the defence on occasions to allow Virgil van Dijk or Joël Matip to progress the ball forward to other players while the fullbacks give the width and usually interchange in terms of pushing forward and sitting slightly deeper to add an extra man to the defence. Liverpool rotate and create diamond shapes in the midfield and in the forward areas which causes teams a lot of problems, this kind of versatility in structure and shape is also extended to their passing range with multiple players being able to hit quick long passes into advanced runners in dangerous positions when teams are least expecting it to catch them out.

Liverpool are so calm in possession and can control games how they want too, they have no issues building through either side but they are more likely to favour the right hand side with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah operating there, an effective pattern what happens is when Henderson drops into Alexander-Arnold’s position which gives Salah more space in behind and this allows Alexander-Arnold to by-pass Henderson and play a dangerous pass to the Egyptian as he races into dangerous positions. But again, Liverpool are an extremely fluid side and they won’t do the same tactical pattern repeatedly as they can do it on the left hand side as well as through the middle. Through these tactical patterns the Reds are often working the wide areas and are looking for forward passes into their front-line from out to in, but they’re also incredibly adept at switching play and if one fullback has the ball around the halfway line you can often expect a switch to the opposite side of the pitch. Ultimately, Liverpool’s speed of playing out from the back, their fluid shape and high pressing shows no signs of weakness against an opposition’s high press or low block.

With so many attack-minded players there is no wonder why Liverpool attack with fluctuating shapes of the 2–3–5, 3–1–6 and 2–1–4–3 in possession, in terms of the 2–1–4–3 it has become a common way of suffocating their opponents as Fabinho takes up a higher position in the central attacking areas and that allows Liverpool’s famous high-line to come into effect as every Liverpool player is in their opponents half. The central midfielders and fullbacks create space in behind for the narrow front three and this causes most teams huge problems and it has become a trademark Jurgen Klopp tactic and is such a successful way of playing, Fabinho is an integral player when it comes to this and when he doesn’t feature for the Reds you can tell as it doesn’t work as well.

With a false nine in the team, the team have another mechanism to exploit as the false nine will drop into central areas to pick up possession and this allows Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah to float centrally as the inside forwards, both the false nine and the wingers can interchange position to pull players out of their position and cause plenty of problems, we’ve seen this over the years with Roberto Firmino doing his job at a world class level for a number of seasons, this is now Diogo Jota’s role and he has excelled so far this season playing in that position.

Width continues to take centre stage when it comes to Liverpool’s way of creating and progressing as they emphasise wide attacks as the wingers often narrow into the half-spaces, with their central midfielders and fullbacks floating in and out of the wide areas, always interchanging with one another. With dangerous overlapping and underlapping runs, the fullbacks create plenty of chances for their team by whipping pin-point balls into the box or driving forward themselves. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been inverting in central areas more and more this season which means that Jordan Henderson often positions himself as the widest player on the right and with this positional rotation and fluidity, the opposition defenders are often dragged out of position where there is an abundance of space and Liverpool then exploit the space and cause teams problems and plenty to think about for their coach.

It’s not only the positional rotations and play that disrupts the opposition, it’s also their exceptional ability from transitions and set-pieces. When transitioning to attack the Reds race forward at an insane pace with their electric dribbling and their smart vertical runs from every direction, with the exceptional passing range of players like Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcântara it makes it a lot easier when in transition. Liverpool have scored 15 set-piece goals so far this season and that’s the most in the Premier League, and the most in Europe. The attention to detail from Jürgen Klopp and everyone at Liverpool shows it’s glory through this, there isn’t a detail that isn’t missed.

Defensive Principles

You can’t talk about a Jürgen Klopp side without talking about their pressing, they’ve become synonymous with counter-pressing or ‘gegenpressing’ which originated from Germany and has helped revolutionise the modern game, as soon as Liverpool lose the ball they instantly press the opposition high and try and win the ball back as soon as possible, Liverpool lead in every pressing metric in the Premier League.

In the first few seasons at Liverpool Jürgen Klopp was known for his heavy metal pressing but now the press is much more calculated and intelligently done. The Reds usually press in their 4–3–3 formation and their success comes from their front line instantly racing to disrupt the opposition and stop the first player in possession from being able to make a pass, whoever is closest to the ball will usually lead the press and with Liverpool’s ever changing shape and rotations it becomes a difficult task for their opponents to counter or to begin a play with Liverpool’s relentless work ethic and pressing.

Despite usually pressing in their 4–3–3 formation Liverpool sometimes switch to a 4–1–4–1 on occasions with Fabinho screening the opposition’s striker while the forwards are quick to help their team and defend. With players like Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk at the back, Liverpool have only conceded 20 goals this season and it’s a testament to their ability and Jürgen Klopp’s wonderful defensive principles what are in place.

Conclusion

Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world and have been for some time now and it’s thanks to Jürgen Klopp and his coaching staff who never a miss a detail and work tirelessly to become the best that they can be, it also helps that Liverpool rarely miss when it comes to recruiting players and with world class players in every position, they’ve become a joy to watch and a force to be reckoned with. The Reds can’t be stopped going forward and defensively they’re more than solid, we are witnessing one of the greatest sides in English football history and it’s all thanks to everyone at the club from the owners, recruitment team, coaching staff and the players. With the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League still to play for this season Liverpool could add to their colossal trophy cabinet.

So there it is, my tactical profile of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side this season. It was quite in depth and I thoroughly enjoyed writing about one of, if not my favourite coach to grace the beautiful game. Make sure to follow me on Twitter: @ProxyAnalytics and please let me know what you think of the article.

Statistics taken from @FBREF www.FBREF.com