Liverpool secured an emphatic 3-0 victory at Anfield in the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash versus Manchester City on Wednesday night. Pep Guardiola took a cautious approach while naming his City team for this clash while Jurgen Klopp decided to trust his best players to get a positive result out of this clash.
TACTICAL BREAKDOWN
Formations:
Liverpool
The Reds deployed a 4-3-3 formation with Jurgen Klopp’s opting for an all-English midfield. Jurgen Klopp’s idea was to include hard-working players in his midfield to enable them to press City high up the pitch. The back four almost picked itself because of the recent injuries to Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez while Klopp once again put his faith on the terrific front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola opted for an unorthodox 3-2-4-1 formation and decided to start IIkay Gündogan in place of Raheem Sterling to try and give his team more control in the midfield. The Spaniard was without the services of Sergio Aguero but was hoping that Gabriel Jesus would be able to fill the Argentine’s shoes up top for City.
Liverpool’s early pressing:
The home side let the Citizens have the ball in the early exchanges of the match with most of City’s play coming down the left flank as Sane looked to cause some damage by going past Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, Pep Guardiola’s side struggled to go past the Liverpool defence as they did not have a natural left-back to make an overlapping run, which would create spaces for Sane, De Bruyne and Silva to feed on.
The Reds pressed the Citizens high up the pitch, which led to City giving away the ball on quite a few occasions in the first 30 minutes of the game. Liverpool capitalised on their mistakes and scored three goals in a space of 20 first-half minutes.
First Liverpool goal:
Mohamed Salah used his pace to attack the huge space left behind by the City defence due to the trickery, guile and off-the-ball running of Roberto Firmino. Aymeric Laporte was found wrong-footed while Kompany and Otamendi were caught in two minds of whether to close down the fluid Liverpool attackers or keep a deep line in the hopes of regaining possession. Ederson made a big error as he failed to hang on to the ball in Firmino’s first attempt but the Brazilian reacted first and passed the ball to Salah, who had the easy job of tapping home the opener.
Second Liverpool Goal:
The Reds scored their second goal after pressing City high up the pitch and winning some 50-50 tussles. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain found some space between the Man City midfield and their back three which made him attack with the ball. Pep Guardiola’s defenders were caught ball-watching and failed to close down the former Arsenal man, who unleashed a ferocious strike from outside the box. The ball was past Ederson before he even realised it as the home supported erupted in joy.
Third Liverpool Goal:
One of the main reasons why Salah is enjoying such a sensational campaign is because defenders are too scared to touch him. Liverpool’s third goal came from a cross which was deflected on the Egyptian’s path. Salah composed himself and delivered a beautiful cross inside the box with three Liverpool players looking to make runs behind the City defence. Both Otamendi and Kompany were caught ball-watching and were not sure of whether to keep a high line or to keep up with their markers. They ended up doing neither which let Mane in to score with a delicately placed header.
The second half: Liverpool without Salah VS a desperate Manchester City side
Liverpool were looking to keep up the same level of intensity in the second half but a groin injury to Mohamed Salah gave City the initiative to go all guns blazing in the hopes of an away goal. The Reds defended in numbers and let the Citizens keep possession away from their penalty box. However, the home side struggled to find an outlet, which is why Klopp decided to bring Dominic Solanke into the match. The Merseysiders defended valiantly to keep the City attackers at bay and secured a 3-0 win on the night.
It is clear as day that Klopp got his tactics spot on and was flexible in his approach to the game when things were not going his side’s way in the second half. Guardiola’s plan of playing Gundogan over Sterling back-fired as City were not used to playing a 3-2-4-1 formation with both Sane and Jesus ineffective in the final third. However, the Citizens still have a chance of mounting a comeback with a crucial second leg at the Etihad Stadium looming on the horizon.
