After the footballing world was brought into chaos over the international break following Manchester City’s damning guilty verdict, it almost feels too good to be true that the fixture awaiting them following this revelation would be against the team who has suffered from their fraudulence the most. Liverpool…
This will not just be the regular difficult trip to Anfield (a ground where they’ve only won three times in the last 23 years, let’s not forget) that the blue side of Manchester will be expecting. This will be a hungry Liverpool, an angry Liverpool, a Liverpool going out there for Jurgen Klopp, Steven Gerrard and every other member of the Reds’ alumni who have been robbed on the pitch thanks to over £900m of financial doping.
While we know the crowd will be on City’s back from the moment their coach arrives in L4, the players will ultimately still need to show up and do their jobs on the pitch. So how can Liverpool cause City problems?
Keys To Victory For Liverpool:
Capitalise On Mental Fragility
When looking at how some of the international games have unfolded during this break, an interesting correlation comes to the fore when looking at some of City’s defensive players, which we can see below:
Notice anything unusual?
As we can see above, three City defenders made uncharacteristic errors leading to goals in games following the Ornstein bombshell in late September. I don’t think it would be in tinfoil-hat-wearing territory to suggest that such a situation could’ve had an impact on their performances. Bearing that in mind, it is imperative that Liverpool follow the lead of what will be a raucous Anfield crowd and pile the pressure on a mentally vulnerable City early on.
Distribute Well From The Back:
One of the ways we can succeed against City is through a strong first phase in build-up play. While on the ball they tend to be more methodical, off the ball they do press relatively quickly, with a PPDA of 9.9, slightly less aggressive than Liverpool’s 9.1. One of the moments that stuck out for me in this fixture last season was City’s insistence on forcing Liverpool to the right, where we were forced to try and build through Konate, who’s lack of ball-playing ability allowed City to easily regain possession without any real Liverpool threats..
City players either ready to press or blocking lanes to everyone except Konate (Doku covering off screen).
This time though, his replacement Jeremy Jacquet could be able to exploit City’s wide press, which has been a prominent feature of Maresca’s City this season. His ability to play difficult balls through the lines could be a key weapon when attempting to bypass this.
Jacquet’s ball-playing abilities on full show at Bournemouth.
Make Use Of The Width:
Since I just spoke about City’s wide press, let’s dissect it a little further, as it has been a key reason behind some of their goals conceded this season. Below we can see how Semenyo and Gvardiol both mistiming their triggers to press lead to a 2v1 on City’s left which Bournemouth exploited for the opener.
Semenyo jumps late into the press after the ball shifts right. Gvardiol (just off screen) himself then jumps in late and leaves space behind for the long ball after allowing the player wide right to receive unchallenged on the next pass.
Similar issues appeared for City on that side against Sunderland, where City were undone by another long ball on the same side as their press.
After committing seven players to the press as Sunderland go back to Roefs (Fernandez just off screen in the centre) Anderson is left covering for Gvardiol and leaves ample space in behind.
Another way we can exploit this is by utilising the switches of play from both centre backs out to Barcola, isolating him against makeshift full back Matheus Nunes. Something I wish we did against Bournemouth much more. You’d have to fancy Barcola 1v1 in that situation due to his flair and ridiculous pace.
How To Nullify City:
Despite the dark cloud hanging over the club and players, this City side are very capable of getting a result. They aren’t currently top of the league for no reason, so what do we need to be wary of?
Stay Aggressive on Cherki:
In a lot of the recent “Who would you take from City?” debates, Rayan Cherki has been near the top of most people’s lists, and when watching him it’s easy to see why. As a player who thrives in the half spaces near the box, City’s 3-Diamond-3 in possession is primed to get him into these areas. Liverpool must pay particular attention to the positions he picks up, where his quick feet and agility can open up spaces to shoot himself or attempt to find Haaland. In transition, we may require Jacquet to step up high to prevent Cherki turning through
City’s diamond midfield shape in possession. Cherki (below arrow) is occupying the half space, and scores after receiving in this sequence.
Jacquet stops a dangerous counter through front-footed, proactive defending. Could be useful to dampen Cherki’s strengths on the break.
Force them Wide:
Trying to stop Erling Haaland is probably the biggest challenge that any defender may face in today’s game, and giving him space to run into is the absolute worst thing that you can do. By clogging up central areas and forcing City wide, their crosses become a straight-up aerial battle between Van Dijk/Jacquet and the terrifying Norwegian. A duel where we have seen Van Dijk come out on top in the past.
Be Aggressive In Midfield:
This factor could be about the mental side of the game more than the tactical, but aggression over technique could be our key to winning this battle. City’s big money makeover of their midfield has made that an area of the pitch where they do possess more technical ability than our midfield, but that technique could become lost in the chaos pretty quickly if we make our intentions known. The likes of Alexis Mac Allister snapping into challenges and showing his Argentine bite could help to make the midfield battle more of a dog fight as opposed to a chess match.
Final Thoughts:
Despite all the analysis I’ve tried to provide here, the tactical battle may well be overshadowed by passion and emotion on an occasion like this. Funnily enough, this is exactly the kind of occasion that Jurgen Klopp would’ve relished. This sentiment goes back even further though, because Liverpool as a whole are built for these moments. The all red ‘danger’ as Shankly described it when changing the kits, the Kop, the impossible being possible. There’s a reason Liverpool are the most successful club in the land, and what better way to remind everyone of it than by beating English football’s most destructive villains - the artificial vanity project that is Manchester City.