Κυριακή 11 Σεπτεμβρίου 2016

Tactical analysis: Liverpool - Leicester City 4-1/Premier League/10-9-2016

Liverpool returned to winning ways hosting the champions, Leicester City. The brand new main stand proved to be beneficial for the team as the noise the fans were making helped the players and the team spirit.

Defence: Although Leicester were unable to create anything from open play, Liverpool’s errors and shiftlessness to defend set pieces gave the Foxes hope. Despite this fact, Liverpool coped really well with breaking down the opposition’s play, hence not many times Mignolet was needed.


Attack: The Reds were able to convert most of their chances with 11 of 17 shots in total being on target. Quick, direct play made the team unstoppable in the final third of the field.


Positive

-Cutting through the lines

Leicester City tried to press high when Liverpool had the ball in defence giving no options in the middle for the defenders to pass. However, this gave the chance for Liverpool to be more direct and play the ball immediately to the attackers. In this instance, Lucas plays from behind a long pass to Firmino cutting through all the Leicester City lines, which press high on the pitch.

-Smart move by Sturridge

 Firmino opened the score in the 10th minute giving Liverpool the lead but credits must go to Sturridge as well. The Englishman made a very smart run taking on two Leicester City defenders and creating space between the two centre backs for Firmino to run into.

-Always ready for a counter attack

In the late stages, Leicester tried to take whatever they could from the game leaving spaces behind for a counter attack. Liverpool players know this and so, there are players running forward instantly after someone intercepts the ball even if he goes backwards. Such is the case here, where Mane starts running immediately after the ball is stolen. 

Negative

-Suicidal tactics

 It is common in modern football for the keepers to pass the ball to defenders after a goal kick instead of kicking it far away. Nevertheless, this isn’t a tactic which should be used blindly. There are four Liverpool players waiting for the pass and four Leicester City players ready to press. It’s suicidal to pass the ball to the defender who could be overwhelmed by the pressure and make an error such as the howler Lucas made.

-Matip steps out poorly


Matip has shown plenty signs of his abilities already providing hope that he might give an end to Liverpool’s defensive woes. However, in this case he makes a common mistake stepping out of the defensive line as the ball was intercepted in the middle of the field. His reaction is careless as he leaves a lot of space for a lethal player such as Vardy to move into.