The Champions League group stages were never going to be kind to a side the size of Aberdeen. Such defeats, such as the 4-0 defeat inflicted by Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, should perhaps be expected, and by some would be written off by a quick glance at the balance sheets. While such defeats might seem disheartening, especially considering the positive performances against Porto and Bayern, setbacks like this are a fantastic opportunity to learn and improve.
Sure, we got royally pumped this time around, but maybe we can learn some lessons so that when Liverpool travel to Pittodrie in a few weeks, ……..
Firstly, let’s look how I thought Liverpool would play and the tactic I used to try and nullify them.
This is a crude diagram I came up with to try to articulate how Liverpool played, without relying on a block of text. In the diagram, grey arrows represent a players movement, while black arrows represent common pass combinations.
So at a glance, Liverpool’s shape is characterised by attacking fullbacks in the form of Nathaniel Clyne and James Milner, powering into spaces left by the movements inside of Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho. This diagram also shows the influence of Liverpool’s key player, Jordan Henderson.
Here are a few more characteristics of Liverpool’s play and how I aimed to counter them:
- Emre Can plays an influential role as either a regista or roaming playmaker, linking defence and midfield- A defensive forward would reduce his time on the ball, as well as reduce the time on the ball for the ball-playing centre-backs
- Liverpool’s two fullbacks look to progress high up the pitch, creating a number of chances this way- A wide midfielder will be used to prevent Clyne receiving the ball in space down the right. A Winger will be used on Milner’s side as I see him as less of an attacking threat, and I thinking Mackay-Steven could exploit his lack of pace
- Jordan Henderson is the metronome of this Liverpool team. Much of their play comes through him- Jordan Henderson will be man-marked so he receives the ball under pressure
- Philippe Coutinho looks to drift inside and receive the ball in the half-spaces- Coutinho will be man-marked by the right-back Shay Logan. Milner’s more conservative tendencies should mean that the space vacated will not be exploited.
Due to the lack of pace from Coutinho and Lallana, I decided to be a bit bolder with my approach, pushing up to a normal defensive line.
I was given a major selection dilemma in the lead up with the game after Greg Tansey was ruled out for several months with a broken ankle. This resulted in Graeme Shinnie being moved back into the DM slot, leaving us with a far less combative midfield.
While this game plan was far from perfect, I still feel it would have done a decent job against the Liverpool side I anticipated. I’m sure you can imagine my anguish when they lined up with a 4-2-3-1. While it may seem that I’m using this formation change as an excuse, this problem is ultimately my fault. If I’d taken the time to look at a few games against lower reputation sides, I would have seen this 4-2-3-1 in action.
The above diagram is from the game against us. What is noticeable is the number of passing combinations Liverpool where able to create. For reference, a combination gets a line if it is repeated 15 or more times.
In fairness, I did make a few adjustments to deal with Liverpool’s new formation, but I didn’t do enough. My only changes were to move the back-line slightly deeper, and change to a flexible shape, both in an attempt to reduce our vulnerability to the counter-attack. Here are a few things I should have changed.
Man-Marking
Quick word of advice: never tell your fullback to mark the opposition winger. Especially when the opposition winger in question is Philippe fucking Coutinho. As I previously eluded to, it may leave one of your defenders isolated against a few better opponent. Secondly, it leaves your backline out of shape. Honestly, if I had just left it, Logan could have had free choice whether to go tight on Coutinho or drop off. Having him follow him into the midfield left a gaping hole for Liverpool to exploit (thankfully Hendrix was playing at left-back). Finally, consider pace. Man-marking gives both players roughly the same starting point, so if the opponent is faster, and more importantly has the advantage of choosing when to run, it is the attacker who almost always possesses the upper-hand.
https://gyazo.com/6e1d0da190fb491945ef1c2ea62362bd
Here’s a perfect example, where Logan’s positioning allows him to be isolated against Coutinho, leading to a goal.
The second tip I would give in regards to man-marking is to consider the wider context. While my instruction to McLean to man-mark Henderson may have limited his influence, it tied my left-sided central midfielder up, leaving Salah a gaping hole to cut into unchallenged.
Quality of Player
This links both into team selection and recruitment policy.
Jonathan Medina is not good enough for the Champions League. That is not up for discussion. I recruited him to solve my left-back problem but instead, I have signed someone considerably worse than what I’ve already got.
The initial problem is that he’s at the club at all. That’s a recruitment issue. Medina was the first decent option that came up, was available on a free transfer, and had a few nice ttributes that clouded my judgement. To prevent future Medinas, important scouting assignments will be started months in advance of the transfer window, to prevent any more rushed decisions. Furthermore, once I decide I want to sign a player, I will request a further three scouting reports, just in case I’ve missed something subtle, or in this case, totally obvious. Finally, I will be viewing first team signings under the microscope of ‘are they good enough for the Champions League?’, or more accurately ‘would I be willing to play them in the Champions League?’. If not, I shouldn’t be signing them. This means for defenders defence solidity is the main quality.
The next problem is that I played him against Liverpool, up against Mo Salah. What am I doing playing a defender with 9 positioning in the Champions League? Especially considering I have the defensively solid Andrew Considine at hand. Furthermore, why am I playing an attacking full-back against Liverpool in the Champions League?
In the 45 minutes Medina played, he made 0 tackles, 0 interceptions, missed 2 interceptions, made 3 mistakes and recorded an average rating of 6.0. I’m not saying he looked vulnerable up against Salah but Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge were seen offering him a drink at half-time.
Compromise
In a previous blog post, I discussed the battle between ideology and compromise, and where the latter is necessary in Football Manager. Well, this game is a perfect example of where I could have done with a bit less style and a bit more substance.
If Klopp’s teams are known for one thing it would be the counter-press (watch this space). From the outset, it was made clear that we would not be given the time and space to play out from the back.
Liverpool’s shape meant that either centre-back would be pressed immediately upon receiving the ball, while simultaneously blocking passage into the midfield. Well, passage to the central midfielders wasn’t totally blocked, but our centre-backs consistently panicked under pressure and usually ended-up hoofing the ball up the pitch. This merely allowed Liverpool to win and consolidate possession in our half. In took half an hour, far too long, for me to give up and tell Joe to just launch it.
Full back duties
Another issue I noticed was the support duties of the fullbacks, or perhaps more importantly, Logan’s ‘get further forward’ PPM.
His PPM means that when we regain possession, his first instinct is to bomb up pitch. In a game against Liverpool, who look to win possession and exploit holes the opponent leave in transition, this presents a serious problem.
https://gyazo.com/263a7da91c09165f4255db9b4f5976f5
Just look how eager Logan is to bomb up the pitch when we have the ball. The gap he leaves gives Liverpool the space to score.
https://gyazo.com/99ceb9a0fc9d497b1bf4705b352b682b
Here’s another look at the GIF just posted. As soon as Mckenna touches the ball, he races forwards a good ten yards, allowing Coutinho to get in behind and set up a goal.
So what can I do about this? Well, for starters, I can set my defenders to a defend duty. I’ve honestly seen no advantage to using support duties over the last few games.
I’ve also decided that I despise the ‘gets further forward’ PPM. I understand the theory behind it, but I feel it’s been way over done in game.
Right-back has been a problem area for over a season now, so I’m excited to announce the signing of Linus Wahlqvist on a pre-contract agreement.
Compactness
The biggest problem I saw from this game was the ease with which Liverpool cut through us.
https://gyazo.com/1c480bb14845de97e80de8e7ebb17588
Here’s a screenshot I took after just a few minutes which shows my issue. Immediately after losing possession, Liverpool have 4 players in behind our midfield. The number 9 you see? That’s Adam Rooney, my striker.
Here’s my issues with our shape:
- Medina and Logan caught out of position
- Logan drawn out of position man-marking Coutinho
- McLean absent, leaving massive gaps in midfield to mark Henderson deep
- DM out of position pressing
- Lack of midfield presence
Here’s the steps I’m going to use to try and sort this mess
- Fullbacks on defend duty to prevent them from being caught upfield
- Abandon individual man-marking, with midfielders and defenders at least
- Static defensive midfield role focused on control space
- Slightly deeper defensive line to limit space
- Change in team shape? One on hand structured would prevent players bombing upfield on masse, but in theory should leave larger gaps between the lines (experiment)
- Change formation? Left mids’ role limited, perhaps change to attacking midfielder to have a body to prevent the opposition building up from deep. Could also do a job man-marking. Main issue would be leaving a fullback isolated (experiment)
Thanks for reading, and sorry for the delay in posting. The first three weeks at Uni have been hectic, and with freshers’ flu I’ve had little time and energy to put into the blog. I’ve got a few longer term ideas in the timeline, which should take 2-3 in game months to do properly, so until they’re done, I’ll try and put out a few more shorter blogs like this.
Thanks for the support as always
The Scottish Football Manager 