To win 4-1 away from home against City is, however, nothing short of sensational. The score-line on its own is mesmerising, couple it with Liverpool’s performance and I can’t help to be feeling a little ecstatic.
Our display against City is, in my view, a microcosm for how we have been performing in recent weeks. Yes, the result was an amazing feat, but it is not a flash in the pan, nor, did it come out of the blue. Since Klopp’s arrival there have been various changes, the most significant being our mentality. Its not that Liverpool’s players were not good enough before the German took charge to win comfortably at City, its that, beforehand, they would not have had the mental strength to execute their underlying skills and implement the desired game-plan.
This issue of mentality has plagued Liverpool for many years, and, at times, despite our dominance, this was still a little symptomatic against the sky blues. Klopp touched on this himself in his post-match interview when he discussed the players’ attitudes in the aftermath of our 3rd goal: for a short-period of time the players looked rather surprised that they were winning so handsomely. Simon Mignolet also highlighted this point, when he revealed that the manager’s half-time pep talk was crucial to our eventual victory. A half-time pep talk would not normally be an essential ingredient when a team is 3-1 up. This illustrates the challenge Klopp inherited, and, highlights how well he has dealt with it.
I must confess, I was one of the few Liverpool fans who still backed Brendan Rodgers at the end of his Anfield tenure. I felt he brought the team some distance despite recent set-backs. Jürgen Klopp discussed this himself when he spoke of the good job Brendan had done in developing several players in the current squad. However, despite my continued support for Rodgers, I was – and remain – delighted with the appointment of Klopp. I also feel that recent results would not have been so without the German at the helm. For example, look at our two most recent away matches: Chelsea and City. At the beginning of the season, fans would have looked at those fixtures and determined them games in which we would most likely pick up no points. Even in the 2013/14 season, when we came so close to clinching the league title, we lost at both Stamford Bridge and the City of Manchester Stadium. In fact, Liverpool had not won at both Chelsea and Manchester City in the same season since the 2008/09 campaign. In a matter of weeks, Klopp has masterminded victories in both of these fixtures.
It is not just Liverpool’s mentality that has changed since Klopp’s arrival, the German has tactically re-orientated the side. In his first few games in charge, Klopp stuck with the formation which had been deployed by Rodgers: 4-4-2, with the midfield shaping in a diamond. Perhaps, this was chosen in order to maintain a degree of continuity, with the aim of tweaking the shape of the team over time. In the away wins at Chelsea and City, however, Klopp has went with a 4-3-3, deciding against starting any orthodox striker. In both occasions Klopp has went with a midfield trio of Milner, Lucas and Can, and an attacking triumvirate of Coutinho, Firmino and Lallana. Both divisions of three have been crucial in our recent victories. The midfield three have been gutsy and dynamic, with Lucas operating as the primary ball-winner – the Brazilian has won more tackles than any other Premier League player this season. Can and Milner have also been effective, particularly in their distribution and in linking the front three with the rest of the team. The Coutinho-Firmino-Lallana dynamic is a unique system of deploying three players who have rather similar game-styles, and it has proved to be an extremely effective uniqueness. It is rather hard to describe how the three players function together, but movement is absolutely key to their collective success on the pitch. Whenever one of these players has had the ball, the other two have been making clever use of dangerous space. It is the dynamism and flexibility of the trio that has hurt teams in recent weeks.
Liverpool’s pressing game must also be commented on. Jürgen Klopp was famous for instilling a system of gegenpressing at Borussia Dortmund, a technique of ball-pressing which was crucial to Dortmund’s success. Gegenpressing enables chances to be created when Liverpool are not actively in possession, by closing down space in which the opposition can play and capitalising on the consequent space opened up to our players. Essentially, the strategy enables Liverpool to play counter-attacking football without positioning themselves deep on the pitch, its defending from the front which allows us to attack as soon as possession is won. Take City’s own-goal on Saturday as an example, Coutinho won the ball from Sagna deep in City’s half and as soon as he had possession we were quickly on the front foot, and it was this which forced City to concede from an own-goal. Coutinho’s goal as well, was further vindication of our high-pressing approach: a header won high up the pitch from Lucas and a knock-on from Milner enabled Firmino to capitalise. Simple patterns of play leading to chances created, and, ultimately goals.
One can only hope that Klopp continues to improve the squad, something he has touched on in the aftermath of the victory at City. If he continues to use positive psychology, evident in his very first press-conference when he stated he came to the club because of the players, and also from his failure to be despondent in the face of many injuries, Liverpool can only grow in confidence and become a dominant team. Couple the improved mentality with our high-intensity approach, and we could be gegenpressing to glory.
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