Manchester City v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
A game that showcased just how big the gulf is between the two sides this season. Liverpool had set up in a very specific way to deal with Citeh, which seemed to have been especially altered due to them not having Haaland available. It has been extremely impressive the way Slot has tactically outfoxed almost every manager he has faced this season, not just in the Premier League, but in the Champions League too. Even more impressive is the way he has done it, utilising tactics that run the full gamut of ways to play. He has gone from the high octane, high intensity, all-out press, all the way to these tactics of sitting deep and picking off on the counter.
It is not just straightforward though, he has an eye for detail which is the real key to the success. He did not just send them out to play deep and counter, there was more to it. There were nuances that may get missed by most, while some of the tactical ploys were obvious. The most obvious was the choice of playing Jones as a false 9, which almost meant, in effect, that there were two false 9s, as the formation tends towards a 4-2-4 shape out of possession. The addition of Jones dropping deep crowded the midfield and gave City no time and space to play, other than in front of Liverpool.
Also, something that I do think seems to be missed by most, both full-backs very deliberately allowed their wingers to go on the outside of them, knowing that there was nobody in the box for them to put the ball into. The set up constantly saw cover coming over, but making no attempt to do anything but block off the widemen from cutting inside. It was clear that Slot had asked them to do that as they did it constantly, just dropping off and letting the winger run wide and covering any attempt to cut in and shoot. The only time a challenge was made, was when the wingers attempted to cut inside. And it worked perfectly as neither of them had the ability to run at pace and pick out a pass. Doku had no end product with his crosses as he runs head down and just hits and hopes. Savinho was struggling even more, as he was getting his head up but seeing no option to pick out and ended up running it over the touchline repeatedly.
This was not about luck, this was a gameplan, a carefully thought out and very effective gameplan. Citeh were allowed to play it around in front but denied any chance to cut through, to the point that they ended up mainly reduced to just long range hit and hope shots. It did allow them to dominate possession and have more attempts, but the possession was meaningless and the attempts were not good chances.
It was not about stopping City playing their game, it was about funnelling their play into areas they did not want to be and then hit at their weakness – the defence. They do not like to be dealing with runners, they are used to tactical fouls breaking up play and giving them time to set up. Without that, they are vulnerable as they do not like facing their own goal at all. Added to that, the winger who had been attacking had been baited to get right up to the byline and so was out of the game for long enough for Liverpool’s attack to take place. Slot did something even Klopp had not managed to do, he had made Pep play exactly the way he wanted him to.
Manchester City
For all Guardiola’s vaunted brilliance as a coach, he has been completely outcoached on a number of occasions this season. Has his time, and that tedious pass-pass-pass style of football, come to an end? Have other managers finally figured out how to beat his style of play or can he revive Citeh with another few hundred million? It is a team in desperate need of a rebuild, partly because Guardiola clearly took his eye off the ball on the recruitment side of things.
De Bruyne has been a shadow of himself this season, but he was last season and it was clear they needed to replace him last summer. Pep also allowed his only cover for Haaland to leave in the summer, without replacement, even though Haaland has often struggled with niggly injuries. Gundogan left a few seasons ago and Guardiola’s attempts to replace him have flopped so bad that he ended up re-signing an over-the-hill Gundogan, which has done nothing to fill the gap in midfield. Walker’s legs were going last season, and without his incredible pace he is a terrible player, but he was not replaced. And so on and so on.
All of that means that it was always asking for trouble to go into this season with that squad. Normally they have got away with it due to the fear factor that they had built up over the years. Teams were afraid to attack them in case City picked them off on the break, but that has gone now. Not only do opponents feel they can handle the Citeh attack, but they fancy their chances of picking apart the defence. Quite often they are right and the results have been accordingly poor.
This game was just another in a series of poor performances from City, though Liverpool did play well, they never had to really play at their best to beat the reigning champions. For all their possession, City put very little pressure on Liverpool at the back at all. They seem to have completely lost the ability they used to have of controlling the play and imposing themselves on the opposition. Instead of playing the way they want to, they just did what Liverpool wanted them to do.
Liverpool
Alisson – he had remarkably little to do, even when facing a corner he was able to catch it under no pressure. In fact, he got a telling off from van Dijk on the first corner Liverpool faced, after he punched it clear because there was no one near him. City made no attempt to even make it difficult for him and he was able to just catch the next one very easily. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of his match.
Alexander-Arnold – I am not sure why he is facing so much criticism of his defending, he clearly followed instructions. Sit off, but not too far off, drop and wait for cover. He stayed on his feet, so that when Doku did get past on the outside, there was always pressure on the winger to keep his pace up, knowing that otherwise he would allow Alexander-Arnold to come back at him. It is clear it worked as Doku always ended up going to the outside and hitting the byline. Even the complaint about Salah being able to come back and tackle Doku missed the fact that Alexander-Arnold had put a toe in and knocked the ball, so Doku was trying to regain full control, allowing Salah to nip in and win it. It was a team effort. In fact, the defending as a whole was based on a team effort and that was why it was so effective. Neither of the full-backs were being asked to take on the wingers one-on-one. The set up just pushed the wingers into areas they did not want to go, as they want to cut in and shoot. Going forward, he is always a threat with his range of passing and it allows Liverpool to spring forward quickly.
Konate – a very good performance, he was very solid defensively after settling down into the game. Not perfect by any means, but very good. He was always there covering to ensure Doku could not break into a position to shoot.
van Dijk – an excellent performance from the captain, both as a player and leader.
Robertson – like Alexander-Arnold, he was clearly under instruction to just drop off and ensure Savinho was forced to head for the byline and put in crosses. As he tired just before being taken off, he did make the mistake of lunging in and that was probably City’s most dangerous moment. When Liverpool had possession he was poor, his delivery was off and he had a couple of poor moments with the ball. There was a moment when he was caught napping by Marmoush, but luckily the Egyptian had gone offside and it did not matter.
Gravenberch – overall a very good performance, was caught out a couple of times but mostly he was always there to help defend and cover. Offensively, he not so involved as Liverpool rarely played through the midfield, but when they did he was good.
Szoboszlai – a fantastic game from Szoboszlai. Even without his goal and assist, he would still have been excellent as he was everywhere once again. He is so unlucky that Salah was so sensationally good, as in any other game he is walking away with the man of the match award. It is little wonder he was flat out on the pitch at the end, he had given everything.
Mac Allister – another who played really well, working really hard and did his job for the team really well. Also, since he has been taking corners, there has been a marked improvement, though I am not including the routine for the first goal, I mean his general delivery has mostly been very good.
Salah – absolutely outstanding performance. It was not just that he, yet again, got a goal and an assist, he was also very good tracking back and helping out in the defensive end. He had an all-round excellent game and fully deserved the man of the match award. He is having the best season of his career.
Jones – worked really hard and was unlucky that his goal was chalked off for offside but there were a few times when his lack of pace meant that he failed to collect a ball played over the top for him. His passing was also poor, though it will go down as high accuracy, due to the intended recipient still being able to collect them. However, they were usually played in behind a player making a good run, who then had to check back to collect a ball they needed played in front of them.
Diaz – tracked back really well, worked exceptionally hard and did some nice things, but he just lacks that end product.
Endo – replaced Jones in the 73rd minute. Good to see him getting on a bit earlier and he did not let Slot down at all. He was a firefighter rushing around everywhere to snuff out every attack before it could get going. He was exactly what was needed to see out the game.
Tsimikas – came on for Robertson in the 73rd minute. A much-needed substitution, Robertson was clearly tiring and needed to come off. Tsimikas struggled to get into the game though.
Gakpo – was brought on in the stead of Diaz in the 78th minute. Looks much more of a threat than Diaz, he is much more direct and it forced City into thinking about defending again.
Quansah – took Alexander-Arnold’s place in the 90th minute. Did not have time to affect the game.
Elliott – replaced Salah in the 90th minute. Like Quansah, he was not on the pitch long enough to do much.
Written by Tris Burke February 26 2025 04:21:59
