Liverpool came back from 2-0 down against Brighton on Saturday and were minutes minutes away from securing a much-needed Premier League win.
As it happened, Leandro Trossard’s late strike ensured the points were split, yet even if the Reds had held on, the mood was unlikely to have been celebratory. “We could have won but would we have deserved to win? I'm actually not sure. Brighton deserved something,” Jurgen Klopp said in his post-match press conference. And he was right.
Liverpool struggled for control throughout the game, as they have for much of the campaign, and looked extremely poor defensively. This has led to criticism of key individuals, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho. Although neither should be relieved of scrutiny of their performances fully, a lot of their issues have stemmed from growing flaws in Liverpool’s system.
The Brighton game was in many ways a watershed moment, the straw that broke the camel's back, the moment Klopp decided a change was finally needed. So, on Tuesday, he switched Liverpool to a 4-4-2. The move hinted at a more long-term change that could see his favoured 4-3-3 become a thing of the past.
After all, with the greatest respect to Rangers, there’s no way Klopp adopted his team’s approach purely as a one-off in order to try and nullify the threat of a side who’d lost heavily to nil in their previous two Champions League encounters, and one who had conceded more shots than any other team in the competition.
"The way we defended usually suits Trent but when we are not well tuned, we are exposed in these positions because we usually want him to press high," Klopp said after the match. "For that, we found a different solution so he could defend in a different space. We had a different defensive structure."
"We have a defensive problem, hopefully had," the Liverpool manager added. "Our timing was not right and if the timing is not right, you open gaps. The gaps are very often in the back of Trent. Not because of him, but because of other situations."
Rather than having to fire out to opponents, running the risk of arriving late and being bypassed with skill, Alexander-Arnold defended deeper in a bank of four and closer to his right-sided centre-back, Joel Matip. He made just five pressures on the night, none of which came within the attacking third.
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Another key difference between the 4-3-3 and the 4-4-2 is there are two dedicated players on the flank, which helped avoid potential overloads.
It’s not just Alexander-Arnold set to benefit from the change, though. A two-man pairing in midfield helps to share responsibility and alleviate some of the physical demands on the likes of Fabinho, who usually plays as a number six on his own. He was dropped on Tuesday night, yet expect to see a better version of the Brazilian with another central midfielder alongside him.
Another player who’ll benefit is Darwin Nunez. The big Uruguayan striker was partnered by Diogo Jota in attack against Rangers and although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he was a constant threat and managed six shots, four of which hit the target. On another night, without Allan McGregor in inspired form, he would get at least one goal to show for his efforts.
Klopp was a fan of how those two worked in tandem and it's sure to be something we see again. He said of the duo: "The way they moved up front together was extremely good after only one session." He also praised Nunez’s ability to get in so many goalscoring positions, adding: "You saw how good a striker is to be constantly in those situations. Everybody saw tonight that [scoring goals] will happen. So all good."
Helping Nunez do that will be Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz, who have the potential to be lethal facilitators from the flanks going forward.
Overall, this new approach from Klopp can be considered a success, and it’s looking likely that it could be here to stay. Its legitimacy is sure to be tested more vigorously in the next two weeks, when Liverpool face Premier League leaders Arsenal and reigning champions Manchester City.
