What other moves exploited the weaknesses in Liverpool’s system?
A couple of them were related to the set up of the back three that was mentioned earlier.
Olivier Giroud has become one of the best forwards in the league and one of his biggest assets is his movement. In this game, he often looked to work the space laterally of Skrtel. Because Arsenal weren’t directly attacking through the very centre and because of Skrtel’s sweeper role, the centre back was generally the deepest outfield player for Liverpool. Because he wasn’t defending along a straight line for a lot of the time, it meant there was space either side of him, especially when Toure or Sakho came out to pressure. Giroud tried to disrupt the shape within the defence by moving laterally into the space.
This movement helped create the early opportunity for Rosicky in the area:
Rosicky has received the ball from Cazorla who is being marked by Sakho. Giroud makes a horizontal run, taking the covering Skrtel with him and disrupting the shape and organisation of Liverpool’s defence.
The other movement or positioning that caused Liverpool’s system problems was that of runs between Skrtel and the outside centre backs in order to stop them stepping up to mark between the lines.
Because of Arsenal’s personnel and own attacking system, creating space to use between the lines was highly important their game. If space was condensed very tightly in that area, Arsenal might well have found it very difficult to control and to create as much as they did. However because of their fluidity and movement, Liverpool found it difficult to control this area.
This space was key for Arsenal’s offensive play throughout the game and Liverpool’s lack of control of it was increasingly apparent. Again one of the keys about this vulnerability was that Arsenal had the players and system to expose it. Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla and Rosicky all appeared in this area and were willing to play off each others’ movement in order to expose it. Most other teams in the league, maybe with the exception of Man City and Chelsea, do not have the ability to play quickly and precisely and interact with each other as Arsenal did in this area. But Liverpool were unable to stop it and it probably ended up costing them.
It was of course not easy to deal with. Considering Arsenal’s players and attacking system, they effectively had 5 v 3 in midfield. Even with the outside centre backs stepping up to mark between the lines, this was difficult to deal with. Liverpool’s lack of ideal compactness hurt them and gave Arsenal enough space to show their superior quality.
Another problem this midfield superiority emphasised was Sturridge and Suarez’s positioning off the ball. One of the main reasons Rodgers has changed to this system is that it frees up Suarez and Sturridge to play together in their best positions, without having to overtly think about tracking back as they would if one of them played wide, as would have to happen in most other formations. When Liverpool are without possession, Suarez and particularly Sturridge generally remain high and wait for transition opportunities where they can be as far up the pitch as possible. The reasoning behind this is sound but the trade-off of it is a lack of vertical compactness.
What this did was further emphasise Arsenal’s dominance and space in midfield. When Liverpool’s block was pushed deep, Arsenal had a lot of space and time in front of Liverpool to retain and circulate possession. This made it easier to switch play, to take advantage of the weaknesses in Liverpool’s defensive system and to control the game.
Next Page:Â Liverpool’s Attack…
Top article Jonny – great start on AI!
Excellent analysis.
One of the best I’ve read on this match, keep it up.
Gr8 analysis.
There’s a huge flaw with the defensive organization. Notice Flannagan’s positioning in the image where you talk about Rosicky in space.
Ideally in a 5 man defense, when the ball is on one side of the pitch, the wing back is usually out of line and pressing ahead. the wingback on the opp side, should compensate by dropping deeper and making it a 4 man defense that’s pressing horizontally and closing down the gaps.
Both defense and the midfield lines should oscillate. LFC players have yet to develop that sort of an understanding. Cant say if it is BR’s fault or if the player’s have failed to implement it well.
However, much of the failure of our 3 man midfield against Arsenal’s 5 should be attributed to our 2 front men not dropping deep enough.
They should drop deeper when the ball’s in the middle of the park so as to pressure opposition’s midfield. However, push ahead when the ball is near our box, so that they can alienate opposition’s CBs.
3-5-2 is not a failure. Its a combination of a lack of understanding and wrong players in right positions that has culminated in a dross showing.