Liverpool butare attempting to establish a new identity at Anfield but despite the changes taking place, the Red Devils still benefit from Jürgen Klopp’s iconic weapon.
Liverpool has been working towards a new identity over the past six months, with Jürgen Klopp allowing his assistant to shape a relatively fresh direction on Merseyside. Back in April, the Reds were struggling in the Premier League, ranked eighth in the table, which forced Pep Lijnders to come up with a solution.
The Dutchman suggested that Trent Alexander-Arnold should become a makeshift midfielder in the middle of the park, with the right-back encouraged to drift towards the center whenever possession was under control. Klopp listened and proved to be willing to test the experiment on the pitch, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Liverpool has now played 23 matches in all competitions using the new approach, losing just once, and it is worth noting that the loss happened late against Tottenham Hotspur after both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jones had been sent off. The Anfield outfit have appeared reborn, with Klopp stating as much on a number of occasions this year.
The German coach has coined the terms ‘Liverpool reloaded’ and ‘Liverpool 2.0’ this season, with performances and results suggesting that his players have turned over a new leaf in comparison to last season. The Reds are currently placed fourth in the Premier League table, just three points from the top and one point behind reigning champions Manchester City.
Klopp’s men are averaging 2.3 points per match through the first 10 games, compared to 1.76 points per match last term. The improvement has been notable, with Liverpool now benefiting from real control in the middle of the field thanks to the technicians who joined the club over the summer.
Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have all made an early impact, with all of them proving to be offensive, creative and technical in the tightest of spaces. With Alexander-Arnold now allowed to join them in the center of the field, Liverpool has established real dominance.
The previous side constructed by Klopp was intense,
noaggressive, direct and fast, but the new version looks destined to be more cute and subtle, with the Reds more focused on slowing down the tempo than ever before. However, despite the ongoing change on Merseyside, Liverpool is still reliant on weapons of the past. Klopp is in the process of evolving but despite his development as a coach, his hallmarks seem destined to follow him.
The home side ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in the end, but all three of their goals came in transition. Liverpool punished Nottingham Forest with a triple threat of similar goals and ruthless efficiency, and after the game, Cooper admitted that his side had failed to execute their game plan.
“If you look at the goals, turnovers in the middle of the pitch,” he said in his post-match press conference. “We turned the ball over, opened up the pitch and they did what we planned for them not to do. The third goal? Again, it’s an open pitch. The three goals are from situations Liverpool have exploited, which they are brilliant at.”
Overall, although Klopp is working to refine his new-look team, his tried-and-tested methods of the past are still prevailing. Liverpool is trying to become more of an intricate and careful side, but the shapeshifting ability of the players paid dividends over the weekend. Whenever the Reds need to go direct, they can still do so with ease
