How Jurgen Klopp’s summer ‘reboot’ helped Liverpool rediscover their pressing powers
If ‘press for success’ has been Liverpool’s mantra under Jurgen Klopp, that was far from the case last season when the intensity of the Merseysiders’ pressing fell considerably.
This is one of the more intriguing points raised by UEFA’s technical report into the 2020/21 ChampionsLeague campaign, which was published on Monday and highlights the 38% drop-off in Liverpool’s pressing.
UEFA’s analysis focuses on the passes permitted per defensive action (PPDA) metric for opposition and in the case of a Liverpool side eliminated by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, they allowed rivals an average of 12.16 passes compared with 8.84 in 2019/20.
This season, by contrast, Klopp’s men have picked up the intensity once again, posting a PPDA score of 8.38 when beating AC Milan 3-2 in their opening group game. This means, in short, that Milan’s players had at least three passes fewer than Liverpool allowed their opponents last season.
Liverpool have regained their intensity in the Premier League too where their PPDA average of 9.94 is the division’s lowest – with Manchester City, Brighton and Leeds the next-best teams. This begs the question of what went wrong and what Liverpool, visitors to Porto on Tuesday, are doing better this time round.
UEFA’s report notes that the absence of the injured Virgil van Dijk, and Joe Gomez too, “may have created a degree of hesitancy among players, full-backs included, who would previously have pushed forward, safe in the knowledge that any space left behind could be covered by quick central defenders strong in those one-v-one situations.”
Belgium coach Roberto Martínez, one of UEFA’s match observers, is quoted as asking whether the introduction of Thiago Alcántara had an effect given his different profile in midfield. Rather than press, press, press, Martínez mooted, “now you’ve gone to press, press, pause.”
According to Jan Molby, the former Liverpool midfielder now working as a Champions League analyst for TV3 in Denmark, Klopp has purposely taken Liverpool back to basics this term. He describes their four-week summer training camp in Austria as a “reboot” telling i: “It was a reboot of going through what made Liverpool almost unplayable for two seasons. It was the ability to press and win the ball back, and I believe Klopp spent a lot of time on that as there are a lot of things that go into being able to press.
“Without that Liverpool don’t compete with the best, as we saw last year,” Molby adds. “They’re at their best when they play with that intensity. There are other teams that have the quality where they can play in various ways, but Liverpool have a very straightforward way of playing – first and foremost, it’s about disrupting the opposition and Klopp believes there’s a work ethic, a tempo, an intensity that even the best can’t handle.”
There are other factors behind Liverpool’s recovery of their pressing powers. Klopp and assistant manager Pep Lijnders have both stressed the need for rotation to keep players fresh, and so far this term the German has made at least two changes for each game.
Klopp wrote in his programme notes for the Crystal Palace game two weekends ago that there was a “balance between stability of selection, which can give a team rhythm, and the freshness” and he made six changes that day as Liverpool achieved their best PPDA score in this fledgling campaign (7.28).
The message to his fringe players, meanwhile, is that excelling in training will earn opportunities – a point proven by Divock Origi’s return from the cold.
As well as fresh legs, there is the psychological factor of having fans back, according to Molby. “That side of the game is very difficult to carry on doing if it’s not appreciated. If you’ve got a full stadium all of a sudden who know what Liverpool’s strengths are and they‘re applauding Liverpool winning the ball back and winning tackles, that really generates the energy [needed].”
Analysis: Liverpool must be wary of allowing defensive slopiness to creep in
Liverpool were vulnerable at the back against Brentford (Photo: AP)
By Daniel Storey, i chief football writer
Jurgen Klopp will understandably talk up the positives after two dropped points. His team are remarkably consistent in attack, scoring exactly three goals in each of their last five matches. Keep that up, and they will overshadow any defensive deficiencies.
But a wave of sloppiness has washed over Liverpool; Klopp will be keen to eliminate it. They conceded three times to Brentford, twice to Milan and allowed Crystal Palace to have 13 shots at Anfield despite eventually winning the game in some comfort.
The prescient question is whether Klopp is guilty of over-rotation that is causing Liverpool teething problems, particularly during first halves as they acclimatise to different players in different combinations. From Leeds to Milan, Klopp picked a different central defensive partnership and made two changes to the midfield three. From Milan to Palace, Klopp made three changes in the back four and one in midfield. From Palace to Brentford, another three changes in defence and one in midfield.
This isn’t necessarily a poor strategy – and Klopp knows he needs to keep players fresh given their competitive Champions League group – but you do wonder whether playing with three different four-man defences in four matches might just have caused a drop in communication and understanding. Look back to 2019-20 for details: when Liverpool won the league, they won 10 straight league games with a back four of Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk and Robertson to establish a position of dominance.
Read Daniel Storey’s verdict on all 20 Premier League teams’ performances over the weekend in The Score
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