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Everton vs Liverpool - Premier League 20/21 (17.10.20)

Tactical Observer

Line-Ups

  • Everton (EVE): in-possession 433 & out-of-possession 433 / 442

  • Liverpool (LIV): in-possession 433 & out-of-possession 433

More details on each team's shape, in and out of possession, and general observations below.


Everton Observations


In-Possession:

  • When in-possession of the ball, EVE players would have some specific roles for the team in different phases of the pitch

  • Below is a visual example of the types of movements EVE players would make in their build-up play - with details on each of these movements underneath the image

  • At the back, Coleman (right back) would pull wider but hold a slightly deeper position compared to Digne (left back) on the opposite side

  • This slightly deeper position of Coleman looked to be for two reasons - 1) it helped Mina have a lateral passing option out wide (if Mane tried to cover Coleman whilst pressing, he therefore allowed more space inside for Mina to pass through the middle) and 2) it helped draw Mane higher up the pitch which created space in-behind for Doucoure to pull out wider into - which consequently caused Robertson an issue as whether to go and press Doucoure or stay with Rodriguez

  • (Building their play up the right-hand-side of the pitch looked to be a clear tactic of EVE - but more on that later)

  • As mentioned, Digne would push up slightly higher on the left-hand-side and hold his width

  • In midfield, Allan, EVE's central midfield pivot, would drop deeper to give his centre backs a passing angle / option through the centre of the pitch

  • In addition to actually trying to receive the ball, Allan looked to make these movements to take up positions that would occupy / pin Firmino and therefore stop him pressing EVE's centre backs

  • Doucoure, their right-sided central midfielder, would take up different positions - 1) hold his right central position and 2) push out wider to the right touchline to offer Coleman a passing option up-the-line

  • EVE used Doucoure's mobility to draw out LIV's high press and also create space for others, namely Rodriguez (but again, more on that shortly)

  • Gomes, their left-sided central midfielder, would at times drop deeper to offer a passing option from his centre backs but he tended to position himself in a more advanced position in-behind / on the outside of Henderson

  • In attack, Rodriguez, who whilst initially would be positioned on EVE's right flank, would regularly look to roam inside into the right half space in-behind LIV's three central midfielders

  • Rodriguez and Doucoure would interchange positions regularly on the right-hand-side (both inside and wide right)

  • However, as opposed to this being an equal interchange, it often appeared that Rodriguez would roam into spaces where he wanted and then Doucoure would react as a result of this to then decide where he needed to be / run / attack to ensure the team had a balanced attack

  • Calvert-Lewin would lead EVE's line and try to occupy LIV's centre backs

  • Richarlison, who similar to Rodriguez, would initially be positioned on EVE's left flank, would push inside into the left half space and try to attack the space between LIV's right back and right centre back

  • Richarlison coming infield looked an attempt to a) pin Alexander-Arnold (LIV's right back) into a narrower defensive position and b) get closer to Calvert-Lewin to pounce on any second ball or flick-on opportunities that came from a result of Calvert-Lewin's aerial duels

  • All of the movements described above, all helped contribute to one of EVE's main build-up / attacking tactics, in particular in the 1st half - building up play via their right-hand-side and then switching play to the left for Digne (with the support of Gomes) to attack the vacated space

  • The below visual example shows EVE's shape when each player had made their respective movement - and whilst not every example of EVE attempting this tactic was as simple or clean as below, it helps demonstrate the idea

  • As EVE know that LIV try to be compact as a team out-of-possession, they wanted to create situations to try and create space for Digne to attack high on their left flank so he was able to put crosses into the box for Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison

  • EVE would attempt to work scenarios that got Rodriguez in space and then they would use his passing ability to make switches-of-play out to Digne - or Gomes who would also position himself slightly wider towards the left-hand-side

  • This tactic was regularly used by EVE and looked to be an attempt to exploit the space behind Salah - who whilst would track back at times often stayed in a higher position

  • This meant that Henderson had to regularly push out wide and support Alexander-Arnold to avoid the 2v1 overload situation

  • Another issue Alexander-Arnold (and Henderson) was Richarlison's positioning

  • As mentioned, he would come inside of Alexander-Arnold and Matip to a) pin Alexander-Arnold from being able to quickly push out to Digne and b) also make runs in-behind from this area - therefore, a lot of ways EVE could potentially attack

  • Another notable attacking tactic used by EVE was - when Rodriguez made his inside movement into the right half-space, in addition to making switches-of-play to the left flank, he could also curl in-swinging crosses over the top of the LIV defensive line for Richarlison & Calvert-Lewin to attack

  • Doucoure would help create space for Rodriguez in the final third by either running out towards the right flank, and therefore occupying Robertson, or by making a run beyond the LIV defensive line which would cause them to drop as worried about through balls or over-the-top balls into Doucoure

  • When attacking the final third, EVE would try to get Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Doucoure inside the box and then have Gomes and Rodriguez positioned around the edge - Digne would cross from the left very high, whereas Coleman would tend to cross from deeper right-hand-side positions

Out-of-Possession:

  • Out-of-possession EVE switched between a 433 in a high block and a 442 in a mid / low block

  • In a high block - whilst EVE would not necessarily press LIV - EVE would tend to get into a 433 shape with Richarlison higher on their left-hand-side when LIV had possession in their own third

  • In a mid / low block EVE would drop into a 442 shape with Richarlison dropping to a left midfielder - the height of Richarlison's positioning seemed to be dependent on where Alexander-Arnold was for LIV

  • Rodriguez would stay higher in this 442 shape with Doucoure covering behind him on EVE's right-hand-side to pick up Robertson pushing forward

  • Doucoure was required to cover quite a large space, as not only would he need to push out to engage Robertson when he advanced, he was also required to keep a limited distance between himself and Allan to avoid LIV playing passes through-the-lines into Mane

  • Due to Doucoure being required to be narrow at times - and because EVE could not rely on Rodriguez dropping back to track Robertson - LIV often found Robertson in space on their left-hand-side mainly as a result of Alexander-Arnold's ability to accurately switch play to the opposite flank


Liverpool Observations


In-Possession:

  • In-possession, LIV would have different shapes depending on what area of the pitch they had the ball

  • In their own third, during their build up play, Alexander-Arnold would hold a slightly deeper position on the right to try give himself a bit more space against EVE out-of-possession shape - from this position, Alexander-Arnold would try to use his passing ability to try and progress the ball up the pitch

  • On the opposite side, Robertson would push up higher - the reasoning for this was a) it allowed Mane to push inside, b) it created space for Thiago to drop into to try and get on the ball, c) if offered LIV a diagonal switch of play and d) at times it would draw out Doucoure's defensive position which led to gaps in central areas for LIV to play through and into players between-the-lines

  • As mentioned, Thiago, at times, could drop back into the space that Robertson vacated in the deep left back area to get on the ball for LIV and try to use his passing ability to progress the ball through the thirds - as Thiago played on the same side as Rodriguez was defending for EVE, he didn't need to work too hard to find space

  • Henderson could also interchange with Alexander-Arnold on the right-hand-side but this appeared to be more of an attempt to get Alexander-Arnold on the ball in more advanced central areas as opposed to helping Henderson find space to get on the ball

  • Henderson did have a key role on the right-hand-side in helping both Alexander-Arnold and Salah try and find space and cause some confusion in who EVE players needed to pick up

  • In addition to dropping into the deeper right back area to allow Alexander-Arnold to come inside, Henderson could also pull out wider right + offer an overlap to try and occupy the EVE left back which helped create space / openings for Salah to come / attack inside

  • Up-front, Salah tended to be LIV's highest and widest player on the right flank - he would look to position himself on the outside of Digne in LIV's build up play which gave him the option of attacking on both the outside and inside once he received the ball

  • Firmino would drop deeper, often on the blindside of Allan, to a) help create overload opportunities for LIV in central areas - 4v3 (Firmino, Henderson, Fabinho & Thiago vs Doucoure, Allan & Gomes) - and b) get between-the-lines to try and draw out a EVE centre back which creates space for Mane or Salah to make an out-to-in run in-behind

  • LIV had numerous players who were capable of playing longer passes for any of these types of runs in-behind, mainly from Alexander-Arnold

  • These longer balls offered LIV a good variation to their attacking play - it kept EVE guessing out-of-possession as it created potential risks to both sitting deeper (it allowed LIV to build through the thirds) and pushing up to try and compact the space (this allowed space for LIV to attack in-behind them)

  • Mane most regularly played in an inside-left position which gave LIV multiple attacking opportunities - 1) offered a passing option in-between-lines in the left half space, 2) by starting narrower, when Firmino did drop deep and drew out an EVE centre back, he had a shorter distance to run when running in-behind which increased the opportunities to make that type of pass and increase the likelihood of Mane getting on the end of the pass, and c) it created space out wide for Robertson to attack into

Out-of-Possession:

  • Out-of-possession LIV would predominantly be in a 433 defensive shape across all areas of the pitch

  • The only exceptions to this were during certain periods of the game where they were under sustained pressure and in a low block they could become more 451 with Salah and Mane dropping on their respective sides to the outside of the midfield three

  • However, on the whole, Salah in particular looked like he was instructed to maintain a slightly higher position, most likely so he was in good areas for counter attacks - as Digne pushed up high on the left this left space on LIV's right to exploit

  • In a high block LIV would aim to be very compact from front-to-back with their last line of defence pushing high towards the halfway line

  • In this high block LIV's midfield three tended to play across two horizontal lines with Henderson and Thiago pushed up higher and Fabinho slightly deeper in a cover position

  • Firmino would have a key role in LIV's high block as he had the responsibility of both pressing the centre backs at times and also providing a cover shadow on Allan - in essence, trying to prevent passing angles into Allan from the defence or goalkeeper

  • LIV's press would be coordinated and at times they would aim to force EVE either towards the touchline - where they would use the touchline as an additional defender - or into a central congested area - where Henderson or Thiago could attempt to win the ball and then spring an attack

  • In a mid block, LIV would maintain their 433 shape with their front 6 players narrow to block the centre of the pitch

Result

  • Half-Time = 1-1

  • Full-Time = 2-2


Thank you for reading.

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