The Regista - Chelsea vs Liverpool tactical review: Klopp needs def-mid; Enzo brilliance; right-side romp
Tribalfootball.com's tactics expert Connor Holden breaks down Sunday's exciting clash between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge:
As the points were shared, following a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, there were some key tactical figures that stood out from the game:
Liverpool's lack of a defensive midfielder, Cody Gakpo having to play deeper (isolated at times), Levi Colwill isolated against Mohamed Salah in 1v1 scenarios due to Chilwell's advanced position, and the brilliance of a right hand side triangle formed by Reece James, Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling.
LIVERPOOL'S MIDFIELD MISERY
Liverpool have revitalised their midfield this summer, with the two major signings of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. However the lack of a holding midfielder suppressed the capabilities of Mac Allister, and meant Gakpo had to be used as one of the deeper 8s.
As you can see in figure 1, Alexis Mac Allister started in midfield alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Gakpo.
Mac Allister therefore (being the more defensively able) had to play as more of a holding midfielder, alongside Trent Alexander Arnold, when he inverted into the double pivot. This allowed Szoboszlai and Gakpo to be further advanced, as the two number 8s.
As you can see by the average positions graph, Gakpo (number 18) was pinned back quite deep by Chelsea, not allowing him to use his attacking attributes that Liverpool wanted from him centrally. Mac Allister (number 10) is also the deepest of the midfield three (as mentioned), which suppressed his ability to contribute in attacking areas.
The acquisition of an out and out defensive midfielder is a priority for Liverpool in this midfield rebuild, as was shown again Sunday against Chelsea. Simply
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