Tactical Analysis| February 21, 2023

Liverpool and Real Madrid are two of the most storied and historic teams in European football. Any meeting of these two teams always has the potential to be a high action, tactical battle and this latest installment in the Champions League did not disappoint.

Lineups

Liverpool

Liverpool lined up in their familiar 4-3-3, with Nunez and Salah as the inside forwards and Cody Gakpo in the central role. Teenager Stefan Bajcetic started in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson, with Fabinho in a deeper role. Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk made up the central defensive pair, with Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson completing the defensive four in front of goalkeeper Alisson.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid also lined up in a 4-3-3. Karim Benzema led the attack, with Brazilian duo Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo on either flank. Luka Modric and Frederico Valverde sat in front of Camavinga in midfield. The back four consisted of Alaba, Rudiger, Militao, and Carvajal, with Courtois in goal.

First Half

The High Press

Liverpool looked the sharper of the two teams on kickoff, immediately pressing the ball all the way to the Real Madrid box. Whenever Liverpool had possession, which was the majority of the first 20 minutes, their fullbacks would alternate between offering an extra passing option in the midfield and spreading wide. Madrid had a difficult time gaining their composure under all this early pressure, quickly conceding to a Darwin Nunez goal in the fourth minute from a clever between the legs flick. Liverpool’s press meant Madrid were unable to use their all-star midfield to move the ball up the field. This led to numerous attempts at easily handled long balls or passes to isolated wide players.

Salah’s goal in the fourteenth minute resulted once again from the high press. Salah had chased down an errant back pass to Courtois all the way on Mardid’s six yard box. Courtois struggled to bring the ball under control, with it ultimately taking a bad bounce off his knee straight to Salah.

Cracks Begin to Show

Liverpool slowly began to play themselves into pressure in the middle of the first half. In the sixteenth minute, Van DIjk played a loose header back to Alisson with a pressing Benzema close by. Shortly after, Alisson played another loose pass to a goal-facing Van Dijk, who subsequently lost the ball to a Madrid press. A ball to a wide player would have been a a safer, likely possession saving option.

There wasn’t much Liverpool could do about Vinicius Jr.’s goal midway through the second half. He received the ball in tight space in the Liverpool box and froze the defenders with a quick turn before slotting home.

Overconfidence?

A great example of Liverpool’s risk vs. reward style of play could be seen during a Liverpool throw near Real Madrid’s box. Alexander-Arnold had stepped high up the pitch to take the throw. Salah, Henderson, and Gakpo were all within ten yards of the throw. Nunez was positioned towards the center of the box and Robertson was moving towards the top of the box. Fabinho was also stepping into space towards the throw and Gomez had tracked Benzema into space towards the right-hand side of the field. This left only Van Dijk in defensive positioning.

After the throw in, Fabinho found himself on the ball and was quickly closed down by the Real Madrid defense. In the moments prior, it was fairly obvious that possession may be lost but surprisingly, none of the Liverpool players began to drop. Gomez actually stepped forward, even as Benzema began an attacking run. Fortunately, Van Dijk had the presence of mind to slow down the Madrid attack while his teammates eventually dropped. This kind of scenario would occur multiple times as the game went on. Having a defender of Van Dijk’s world class ability allows Liverpool to play with this attacking mindset but it now seems a bit naïve to think they could play this way against a side with Real Madrid’s speed and skill in atatck.

This mentality was seen again at the end of the first half. When Liverpool won a free kick in the center of the field outside the Madrid box, the centerbacks still push forward, despite the fact that there was no angle for a cross from the free kick. The kick was always going to result in a shot on goal, meaning the defense would have been better staying back to prevent the resulting counterattack. A third Madrid goal almost happened as a consequence, but for a last ditch Robertson tackle.

Tired Legs and Unforced Errors

As the half went on, a drop in Liverpool’s intensity began to show. Though the players were working hard, with Darwin Nunez even showing up for a defensive header on the six yard box in the 29th minute, Liverpool’s high pressing energy was begin to wane. This was also apparent in the mental aspects of play. Liverpool were beginning to force plays and passes when much simpler options were available.

In the 31st minute, Henderson won the ball back but immediately tried to force a pass to Bajcetic, who was surrounded by three Madrid players. Camavinga read the pass well, intercepted and a shot for Madrid resulted.

Five minutes later, Bajcetic was again involved. Having received the ball with his back to goal, he tried to turn in the middle of a pack of Madrid players instead of playing a simple pass. This resulted in a loss of possession that led to Madrid’s second goal. After winning possession, Valverde plays a long through ball. Gomez beats Vinicius Jr. to the ball and plays it back to Alisson, who subsequently clears it straight into Vinicius Jr. Questions should be asked about why he chose to go up the middle with his clearance instead of using safer wide options that were available.

Second Half

Quick Response

Madrid were the team to start quickest in the second half. They immediately went on the attack, winning a free kick wide of the Liverpool box. Again, mentality comes into question here, with the free kick being a result of a Gomez challenge that didn’t seem necessary. Liverpool lined up along their six yard box to defend the cross, but failed to track Militao as he ran from the back post to the front to head home for Madrid’s third goal.

Madrid’s fourth goal was a bit lucky, as a Benzema shot caught Gomez on the way through and wrong-footed Alisson.

Substitutions But No Tactical Changes

Madrid were already looking more confident ten minutes into the second half. Liverpool’s tanks were emptying fast. Nunez attempted to start a counterattack around the 60th minute but no Liverpool players were able to keep up. There was also no obvious attempt from Liverpool to change their tactics to account for the players no longer being able to keep up their relentless press.

In the 64th minute, Firmino and Jota came on for Gakpo and Nunez.

In the 67th minute, Liverpool’s positioning on a high throw in again hurt them. TAA forced a throw to Fabinho, whose tired touch gifted the ball to Modric. He glided past an exhausted Bajcetic, laid the ball off to Vinicius Jr. who did well to find Benzema for Madrid’s fifth goal. Liverpool had again left Van DIjk as the only defender back, with Madrid’s counter too quick for the rest of the team to drop in time.

Overall Impression

Liverpool came off looking very naïve in this matchup of two European giants. Against a younger or inexperienced team, Liverpool’s high press can be very successful. But against a team with Madrid’s quality, their plans fell apart as the team tired. Carlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest coaches in the world and he was able to make the needed adjustments at half time to overcome the Liverpool press. Jurgen Klopp did not make any adjustments at half-time, despite many warnings throuhgout the first half.