Juluz

At the very beginning of the match, the first thing that caught my attention was the team’s pressing structure: a 1.4.2.3.1, with an additional player creating a plus-one advantage in the defensive line. What is particularly important here is how we tried to compensate for the numerical disadvantage in midfield, which has generally been one of our biggest weaknesses up to this point. Previously, the opposition had been able to find the spare man in midfield through short combinations. Here, we can see that the trio behind Barcola maintains appropriate positional distances to prevent the ball from being played into N’Golo Kanté, while simultaneously retaining access to all the opposition players despite being outnumbered five against four. This is finally some kind of indication, or at least an attempt to implement an approach that could help us neutralise the opposition’s numerical advantages while still maintaining a plus-one at the back #LFC

Gasperini employs man-marking with decision-making autonomy for supporting players. Mainoo gets caught in an unfavourable position in a physical duel, which de Roon recognises. He abandons his own marker and steps in to win the ball using a cover shadow. Two subsequent passes lead to an assist and a secondary assist. Even in such a disciplined aspect of the game as pressing, there is room for freedom of interpretation