Liverpool overcame a strong, disciplined Crystal Palace side on the kind of Monday night that can define a top team. Liverpool delivered.
First half
Liverpool dominated the game in the first half by retaining possession in Palace’s half, all without much penetration other than the final minutes. Palace’s game plan was unsurprisingly focused on Liverpool’s deadly front three, with them employing a very narrow deep block, which meant Liverpool’s front three were surrounded in the middle of the offensive third by Palace’s back 4 from behind, and Palace’s midfield from in front, meaning without a close, quality touch, Liverpool’s trio could not progress through the block.
To escape this narrow block, Liverpool’s front three started to retrieve the ball much wider and deeper, which Palace were happy to let happen, as quite simply it means Liverpool’s dangermen were further away from the goal. The narrow block also meant Crystal Palace left space for Liverpool’s usual wide full backs to drive into, but Liverpool could find no joy in crosses, even when overloading the wide areas. Naby Keita was vital in helping to move Palace’s deep block out of position, with several marauding runs from inside pockets of space, which force players to make a challenge and move out of their rigid structure, which should in theory create gaps in the block.
Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk both had excellent games in the defence, and in the first half played a key role offensively in keeping Crystal Palace in their own half by staying tight to Benteke and nipping in front to win the ball. This is so important as it does not allow Palace to get out and for the defensive line to push up, and also because it mentally and physically exhausts the opposition, as the team without possession has to concentrate and move constantly, which in turn breeds mistakes such as Sakho’s which cost Crystal Palace a goal.
When attacking against a narrow block, players have to be technically excellent on the ball to retain possession and progress further towards the net. A quick break of the ball saw a small gap in Palace’s block appear, which Firmino penetrtated with a pass through to Salah, who demonstrated his technical quality with an excellent tight touch, and good balance and strength to protect the ball from the clumsy Sakho and win a penalty, which was easily dispatched by James Milner.
Second half
In the second half, Liverpool came out of the dressing room with the same game plan as the first, dominate the ball and get another goal. Palace came out much more aggressively and took advantage of Liverpool’s lack of compactness with a couple of half chances, which stemmed mainly from a lack of tracking back from Wijnaldum and Keita.
The word most coaches come to when how to defend properly is compact. This simply means the whole team leaving as little space as possible by being as close together as possible. In the photo, we can see four players surrounding Zaha tightly, and the distance between each bank of players is very small, limiting space and passing options. Klopp even signalled to his players to get more compact midway through the second half, which triggered a change in how we played. Liverpool became fairly compact later in the game when defending, and this of course led to less chances for Liverpool, other than the vital one on the counter attack which caused Wan Bissaka to be dismissed for denying Mo Salah a goalscoring opportunity.
Palace’s press was easily bypassed by Liverpool on multiple occasions, the most impressive being Alisson’s kick in the 65th minute, which took at least 3 players out of the game and allowed Liverpool to move up the pitch. Liverpool continued to defend impressively and compactly and conceded no real chances. Liverpool’s counter pressing was also excellent, especially in this example, which shows Liverpool pushing Palace back through pressure rather than falling back deeper and deeper. Liverpool then again took advantage on the counter attack of Palace’s need for a goal when Sadio Mane scored to complete a professional performance for Liverpool.
Team ratings:
Crystal Palace: 7.5
Liverpool: 9
Man of the match:
Virgil Van Dijk – An excellent performance (again)from a man who is quickly establishing himself as a pivotal leader in Liverpool’s squad, and is demonstrating why we paid the money we did to get him.
Honourable mentions: Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez
Cam Meighan
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