Liverpool VS Atletico Madrid

UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Anfield – 11 March 2020

Considered untouchable up until 2 weeks ago, Liverpool have now lost 4 of their last 5 games encouraging questions by critics and pundits around the world. On March 11th, current defending champions Liverpool welcomed Atletico Madrid to Anfield hoping to overturn their first-leg 1-0 defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano in the Champions League Round of 16. Even though it was one-way traffic for most of the game, this match was far from boring. As Anfield cheered in full voice hoping for another famous European night, Diego Simeone’s side defended their aggregate lead like their lives depended on it, eventually coming out as 4-2 winners on aggregate.

FORMATION & TEAM SELECTION

LIVERPOOL Liverpool set out in their usual 4-3-3 formation with Jordan Henderson replacing the underperforming Fabinho as the pivot. Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain partnered Henderson in the midfield while the back-4 and front-3 remained the same. Replacing the injured Alisson, Adrian started in goal for Liverpool on the back of a shaky performance against Chelsea in the FA Cup. ATLETICO Atletico set up in their usual 4-4-2 shape, with Diego Costa and the fit-again Joao Felix as the front-2. Their back-4 and midfield-4 remained the same as the first leg with the exception of Angel Correa and Keiran Trippier who replaced Thomas Lemar and Sime Vrsaljko.

As suggested by the stats, it was one-way traffic for most of the game with the onus on Liverpool to break Atletico’s defense down. Knowing a draw would suffice, Atletico surrendered possession and used a very low block with 8 players often in or around their own box. Unable to force their way through the middle of the pitch, Liverpool played out from the back patiently before getting the ball into wide areas in order to take advantage of the crossing ability of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson. Except for both of Liverpool’s assists arriving through crosses from the right side, Oblak and the Atletico defense played exceptionally well to deal with the abundant crosses.

TACTICS

LIVERPOOL POSSESSION

Liverpool 3-4-3 VS Atletico Deep 4-4-2

Transitioning into offense, Liverpool prioritized reorganizing into their shape before progressing the ball up-field, unless a long option was available for Salah. During build-up, they played out from the back with Van Dijk, Gomez, and Henderson while their wingbacks pushed up in what looked like a 3-4-3 shape. With the ball in the opposition half, Liverpool looked to form triangles on both flanks while Henderson and Firmino offered deeper and advanced options respectively. On the left, Robertson, Mane, and Wijanldum formed the triangle.

Their primary focus, however, was to attack through the right side where Salah, Ox, and Trent formed the triangle often swapping positions with each other. As two of them occupied the right-wing and right half-spaces, the third offered a deeper option with space for long distribution.

Atletico’s approach to defensive transitions prioritized falling back into their defensive shape with only Joao Felix looking for counter-pressing opportunities. Post transition, Atletico setup in a 4-4-2 shape that almost looked like an 8-1-1 because of the very low block. Except for opposition goal-kicks, they remained vertically compact and used very deep defensive and engagement lines. Only breaking their shape to press the opposition wingers and wingbacks, the Atletico players remained narrow, inviting pressure from Liverpool.

ATLETICO POSSESSION

Liverpool 4-5-1 VS Asymmetric Atletico 4-3-3

During defensive transitions, Liverpool counter-pressed with intensity, forcing Atletico to clear long or concede possession in dangerous areas. However, once the press was broken, they fell back into a narrow 4-5-1 shape. They used the narrow setup and a high defensive line to limit the space and crowd the Atletico ball-carrier, especially in wide areas. While both wingers tracked back to help their defense, Salah often lingered up the pitch waiting to capitalize on a potential counter-attacking opportunity.

Since Liverpool’s counter-pressing afforded them very little time on the ball, Atletico transitioned into attack with quick one-twos before playing the ball in behind the opposition defense, especially in the right half-space between Robertson and Van Dijk. Thomas Partey played exceptionally well as he often recovered the ball at the edge of their box, remained composed under pressure, and laid it off to advanced players. As Liverpool broke their shape to press, Atletico (especially Correa) played balls in behind for Costa or Felix to run on to.

Liverpool controlled the game and piled on the pressure but Atletico remained defensively organized and eventually came out on top. While there were plenty of talking points, the story of the game can be described through three main points.

MEN BETWEEN THE STICKS

Both goalkeepers, Adrian and Jan Oblak, had a major impact on the final scoreline. Jan Oblak was Atletico’s savior as he made save after save, limiting Liverpool to just 2 goals out of a staggering 34 shots. Even under immense pressure, the Slovenian was as reliable as ever and finished the game with 9 saves. Meanwhile, Adrian was rarely called upon to make saves, especially in the first 90 minutes. In Extra Time, he gave the ball back to Atletico after a fumbled clearance, allowing Marcos Llorente to score from outside the box. This goal set the tone for the remainder of the game as Adrian conceded another goal from a shot outside the box before failing to save a shot at his near post from the weaker foot of Alvaro Morata.

While Adrian wasn’t the only reason for Liverpool’s UCL exit, he played a decisive role leaving many to wonder what might have been had Alisson been fit to play. The timing of Adrian’s performance was very unfortunate after his admirable contributions in the first half of the season, but it also highlighted the importance of Alisson and justified the 70 million fee Liverpool paid for him. A Reddit comment read “Another Liverpool UCL exit, another goalkeeper sent to Besiktas” (in reference to Loris Karius), highlighting Liverpool’s continued struggles with goalkeeping mistakes in the Champions League.

LIVERPOOL’S TOOTHLESS FINISHING

It was a valiant effort from Liverpool as they created chance after chance. But even though Adrian’s mistakes cost them a lot, it’s foolish to put all the blame on an individual. Even though Liverpool dominated the game, fingers must be pointed at their inability to finish the chances that they created. Yes, it must’ve been frustrating to play against 8 men in the box. Yes, Oblak played very well. Yes, Liverpool were unlucky to hit the bar. However, in the end, they managed to score merely 2 goals out of their 34 shots. Finishing the chances is as crucial as creating them, and when competing against world-class opposition, it can be the difference between glory and heartbreak. Jurgen Klopp himself admitted this in a post-match interview saying, “Our main mistake tonight was that we scored the second goal too late. We scored in extra time and not the 90 minutes. So that was our fault.”

During the course of their season, as most people highlighted Liverpool’s resilience to eke out 1-goal wins, those who questioned their ineffective finishing were silenced. This game has given voice to those critics and it’ll be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp deals with the situation.

MARCOS LLORENTE

As soon as Roberto Firmino scored Liverpool’s second goal, it became a do-or-die situation for Atletico since penalties were then out of the equation. Even at 2-0, as Liverpool maintained attacking pressure in order to secure the result, Atletico retained their defensive priority, perhaps hoping to capitalize on a set-piece or opposition mistake. And through Marcos Llorente, they did exactly that. Even though Adrian’s fumbled clearance was key, under pressure from Gomez, Llorente showed brilliant composure and technique to score from range.

Desperate to score, as Liverpool threw everything they had into their attacks (even Van Dijk played as a striker), Atletico were able to capitalize on the gaps their opposition left at the back. On the counter, Llorente showed another brilliant piece of individual play as he scored another long-distance goal from a very tight angle. Liverpool were unlucky to face Jan Oblak in goal, but in the end, it was the individual brilliance of Marco Llorente that eliminated them from the Champions League.

DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS OR BORING FOOTBALL?

While the game is over, it has sparked questions that had once subsided. Many question the relevance and effectiveness of the away goals rule including Diego Simeone himself, who said “We had 30 more minutes to score an away goal and Liverpool didn’t. That’s not fair, that’s wrong.”. Similarly, the debate on the style of football has resurfaced. As rival fans of Liverpool rejoice and praise Simeone, some, including Jurgen Klopp, show surprise and bafflement at his Park-the-bus defensive football. Depending on what team you support, you can either call this Atletico performance a defensive masterclass or boring, negative football because there’s merit to both arguments. At the end of the day, Klopp’s team played well but was unlucky, while Simeone’s game management was on point as his team did exactly what it needed to.

Even though Liverpool have now lost 4 of their last 5 games and have only the Premier League to compete for, they’re still one of the best teams in Europe. However, simply winning shouldn’t overshadow their weaknesses and as such questions must be raised at their performances. For what it’s worth, Liverpool fans’ pain from this UCL exit could ease since the tournament may be suspended soon (not confirmed).