How Jurgen Klopp Evolved Liverpool into Premier League Title Challengers: [ Ссылка ]

Jurgen Klopp’s tactical evolution of Liverpool from 8th position in the Premier League and losing Europa League to Champions League winners explained. Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid to win their 6th European cup. But how has Jurgen Klopp improved Liverpool over his four years in charge.

Brendan Rodgers was sacked as Liverpool manager following a 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby on the 4th October 2015. But the Reds had a clear plan as they wasted no time in appointing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool’s new permanent manager. Klopp took charge of his first game 9 days after his appointment in a 0-0 draw with Spurs at White Hart Lane. Despite using a 4-3-2-1 against Spurs in an effort to congest the centre of the pitch, Klopp primarily used his trusted 4-2-3-1 for the remainder of the 2015/16 season and Liverpool finished the season in a disappointing 8th position. But in hindsight you could argue Klopp used this season to test his squad and make decisions on where he wanted to take his Liverpool side. It seems the 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final changed something in Klopp.

The following season he changed his system to a 4-3-3 and added the likes of Giorgino WIjnaldum, Loris Karius and Sadio Mané. This saw the introduction of 3 shuttlers in central midfield, which gave the forwards fewer defensive responsibilities because the outside central midfielder would shuttle out wide to help the full back. This change saw a drastic improvement in Liverpool’s domestic form, taking them to 4th in the league and 18 points clear of the previous seasons total. The 2017/18 season saw Klopp’s squad overhaul continue. He made 3 signings that summer, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to add midfield thrust, Andy Robertson as first choice left back and Mo Salah to add more pace and goals. These additions made it seem like Klopp was gearing up to return to the 4-2-3-1, with a front four of Coutinho, Firmino, Mané and Salah. But Coutinho pushed through a January transfer to Barcelona and Klopp continued with his 4-3-3, using part of the Coutinho money to sure up his defence with Virgil van Dijk.

The 2018/19 season was bittersweet for Liverpool. Despite losing just one game in the Premier League and accruing 97 points, they finished 2nd and a single point behind Manchester City but they lifted their 6th European cup in Madrid after beating Spurs 2-0. Unsurprisingly, this was Klopp’s best in terms of tactics. He’s tweaked his system, switching the point of creativity from the forwards to the full backs, leaving the forwards to primarily focus on goalscoring. He’s adopted the 2-3-5 attacking shape of Zizou’s Real Madrid, with chance creation coming from full back crosses. A ridiculous 26% of Liverpool’s 89 Premier League goals they scored this season were assisted by full backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.

But could we see Klopp return to his 4-2-3-1 next season? At Dortmund he had a solid back four, headed by Mats Hummels, with an intelligent double of Sven Bender and Ilkay Gundogan in defensive midfield, a playmaker-destroyer combo. But he now has those elements at Liverpool. His back four and destroyer in Fabinho is better than what he had at Dortmund and if Naby Keita can carry his pre-injury form into next season, Klopp will have all the defensive tools for his 4-2-3-1. Adding either a creative midfielder to play off Firmino or a striker to play Firmino off would complete his side. Bruno Fernandes would be the ideal midfield signing after being directly involved in 50 goals in 53 games for Sporting this season. On top of his impressive numbers, he’s equally adept in a midfield 3 as he is at number 10 and could allow Klopp versatility. As a striking option, Timo Werner could be perfect. He already plays in a high pressing RB Leipzig front line and has been in prolific form for the Saxony club, scoring 71 goals and registering 27 assists in 114 appearances.

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