Liverpool have hosted the Premier League Double Red Society, the Merseyside Derby and the Champions League semi-finals in the last three games. As a result, the Red Rock Team, which averaged 17 shots per game and scored a total of 8 goals, only let 3 opponents shoot 2 times in 3 games.
Klopp's team is so brutal! Playing the anti-offside play, Klopp's Liverpool appeared to be superior, both with and without the ball. With a team like that, you have to believe that they really have a chance to win the Quadruple.
01. Liverpool Forward Regroup: Trident has a new use
You think you're offside? That was Liverpool's goal signal
Liverpool's original trident was to have Firmino in the centre, he would provide some role in the ball, and Mane and Salah were interspersed in the front. Since Thiago and Fabinho joined the squad, Liverpool's midfield attacking ability has been stronger, so Firmino's forward role is no longer necessary.
Klopp brought in Díaz, who had a stronger ability to advance with the ball and also had a sense of point grabbing, to upgrade Jota, to center Mane and make Liverpool's trident sharper.
This time Mane took the ball in the middle of the road to Salah on the flank, and Díaz on the left side of the road to plug forward at high speed, so that Liverpool always ensured that the forward line had the ball alone and the two crossed.
When Salah cut inside with the ball, Díaz came to an offside position in the middle. Villarreal's centre-backs all stared at the Colombian, ignoring Mane behind them.
Salah's real pass target was not Díaz, but in the instant of the Egyptian's pass, Argentine right-back Fois habitually had a pre-top movement that created an offside position, only to be punctured by Mane.
Although this time the header was deflected due to Mane's body not being straightened, Liverpool's attacking ideas were fully reflected.
b. Díaz gives Liverpool more energy: everything will be really good
As mentioned above, with the arrival of Thiago, Thermino's tactical status as a midfielder has declined, so he gave way to Jota last season. However, Jota's average ability to hold the ball increased Salah's burden.
The arrival of Díaz, he can provide advance and long-range shooting, but also has a good sense of forward insertion, so that the Liverpool Trident is more balanced, have a strong ability to catch the ball, and the defensive end also benefits from the arrival of Díaz.
Just like this attack, Díaz received the ball and shot directly inside and long-range, showing a strong personal ability. Then the midfielder pressed forward, and Díaz successfully returned to the flank to intercept the ball, giving Liverpool a second chance to attack.
In the second half, this time Díaz withdrew to receive the ball and passed it to Arnold, who over-coordinated with Mane and sent the ball over the top of the box, and it was Díaz who grabbed the point in front of the plug.
Despite the average efficiency of Díaz's shots, he has clearly integrated into Liverpool's attacking and defensive system.
02. The offside one is buy one get one free: Liverpool's midfield has a clear division of labour
Henderson's offside: Buy one get one free on the offensive end
Liverpool's main passing points on the offensive end are full-backs, Salah and Thiago, and the arrival of the Spanish midfielder has made Liverpool's midfielder more creative and allowed Henderson to find more opportunities to run without the ball.
The core point of this wave of attack is still Mane and Salah 2, but Liverpool added a Henderson to "buy one get one free" in order to maximize the effect.
When Salah picked out a pass into the penalty area for Mane, Henderson quickly stepped forward. Despite Mane's ability to play small balls, he may not necessarily pass the ball to Henderson.
But Henderson's run was worth luring four Villarreal players into the small penalty area. After all, if only Mane alone controlled the ball, the other side could not be so tight.
Henderson directly allowed himself to sprint to an offside position, but also left room for Salah to counter-insert.
Liverpool's killer moves were always Mane and Salah, but the movement of others was too sharp, causing Villarreal to have to be distracted.
If Mane and Salah had been a little more on the shooting end, Liverpool would have scored more goals. However, Liverpool fans are very content, and now there are actually quite a few.
b. Thiago makes the offense sharper
Thiago's passing wasn't that good, and there were a lot of nonsensical mistakes. Fortunately, Liverpool's receiver is very flexible, even if the pass is a little off.
At the same time, Thiago's advantage is that the ability to predict two penalties is very strong, which is conducive to Liverpool harvesting the ball to make a second attack and make the system complete.
The key to Liverpool's goal to break the deadlock is that Thiago got rid of the opening of the defense this time.
Although the quality of his pass was not very high, Mane successfully completed the pass, and finally Salah passed to Henderson, creating an opponent's mistake and swinging himself, allowing Liverpool to break the deadlock.
It is worth mentioning that in the moment of Henderson's cross, Liverpool 4 people entered the box to grab the point, and Villarreal did not follow a single defensive end.
So even if it is not oolong, Liverpool has a high probability of breaking through this attack.
03. Mane's play is unreasonable: say good pass Díaz!
Liverpool's advantage in this game is too great, or the advantage of Liverpool in the past few games has been very obvious. Only scored 2 goals, or the team's dense schedule, the back hand rotation of the front knife.
Why liverpool's core competitiveness is still Mane and Salah, the team's second goal can be understood.
The horror of Liverpool is that both the role players and the core players, their no-ball movement is very good. This time, the attack was first salah with the ball, passing by the side and cutting inward.
However, the first wave of attacks did not find a good opportunity to attack the core area, so Mane returned the pass and went to the flank, salah received the ball twice before returning from the offside position to the box.
The moment Salah took the ball, Mane and Díaz stepped forward in time to form two attack points.
If Mane wishes, this time he can also choose to cross the field to let Díaz empty the goal. Liverpool's horror lies in the cover point at the near end, which can be deliberately coming to the offside position, but it may also be that he has no offside and becomes a real killer.
So should the defender follow the near-end engagement point? This becomes a dilemma and a code for Liverpool to win.
In the past three games, Liverpool have touched the ball in the opponent's penalty area 40 times per game, and shots as high as 17 times, making it difficult for Alisson to have room to play, and it is really not easy to show off his acting skills by chance to beat the fans.
Conclusion:
This Liverpool team is too dynamic on the offensive end, and if they can't penetrate Liverpool's somewhat flawed midfield and find the weakness of the declining ability of the defensive centre-back, then no opponent can really keep a clean sheet on Klopp.
Mane and Salah may have slipped slightly from their peak, but under the current offensive system, they are still the killers of the championship competition.