West Ham 1-2 Liverpool:
As in the previous two games, the content is still not too strong.
To win West Ham United, the ability to seize opportunities is higher than the opponent, but this in itself is the ability of a big team, after all, the quality of players is much higher than that of the middle and lower teams.
But after three consecutive wins, Liverpool did have some confidence, and the midfield improvement brought about by Alexander-Arnold's change of play gradually had an effect.
The reason why the content is not very strong is mainly because West Ham United scored the first goal without much effort:
This goal happened to occur in an offensive turn, all five people in the front fell behind the line, and the back five needed to complete their defensive duties independently, but the new addition to the system Matip twice did not limit Antonio, Arnold was also dragged to the wing by Ben Lahma, and then only one Fabinho was bypassed by Paqueta and Antonio against the wall:
To say responsible, Matip's choice is actually not much of a problem, Arnold is not wrong to follow Ben-Lahma, Fabinho really can't do such a heavy job at this stage.
It can only be said that Liverpool's backcourt 5 people really can't cover so much space, they are not like Arsenal, Manchester City, there are Walker, Ben White, Ake such as moving not heavy, relatively light backcourt players, so the efficiency of covering space is not so high.
The reason why Matip was used instead of Konate, Klopp also explained before the game that Konut needed to take a rotation, which shows how much this defensive system consumes these players.
So in the summer window, the key for Liverpool is to bring in some young, running, all-round defenders who are still online.
Of course, Paqueta's ability to score such a kick is a small probability in itself, so Liverpool turned around and returned one, which can be regarded as a loss:
Count this shot, plus the two previous catches:
It is clear that West Ham have a lot of space between the midfield and the defender, very empty, and Liverpool can easily hit these places.
The twin midfield of Rice and Sauček is also difficult to cover, because both of them are very large, and this West Ham United central defender is not efficient enough, so this is how space was born.
But looking back, Liverpool also have a contribution to hitting these places. Alexander-Arnold improved his midfield, partly to solve his and Fabinho's defensive problems, and on the other hand, to better build up their midfield advantage.
In this system, when there is a ball, Liverpool can form four midfielders, and when Hakebo retreats to get the ball, this can be equivalent to five midfielders, so Liverpool's advantage in the middle is actually quite strong, and it is also shown in the game:
Among them, the direct benefits brought by Arnold are also obvious:
That's the basic thread of this game.
When Liverpool have the ball, they can form a good situation because of the obvious midfield advantage, but the efficiency of turning into a threat is slightly lower, but they also have the advantage of attacking from set-pieces:
Once the ball is lost, West Ham can form a direct threat to the goal from the side of Van Dijk and Matip, that is, from both wings:
So the result of the game was formed because Liverpool grabbed two chances to score, while West Ham only seized one, there is nothing to say.
Defensive problems remain, especially as new arrivals Matip clearly need time to get used to it, and he and Konate take turns playing in turns, which should be the norm at the end of the season.
Liverpool's side is the same, the key depends on whether the front can cover the back loss, can win, can't win.
Chelsea 0-2 Brentford:
In Frank Lampard's first game in charge, he has already given Chelsea fans a vaccination:
But looking back, it was hard for me to think of losing all five games.
In this game against Brentford, Lampard may have been affected by the previous four defeats to avoid the consequences of continuing to lose, so he tried his best to be conservative, and also moved out of the back three system in the league, and there was a four-midfielder in front of him.
But there is no Havertz available today, so a single Sterling is thrown ahead.
The obvious problem with this formation is that the advancement efficiency is extremely low, because Sterling can't catch the ball:
If the striker can't take it, it's difficult to play directly in depth, and it's difficult to play speed, so you can only wait for the overall formation to spread out and grind forward step by step.
However, when it is difficult to advance to the front, new problems will arise.
Raheem Sterling is clearly unable to play at the centre, Brentford shrink and will soon be submerged in the box, while Chelsea's available handling space is on the wing and on the outside.
So you can see a cross like this:
You can also see such a long shot:
The efficiency was so low that even the trailing centre-back Thiago Silva couldn't find a point to play, so he had to hurry up and kick the ball:
However, when Sterling pulled up to the outside to grab the ball and play to his characteristics, there were no strikers in front of goal, and only two wing-backs, Chilwell and Azpilicueta, switched to the box:
It's strange that this offense can play efficiently.
In fact, in normal times, the low offensive efficiency of strong teams is already dangerous, because the backfield is always under the threat of large space and potential counterattacks from opponents, and the slightest mistake will cause accidents.
But Brentford's counter-attack was mediocre and positional warfare was nothing outstanding, and even so, Chelsea were able to gouge one in first through set-pieces:
The own goal is Azpilicueta, but what about Chelsea dropping a little?
Losing the ball and losing the point of being conservative is no longer relevant, so Frank Lampard started to play the attacker, Aubameyang and Modric were all on board, and the formation was changed back to the back four.
When he first came up, the effect brought by Aubameyang was very obvious, at least when Sterling was tossing on the right, someone in front of the goal could contain Brentford's central defender, and the teammates on the periphery could benefit from this:
And Aubameyang himself can form a match with his teammates:
It is very normal for players to feel nothing under their feet after not playing for a long time, but from the perspective of the whole team, it is better to create chances than not to create them, which is better than being able to watch in the first half.
So the problem is still with the coach, as we mentioned in Tactical Watch a long time ago, if Frank Lampard started to give Aubameyang the opportunity at the beginning of his tenure, slowly use, grind slowly, grind to this day can also grind a little form.
Knowing that there is no one in the center, either let Havertz play thanklessly, or let Felix + Sterling XJBT, today there is no Havertz to think of Aubameyang, he is also a 30+ veteran, is it possible to shoot and score from the beginning?
If you are not afraid of losing, it doesn't matter if you lose all the way to the end, then Lampard can play casually, but isn't it also afraid to lose after losing four games? I don't want to lose at the beginning, and after conceding the ball, I get on the attacker, isn't this still unable to accept the result of five consecutive losses?
So why not start using Aubameyang early?
Back in the game, Aubameyang was effective, but the player was not in line and Brentford was used to 15 minutes, which was about the same.
So going into the 60th minute, Aubameyang was restrained, Brentford's defense was adjusted, Chelsea's attack was thunderous again, and he turned his head and threw a counterattack:
The game is over.
To say that this game, Brentford really did not play very well, there are few decent attacks, if not for Chelsea to send a set-piece themselves, Brentford may not have had a counter-attack scene to take advantage of in the second half, and may not have won this game 2-0.
So, it's still Chelsea that sets it well.
As before, it's all losses, but there is still a little bit of good news: at least the real striker is on the pitch, and it is possible that Frank Lampard will be able to open up a little more in the next game, and off the field, Pochettino, the real coach, is coming, although he has been idle for a young year, and the level of business needs to be re-examined, but at least he is a reliable enough candidate.
Next season can be expected, but without the full support of the club, there is only a limit to what a manager can change, after all, the biggest variable here at Chelsea will always be Burleigh.