Premier League Opening Weekend: The Tactics Show – Liverpool, United, Spurs & Chelsea
The Premier League is back and, thankfully, more handsome than it’s ever been. I got the chance to throw an eye on most of the games, but there were four teams in particular I decided to zone in on and get a proper look at from a tactical perspective to see what we can expect from them this season.
Liverpool: Slotting In Nicely:
Liverpool come into the season off the back of obviously losing one of their greatest managers of all time, so the pressure is absolutely on the shoulders of Arne Slot to deliver and have as impressive a season as he possibly can with the squad at his disposal. The former Feyenoord coach comes to Liverpool with a lot of praise for his tactical knowledge and problem solving, and this was absolutely evident in their first game against Ipswich Town.
As expected, Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich were never going to change the brilliant style that won them back-to-back promotions from League One and the Championship. The newly promoted side pressed Liverpool high, in almost a 4-2-4 at times, which was a tactic deployed by a number of sides on the opening weekend of the league when out of possession to try and stifle the opposition. This caused Liverpool’s back four issues at times in the first half, with their midfield two extremely static behind the Ipswich high block.
Liverpool’s back four were too close together in the first half, meaning the Ipswich block could press up nearly against the entire back four and try to force turnovers. Which they did on numerous occasions, with some of the turnovers nearly resulting in goals.
Slot noticed this and boldly decided to act in a fashion that, had it gone wrong, would have been an early markdown in his career as Liverpool manager. Ipswich were winning duels, especially in the wider areas, particularly down the side of Jarrell Quansah.
At such a young age, despite his clear brilliance, Quansah is not as good a channel defender as Ibrahima Konate. Slot changed this issue for two reasons: to win more duels in the wide channels and to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to play more of a free role. To do this, Slot stretched the distance between the two central defenders to pull apart the Ipswich press, leaving more room for Trent to operate and also more room for the midfield runners, like Ryan Gravenberch, to move into which was a situation that was not as easy to manoeuvre in the first half and resulted in Liverpool scoring the team goal of the weekend. Slot’s style of play can be described as up-back-THROUGH. This was heavily on display in the second half, as the Red’s overpowered a resolute Ipswich side.
Manchester United: MOUNTain To Climb?
Elsewhere, Manchester United returned to action on the true opening day, in a performance that played out in stark contrast to the opening day of last season. While United’s pressing structure is not altogether a concept they’ve never played under Ten Hag, it’s absolutely a more efficient structure. After the first 15 minutes, United developed control over Fulham in a manner they have not been able to do to a team since the first season under the Dutchman, amassing 61% possession at half-time.
A key factor in the press is the physical flooring of the midfield being raised, especially through Mason Mount. Mount is like a Ji-Sung Park regen in the middle of the United midfield. The Korean was formerly named Two Lung Park, and it seems at times like Mason Mount has two lungs when pressing. The two-false-9 system Erik ten Hag went with allowed Mount to be at the focal point of the press beside Bruno Fernandes, which caused a number of turnovers in the first and second half, which almost resulted in United goals. The former Chelsea man had 23 counter pressures in the opening weekend, the most in the entire league.
His presence on the United side cannot be underestimated, and due to the effect his work ethic had against Fulham, he should be the first name on the team sheet against Brighton. It also makes sense as to why Erik ten Hag and INEOS have identified an energetic engine like Manuel Ugarte to come in and play as the six in the system, as United will need a number of players who can cover large parts of the pitch quickly and efficiently for the system to be able to flourish. A promising opening day for United, but lots to build on, with improvements still expected to be made along the way.
Spursy:
Spurs can ask the football gods why they didn’t get a win against Leicester, and they may not even be able to give them an answer. Tottenham’s goal when creating chances is simple. They like to overload the wide or central areas. Primarily wide areas, but they can at times overload the central areas outside the box and create chances with quick interplay. The left-hand side, with Udogie, Maddison, and Son at times, was a sight to behold. Due to the fact Tottenham build in a two and like to trap the opposition in a sort of web within their own half, Udogie and Pedro Porro on the other side are given that licence to roam forward. Udogie at times pushes into the advanced eight role, with James Maddison rotating on and off with him, sometimes dropping into the left-back role in possession to create passing options.
A key factor in the system is the ball into the winger. Udogie, or Maddison, whoever is in the advanced eight/half space position at any given time will more often than not create an underlap for Son in behind the defence, which not only creates the chance for a ball in behind a back four, but also drags a defender away and creates space in central areas.
Likewise, Udogie can also do the same on the overlap outside of Son, which he did for the first goal, dragging a defender with him from a central area and creating a gap of space for Maddison to pull into. This is an area he thrives on just outside the 18-yard box. It’s a clockwork system on both sides of the pitch, but the left-hand side is definitely more fluid and able to carry out the demands better than the right.
Leicester’s issue in the first half was that they truly did not know what way they wanted to play. They were going long without a target man. They were trying to hook the ball wide without willing runners. They were sitting deep, without any intensity in central areas to try and win the ball from Tottenham, and in the end, Steve Cooper’s side were essentially sitting ducks, waiting to be slaughtered by the gleeful Lilywhites. But Ange Postecoglou’s men had a blunt-edged sword, and the intensity Leicester demanded from themselves in the second half, as well as willing runners in wide areas, meant they grew into the game and, in the end, got a well-deserved point that could have been more.
Chelsea: My Fergie Villa Moment
Last but certainly not least, and I’ll only be focussing on one of the sides in this game, was Chelsea’s performance against Manchester City, which I truthfully do not think was as bad as many are making it out to be. Chelsea were comfortable in possession for large parts and showcased at times their ability to play out from the back under Maresca, which obviously does have some teething problems that will need ironing out. They recycled the ball well centrally at times, Romeo Lavia especially, and in regards to the pressing shape and aptitude defensively, it was a largely solid performance from start to finish, undone by a couple of schoolboy errors.
One thing they did lack was that killer instinct for transition that was there under Pochettino last season, which caused City all sorts of issues. The lack of pace on the counter was also a real point of concern until Pedro Neto came on, but Christopher Nkunku gave Blue’s fans a reason to be patient, and once Cole Palmer is up to full fitness, this Chelsea machine definitely has all the right tools to catch fire despite the heavy media criticism.
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