This season, several teams have ventured to Anfield to take on Premier League leaders Liverpool and have come away with commendable results. Nottingham Forest, Fulham and, recently, Manchester United, have demonstrated a remarkably similar approach to play, taking advantage of Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses.
The latest example was the hard-fought 2-2 draw against Manchester United, which many predicted to be a comfortable victory for Liverpool. The gap in perceived quality between the two teams was deep, yet United manager Ruben Amorim had meticulously strategized, recalling the efforts of Marco Silva and Nuno Espirito Santo in previous matches.
United’s relentless attacks down the left flank exposed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s well-known defensive vulnerabilities. Diogo Dalot’s forays forward resulted in a string of scoring chances. The pivotal moment came when Bruno Fernandes delivered a perfectly measured ball to Lisandro Martinez, who did not fail to find the back of the net.
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United’s second goal mirrored the first, with Alejandro Garnacho’s hard-hitting run down the left culminating in a pinpoint cross for Amad Diallo to score. Notably, an impressive fifty-four percent of United’s attacking actions targeted Alexander-Arnold’s defensive third, highlighting a worrying trend.
Liverpool’s last six home goals have all come from that left flank, a worrying statistic for manager Arne Slot, who is aiming for tactical control. As well as exploiting this weakness, United also applied pressure through long balls, with almost eighty percent of Andre Onana’s goal clearances being launched forward. This tactic effectively disrupted Liverpool’s high defensive line, forcing the normally calm Virgil van Dijk to move back cautiously.
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Rasmus Hojlund’s smart moves alongside Ibrahima Konate further complicated things for the hosts, especially with Konate struggling to regain fitness after injury. Meanwhile, Fernandes and Amad thrived in the spaces left between the lines.
As Jamie Carragher astutely pointed out on Monday Night Football, “Manchester United’s three forwards effectively pinned Liverpool down, creating significant problems for Alexander-Arnold with a 3-4-3 formation that outplayed the 4- 2-3-1 Liverpool.”
Slot acknowledged the effectiveness of United’s game plan, saying: “They had a great strategy: avoid the build-up, go long and stop us from pressing. The opponents’ approach is crucial every time we let ourselves go.” However, Slot’s adjustments came frustratingly late, only making a change in the 86th minute, with Conor Bradley replacing Alexander-Arnold, a move reminiscent of their previous encounter against Fulham in December.
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Fulham had executed a similar plan earlier in the season, taking the lead from the left flank through Alex Iwobi, who found Antonee Robinson’s overflow run, culminating in a volley from Andreas Pereira. The pattern was all too familiar, with Robinson again orchestrating a second goal by exploiting the gaps between the Liverpool defenders.
Nottingham Forest also used a mix of individual brilliance and strategic play to emerge victorious at Anfield in September, and the same vulnerabilities reappeared against Liverpool’s patchy defensive line-up, featuring a mix of Konate, Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and even an improvised Gravenberch.
Liverpool’s unbalanced backline and inability to effectively deal with creative space-occupying No. 10s are weaknesses that other teams have managed to exploit. If Slot’s team falters in its high pressing with a defensive line that extends beyond the halfway line, it risks losing effectiveness.
Fulham and United managed to push Liverpool deeper than they wanted, using width to isolate and disrupt defensive positioning, while maintaining their attackers’ presence up top to create exploitable spaces. In contrast, Leicester allowed Liverpool to dominate their half and ultimately lost 3-1.
As Carragher noted, “Alexander-Arnold was often caught in a double dilemma between Fernandes and Dalot as a full-back.” Similar observations could be made following meetings with Forest’s Iwobi and Morgan Gibbs-White.
However, Liverpool’s offensive power provides a counterbalance. They possess the ability to dismantle opponents, coming back from a losing position on 13 occasions in the Premier League, having trailed in four of their last six matches.
As they continue to chase the title, maintaining an advantage will be Slot’s priority. Yet evidence suggests that with a bold, focused strategy, they can indeed be troubled.
Embracing the courage to try will be essential.
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