Manchester City 1 Liverpool 1: tactical analysis

Another chapter in the defining managerial rivalry of this Premier League era was written in this engaging clash at the Etihad, with Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool fighting back from a goal down to earn a battling point against Pep Guardiola's defending champions.

Manchester City looked on target for a 24th consecutive home victory when Erling Haaland ran on to a Nathan Aké pass between the Liverpool centre-backs and placed a smart finish past Alisson midway through the first half. They had a second disallowed for a Manuel Akanji push on the Liverpool goalkeeper early in the second half, and were left to rue that decision when Trent Alexander-Arnold stepped on to a Mo Salah pass and drilled home his first goal of the season on 80 minutes. Neither side could find a winner, leaving Guardiola and Klopp to share the spoils – the eighth draw from their 29 meetings as head coaches.

How the managers saw it

“We conceded just two chances against that team,” said Pep Guardiola. “The header in the first half and the goal.

“The way we make a build-up from Ederson, with Rúben [Dias], Manu Akanji, Rodri, how they play in these ridiculous spaces. Kyle [Walker] and Nathan [Aké], to avoid transitions. Our left side was a bit better than our right side. We have incredible players, it’s different to Kevin [De Bruyne] or [Ilkay] Gündogan, but our defending of set-pieces, everything was a really high standard.”

In the first half, said Klopp, his team “lost compactness. We were a bit in a rush in the first line to press Ederson with nothing around. That opened up the half-spaces. Even when we were more together, they found Bernardo [Silva] too often.

“We told between Dom [Szoboszlai] and Mo [Salah], better communication, that doesn’t happen. Then the last line always against City has to step in and defend into midfield, so that was then either Trent or Joël [Matip]. And it was a bit tricky. In the second half, we made that a bit clearer how we want to do that, with Trent more in that position already and taking the risk in the last line.”

Below, our UEFA-licensed tactical experts pick out three key themes from the game...

Defenders as the second pivot

As we have now come to expect from both managers, Guardiola and Klopp used defenders as a second pivot in possession. Manchester City operated in their now familiar 3-2-4-1 shape, with Manuel Akanji moving into midfield alongside Rodri. Bernardo Silva proved City’s most effective outlet to bypass the Liverpool press in the left inside channel (below), with Dominik Szoboszlai often jumping forward to join Darwin Núñez in a central press. Joël Matip would then hold his position at centre-back. This allowed Silva, who repeatedly looked to widen before receiving, to connect with Jérémy Doku. The young Belgian targeted Trent Alexander-Arnold from the start and proved a threat throughout the first half.

Whereas City moved a centre-back into midfield, Liverpool looked to right-back Alexander-Arnold to support Alexis Mac Allister in the double pivot. They also often used Alisson as the third player in the first line of the build, which allowed Kostas Tsimikas to move high on the left while still retaining a box of four in midfield (below). Diogo Jota or Núñez could also then look to drop and add a fifth presence in central areas. Alisson’s inconsistent kicking created problems for the visitors in the first half, however. One terrible early mistake gifted Phil Foden a chance he was unable to take advantage of, and it was ultimately a sliced clearance to Nathan Aké – and then some poor defending against the Belgian defender – that led to Erling Haaland’s opener.

Limiting the impact of Bernardo Silva

Liverpool showed clear and increased intent in stopping Silva in the second half. The first time he received high in City’s left inside channel, Matip jumped from the back line to apply pressure (below). Although this left a temporary gap in the Liverpool defence, City were unable to consistently exploit this – especially as Matip’s ability to delay Silva gave the midfield time to recover and support the press. That could be Mac Allister coming across, or Szoboszlai tracking back from his higher press. Alexander-Arnold also narrowed slightly, from where he could press out to Doku if necessary.

When Liverpool defended higher, Alexander-Arnold stayed inside in an attempt to stop Silva getting on the ball. One of Mo Salah or Szoboszlai jumped forward to press, trying to force the ball to the City right and keep access into Silva as difficult as possible. From here, Klopp’s team would go player-oriented, with Alexander-Arnold staying with Silva (below) until either of the two in front of him recovered to take over. Liverpool’s concerted efforts to limit Silva’s influence significantly hampered City’s overall control, and created their best periods of momentum in the game.

A stretched second half

With City unable to exert their usual level of control with the lead, the second half became more stretched. Both teams sought to exploit the spaces between the lines, and initiate attacks in the immediate wake of conceding chances themselves. Alisson and Ederson are two of the most attack-minded goalkeepers in the modern game, and both looked to release their midfield and forwards immediately after making saves. The visitors were particularly effective in this regard, with driving runs from substitute Ryan Gravenberch enabling fellow replacement Luis Díaz to combine closer to the front line (below) and threaten on the shoulders of the City centre-backs. Salah would then hold the width on the right, leaving Szoboszlai to join in from deep. It was one such run from Gravenberch, and a combination between Díaz and Salah, that led to Alexander-Arnold’s superb low, drilled equaliser.

City also attacked the stretched spaces, with Haaland and Julián Álvarez working opposite each other from the team’s 4-4-2 defensive block. With Silva now dropping deeper to receive, Álvarez had licence to move across and receive as the team’s main number 10 (below). During transitional moments, Haaland made the opposite movement. He would aim to push back Virgil van Dijk, with Foden and Doku offering wide support on the flanks. Alexander-Arnold now defended higher and narrower for longer, turning his attentions to Álvarez and leaving Matip to take care of Doku.

Despite the game continuing stretched to full-time, however, neither side could grab the winning goal. Both teams left another enthralling encounter with a deserved point.

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