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I’ve been thinking for a while about how to structure this thread because I wanted to cover #Nyoni’s impact both in possession and out of possession.
There’s simply too much material to fit into one thread without making it exhausting to read, so I decided to split it into separate parts. Long tactical threads can be difficult to get through, and I don’t want this one to feel like a chore.
This part will focus on how Trey Nyoni leaves his mark on the team in possession - how he creates freedom for the full-backs, manipulates the opposition press, and facilitates ball progression through different variations and mechanisms.
Let’s get into it🧵#LFC
A point of view depends on where you’re sitting. Football is a game of many styles, and the strength of top teams lies in having an identity built around diversifying their tactical options. We don’t step onto the pitch to play according to our opponent’s wishes, but to follow our own game plan and use it to secure victory. That means adopting an approach that makes life uncomfortable for the opposition.
It’s a fairly simple concept. When the opposing manager makes comments like these, they’re essentially admitting that you executed your game plan at least reasonably well.
A game plan is often developed around positive aspects, negative aspects and elements that are still a work in progress. At Liverpool, we’re still seeing disruptions in transition phases and pressing. Quite often, these issues stem from individual players neglecting their responsibilities(but more on that later)
Did Brighton show greater creativity in possession? Yes. Should Liverpool have accepted those conditions? No.
You’re only as good as your ability to neutralise your opponent’s strengths. Yesterday, Iraola kept a clean sheet while scoring two goals, and there could have been many more had it not been for poor decision-making.
You also need to know how to lose, Mr Hurzeler. Football doesn’t revolve around HurzelerBall
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler thinks that his players were the only ones who tried to create and win the match yesterday.
[@BeanymanSports] #LFC
Thoughts?
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1.4.3.3. with a back line of Araujo – Jacquet – Virgil – Kerkez. At St James’ Park, matches often resemble basketball games, and it’s easy to get carried away by the unstable emotions of the stadium. Given Iraola’s nature, that is highly likely, which is why I’d like to use a hybrid RB who, in the attacking phase, would tuck inside and narrow his position, while Jacquet would be given the freedom to step up higher after we lose possession. This would give us an extra layer of protection against Newcastle’s quick transitions and fast attacks, while also buying the team some time to recover its shape. His higher positioning would serve a similar purpose to the role of a No. 6 - in general, I believe he could play there in many situations.
What’s more, we don’t yet know how mentally stable the team has become when falling behind, because last season we often completely fell apart in those moments. So, at the start of the season, I’d rather try to avoid putting ourselves in those situations, rather than adding more problems to the already long list of things Iraola has to rebuild and establish in order for the boys to function as one cohesive unit.
It may be a somewhat naïve approach, especially knowing Andoni, but it could also be the first sign of an internal change in him - showing a touch of pragmatism and an ability to adapt quickly depending on the opponent #LFC
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Szoboszlai should become Iraola’s nominal and long-term RB; it’s the coach’s job to convince him of that. Generally, I had a slightly different plan for the game today
1.4.3.3. with a back line of Araujo – Jacquet – Virgil – Kerkez. At St James’ Park, matches often resemble basketball games, and it’s easy to get carried away by the unstable emotions of the stadium. Given Iraola’s nature, that is highly likely, which is why I’d like to use a hybrid RB who, in the attacking phase, would tuck inside and narrow his position, while Jacquet would be given the freedom to step up higher after we lose possession. This would give us an extra layer of protection against Newcastle’s quick transitions and fast attacks, while also buying the team some time to recover its shape. His higher positioning would serve a similar purpose to the role of a No. 6 - in general, I believe he could play there in many situations.
What’s more, we don’t yet know how mentally stable the team has become when falling behind, because last season we often completely fell apart in those moments. So, at the start of the season, I’d rather try to avoid putting ourselves in those situations, rather than adding more problems to the already long list of things Iraola has to rebuild and establish in order for the boys to function as one cohesive unit.
It may be a somewhat naïve approach, especially knowing Andoni, but it could also be the first sign of an internal change in him - showing a touch of pragmatism and an ability to adapt quickly depending on the opponent #LFC
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Jacquet & Araujo understand their roles and the range of behaviours required in a high press. That allows them to eliminate gaps and maintain cohesion. That’s exactly what I expected from these signings #LFC
Regardless of how high up the pitch they press, pressing teams will always look for players with certain profiles - qualities that are essential for defensive structures to function properly:
identify the trigger → leave your reference zone → take away passing options → apply pressure - either win the ball back or, at the very least, buy time for your teammates to recover and restore the team’s shape.
His long legs and considerable height make him extremely difficult to escape from once he closes an opponent down. He can make the player on the ball feel completely trapped, with very few, if any, ways out. And when necessary, #Araujo is also willing to use a tactical foul, which is another important part of good defensive play.
The ability of a centre-back to delay an attack after the first or second line of pressure has been beaten can be easy to overlook, but it is incredibly important. Sometimes the centre-back’s job is not to win the ball at all - it is simply to slow the attack down and give his teammates those extra few seconds they need to recover their positions and rebuild the defensive structure
. #Araujo is a temporary solution that is working quite well given our current situation. He provides defensive stability, which is something I highlighted at the start of the season. However, Iraola will look to shift the emphasis towards the attacking phase, and only a natural, modern right-back can unlock this team’s full potential.
We need a player with creative instincts, good ball control and a wide passing range, including the ability to play progressive passes over longer distances. Barcola/Rio like receiving balls played into the wide channels, bypassing the opposition’s second line — it’s one of the key ways to play through an opponent’s press.
We often create promising situations for runs into the box and overlapping movements, both inside and outside. That’s why we need a profile who can recognise these moments and exploit them with their crossing ability.
Bradley would tick those boxes with his well-timed runs into the box when the winger stretches the opposition, opening up inside channels between the centre-back and full-back.
Of course, we could keep Araujo as a rotational option for the centre-backs, but wouldn’t that be counterproductive if we want to develop Ndukwe? That money would be better invested in other areas of the squad #LFC
In the second half, Barcola played a crucial role defensively, fully focusing on tracking Brighton’s left-back whenever he pushed forward. This allowed us to close down the spaces that Brighton’s players could exploit, which was key to keeping a clean sheet.
Our priority was to avoid conceding, as Brighton were waiting for that one goal that could have completely changed the momentum of the game. After the break, we switched to a mid-block, with a strong collective commitment to our defensive structure.
In attack, we lacked good decision-making in the final phase of our counter-attacks and quick transitions after winning the ball back, which was clearly a key part of our game plan for the second half.
Overall, it was a really good and important win. There’s still work to do, but we’re heading in the right direction #LFC
It’s clear that our physical performance dropped around the 30-minute mark, and you can see that our wingers are frequently neglecting to track their runners. This creates 3v2 overloads in the wide areas, forcing our centre-backs to step out of their designated zones and get involved. Brighton are trying to exploit this by making deep runs from their central midfielders.
Mac Allister and Gravenberch need to improve their awareness and scanning. So far, we’ve managed to get away with these situations, but they’re dangerous moments, and exploiting these spaces is one of Brighton’s trademark characteristics.
That’s why we need to dig deep and find the energy to keep going. I’m not blaming the players for this or suggesting that it’s necessarily a structural issue. Clearly, this is still a physical aspect of our game that we’re working on. Nevertheless, we need to find that extra energy, keep working hard, and continue to improve #LFC
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I’d like to see Nyoni come on, because we need a few more players who can handle pressure and control the tempo of the game. It’s clearly turned into a proper basketball game now, and Gakpo’s decision-making in transition has been a little poor. I think Rio and Nioni could both be good options to bring on at this stage to help us manage the game better and ultimately close it out #LFC
I’d like to see Nyoni come on, because we need a few more players who can handle pressure and control the tempo of the game. It’s clearly turned into a proper basketball game now, and Gakpo’s decision-making in transition has been a little poor. I think Rio and Nioni could both be good options to bring on at this stage to help us manage the game better and ultimately close it out #LFC
It’s clear that our physical performance dropped around the 30-minute mark, and you can see that our wingers are frequently neglecting to track their runners. This creates 3v2 overloads in the wide areas, forcing our centre-backs to step out of their designated zones and get involved. Brighton are trying to exploit this by making deep runs from their central midfielders.
Mac Allister and Gravenberch need to improve their awareness and scanning. So far, we’ve managed to get away with these situations, but they’re dangerous moments, and exploiting these spaces is one of Brighton’s trademark characteristics.
That’s why we need to dig deep and find the energy to keep going. I’m not blaming the players for this or suggesting that it’s necessarily a structural issue. Clearly, this is still a physical aspect of our game that we’re working on. Nevertheless, we need to find that extra energy, keep working hard, and continue to improve #LFC
The lineup looks to me like it points towards a similar approach to the one we saw against Manchester City: most likely a mid-block, with different variations in terms of defensive orientation, whether that means man-oriented marking, space-oriented defending, or man-marking in specific situations. The emphasis would then be on quick, well-coordinated, direct counterattacks.
That’s also why I’m looking at Araújo’s inclusion with some concern. If we’re planning to play a high press today, his ability to cope with rotations and dynamic movements on the pitch could become a real issue, making him a potential weak link in the starting XI.
I can definitely understand Gravenberch’s inclusion from the perspective of my mid-block theory, as he’s very good at receiving the ball under pressure and using half-turns to escape it. That could be particularly important against Brighton, both in terms of their aggressive pressing and their counter-pressing, which are defining features of their game.
Overall, it all seems to fit together logically and suggests that we could see a similar tactical approach to the one Iraola used against Manchester City #LFC
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Tonali is exactly what de Zerbi needs. He can drop between the CBs to help with the build-up, position himself behind the first line of the press to link up with the advanced players higher up the pitch, and intelligently shield the defenders in the defensive phase. He complements Fernandes really well, as Fernandes is a ball carrier but is also capable of playing deeper. That rotation, thanks to their similar skill sets, should create a positive synergy.
If you look at what de Zerbi requires from his pivots when it comes to playing through the press, Tonali ticks all the boxes.
As for the price, it’s not for me to judge, but downplaying Tonali’s abilities is a little unserious
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Creo que Chelsea no tiene a los mejores jugadores para pararse alto.
Fuera de sus delanteros y de las ESTELARES acciones defensivas de Caicedo, creo que tienen algunas dificultades para ganar esos duelos claves.
Tuvieron momentos de transiciones favorables, en donde le robaron la pelota al Tottenham y atacaron -casi siempre Caicedo estuvo presente en estas acciones-, pero creo que los de De Zerbi lograron contrarrestar bien la presión utilizando a Maddison para sacar constantemente a Lacroix de su posición.
Esto último es el detalle CLAVE, ya que fuera de Caicedo, Xabi no tiene a nadie realmente bueno para ir al hombre y ser agresivos para apretar el bloque, ya que la mayoría de los defensores que tienen, poseen otro tipo de características.
La intención de presionar arriba existe y eventualmente puede salir bien, pero por perfiles, creo que hay varios defectos a la vista de Chelsea.
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Spurs are creating issues centrally in settled possession phases, which I mentioned was a missed opportunity for the opponents when we played Everton and especially Bournemouth. Spurs are generating 3v2 overloads with Fernandes, Tonali, and Maddison dropping below. With neither Palmer nor Rogers picking up Fernandes, Spurs can produce a free man between the lines. Sometimes Neto is getting dragged inside, which opens space out wide for the full-back and winger to create a 2v1 against Acheampong. If Chelsea's front line does not support the midfield, this performance problem will continue. Or else, Alonso needs to trigger a man-man press.
Well, we've partly got the answer for what the 4-4-2 system does from an engagement level perspective. Although it gives good pressing distances, it doesn't mean that Chelsea will actually want to use them by actively defending. In the first half, Chelsea have been defending passively in the 4-4-2 rather than proactively stepping out, similar to the Bournemouth game. In my opinion, this is fine as long as we still actively press Everton in certain moments. Doesn't have to be all the time. Let's see if Chelsea do this more in the second half. I'd expect us to do so as long as we're not winning.
The aging curve suggests that this summer would be the right time in his case. Many people believe Alexis has rebuilt himself physically, but I have my doubts. The improvement in the team’s overall structure is influencing how people perceive him, as the team now defends more cohesively. However, in moments of transition, when he needs to cover several metres and win a footrace, something that will happen frequently in Iraola’s vertical and direct style of football, Mac Allister is still falling short.
His intelligence and the support of his teammates will help mask these shortcomings, but when something disrupts the structure and he has to solve the problem on his own, it simply doesn’t work. We need to replace him with an athletic, space-covering midfielder #LFC
Fluid circulation with a one-sided overload (asymmetry) provides the platform for players like Rio, who manipulate and destabilise opponents through various types of vertical and horizontal runs. Rio initially moves out wide before dynamically cutting inside, eliminating his marker and reducing the advantage to an isolated 1v1 duel. This also creates a “gate” between the CB and LB, which he can exploit to penetrate the penalty area freely.
However, the entire sequence is initiated by Gravenberch, who reads Rio’s non-verbal cues and recognises his intentions through his movement. The relationships between these players are almost imperceptible. It is this momentum that generates temporal advantages, denying the opponent time to analyse the situation and instead forcing an immediate reaction #LFC
The full-backs offer absolutely no creativity, they kill the dynamism of our play out wide, and on top of that, what Tsimikas did for the goal to make it 2-0 casually strolling around and playing everyone onside - was simply pathetic. It’s a lack of respect for his teammates #LFC