Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool: From 'heavy metal football' to a well-oiled machine

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool played a total of six games in the span of just over two weeks towards the end of December. This busy run of fixtures means that Liverpool played a game every 2.67 days during this period. Despite the fixture pileup, it seems that Jurgen Klopp had time for a few more visitors – the ghosts of Premier League past.

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Jurgen Klopp’s nuanced approach to Premier League games working wonders for Liverpool

In the 2018-19 season, Liverpool suffered just one loss all season and fell agonisingly short of claiming the Premier League title. Eventual champions Manchester City pipped them by a single point, courtesy of Vincent Kompany’s unlikely heroics against the in-form Leicester City. That season, Liverpool ended up drawing seven games, compared to Manchester City’s two. After witnessing Mohamed Salah’s blitzkrieg in his debut season for Liverpool, opposition teams resorted to parking the bus against Liverpool in the Premier League. While Liverpool failed to penetrate the defensive setup of teams that chose to sit back against them last season, this season, Jurgen Klopp has addressed those concerns, courtesy of his marauding full-backs.

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Out of the 20 games Liverpool have played so far, four games typify the Reds’ approach to the Premier League this time around. Early in the season, with Alisson out injured, Liverpool travelled to Bramall Lane to face Premier League newcomers Sheffield United. With an all-action midfield trio of Georginio Wijnaldum, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, Liverpool could afford to let the front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah run at the Sheffield United defence. Sheffield United, though, were in no mood to roll out the red carpet for the European champions. A solitary goal from Wijnaldum ultimately settled the contest, but Liverpool had to dig in their heels for the win. The game against Wolves at the end of December is another such example. This time, Sadio Mane provided the winner. Again, a solitary goal provided the win and, more importantly, a clean sheet. Interestingly, in both these games, Liverpool had the lion’s share of possession (70%, 63%).

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The emphatic wins over Everton and Leicester City are another story altogether. In those games, the Reds scored a combined nine goals while conceding just two, both against Everton. More impressively, the Reds shut out a free-scoring Leicester City while also putting five past an expensively assembled Everton side. In these games, Jurgen Klopp’s side did enjoy more possession, though considerably less than the wins against Sheffield and Wolves. These games show two sides to Liverpool this season. Jurgen Klopp’s side is willing to dig deep and fight tooth and nail for wins, and are also capable of blowing the opposition away.

In the two seasons in recent memory that Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League, the Reds fell victim to drawing an unnecessary amount of games. Jurgen Klopp, therefore, has had to alter his tactics to a more practical approach this season. While Liverpool Gegenpressed their way into the hearts of Premier League neutrals in the 2017-18 season, they also ended up drawing a total of 12 games over the course of the season – the most across the top six in the Premier League that year. The Gegenpress then gave way to defensive solidity, but opposition teams were quick to nullify the threat posed by Mo Salah and Sadio Mane in the Premier League last season. The Reds weren’t helped by Firmino’s dip in form either. This season, Firmino’s playmaking burden has been lightened by Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, arguably the finest full-back duo in Europe.

However, it now appears that the ghosts of Premier League past have whispered the secret of Premier League success in the ears of the charismatic German. Liverpool are currently 13 points clear at the top of the table, with a game in hand. With Fabinho yet to feature prominently, Joel Matip returning from injury and Takumi Minamino easing his way into the Liverpool setup, Jurgen Klopp will have arguably the best Liverpool squad at his disposal in recent memory. With a steely defence, a workhorse midfield and a free-flowing attack complemented by the swashbuckling abilities of the full-backs, Jurgen Klopp’s side could very well engrave their name on the Premier League trophy well before May. ‘Boom’, as Jurgen Klopp would say.