When the Premier League returns on Saturday, Liverpool will face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Jürgen Klopp will have a strategy in place.
Danny Murphy, a former Liverpool midfielder, has provided some insight into how Jürgen Klopp’s side can exploit the gaps left by Manchester City’s marauding defense next weekend. Murphy believes that last weekend’s thrilling 4-4 draw between City and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge offers valuable lessons for Klopp’s side as the Reds prepare to face the reigning Premier League champions.
“When City pushed their defenders up and Chelsea was able to get a turnover, the speed of Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson was a real threat,” Murphy wrote in the Daily Mail at the time. He noted that if City continues to move one of their center-halves into midfield to control the game, the space left behind poses a risk.
Murphy emphasized Liverpool’s front three of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nez, and Luis Daz as being well-equipped to exploit this weakness. Daz, who scored twice for Colombia against Brazil after going through the emotional ordeal of his father’s kidnapping, and Nez, who scored in Uruguay’s win over Argentina, both have the pace and skill to trouble City’s defense.
The former midfielder also mentioned City’s left-back Joko Gvardiol as someone who might struggle if he moves up from his position. While recognizing Guardiola’s successful track record and his right to play his style of football, Murphy emphasized that it carries a certain risk against top-level opposition such as Liverpool.
“Chelsea took advantage of it last week, and Liverpool are even better.” They have midfielders like Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis MacAllister who can pick the right pass if their forwards are on the move,” Murphy explained. Forward duo Daz and Nez, signed for an initial $126 million (£101 million/€115 million), are perfectly suited to the counter-attack — and Salah can do that while also picking out the right pass and putting the right weight on it.
As he prepares his team for the crucial match at the Etihad Stadium, Klopp will undoubtedly have taken note of how Chelsea caused problems for Manchester City. With Liverpool only one point behind City in the league standings, exploiting the gaps left by Pep Guardiola’s defenders could be the difference between a win and a defeat.
Liverpool.com says: Manchester City only really has once weakness and that is on the transition, it can be caught. Liverpool is a side set up to be able to exploit that but it is easier said than done. Guardiola is likely to pay a lot more respect to the Reds in the way that he sets his team up than he did against Chelsea.
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