It’s not like Arne Slot needed to fix Liverpool’s attack at half-time against Real Madrid.
But despite his side creating multiple chances in the first half, he was able to tweak a few things in search of an improvement.
And since the start of the season, Liverpool have been noticeably raising their level after the break — with the 2-0 victory against Madrid just the latest addition to the list of impressive second halves.
This was on show in Slot’s first Premier League game, a 2-0 victory away to Ipswich Town, when during the break he told his players to focus on winning duels and playing balls in behind because of the opponent’s man-to-man approach.
That tweak guided Liverpool to victory, and another half-time tweak against Madrid brought Slot’s team closer to reaching the Champions League’s round of 16.
Against Madrid’s 4-4-2 defensive shape, Curtis Jones — and to a lesser extent Alexis Mac Allister — occupied the right half-space in the first half in an attempt to break down the opponent’s defence.
However, it meant that darting runs from Conor Bradley that could provide an element of surprise were rare, because the space was mainly occupied by Jones.
Only when Jones briefly roamed towards the left side was there space for Bradley to attack.
This was tweaked in the second half to manipulate Madrid’s defence, with Jones positioning himself centrally and towards the left side. By moving away from the right half-space, Jones vacated that zone for Bradley to attack.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s overload towards their left side forced Madrid to constantly move across and with Mohamed Salah (out of shot) pinning Ferland Mendy down the wing, Bradley could attack the gap between the left-back and Antonio Rudiger.
The contrast between Jones’ touches in both halves illustrates how his positioning changed after the break to exploit Madrid’s defence.
In this example, the England midfielder is positioned towards the left side, allowing Bradley to attack the right half-space. Mac Allister spots the right-back’s run…
… but Rudiger is in position to defend it and the centre-back wins the header.
In another example, Jones is again attacking the left side and combines with Luis Diaz, while Mac Allister is in a central position and Bradley is advancing forward to attack the space.
Liverpool’s overload down their left side forces Madrid’s block to shift in that direction, which moves Rudiger across and allows Bradley to freely attack the space in midfield.
As Jones plays the ball to Mac Allister, Bradley is calling for the pass to be played to him…
… as it will put the right-back and Salah in a two-versus-one situation against Mendy. However, Mac Allister decides to shoot and misses the target.
Again, the positioning of Jones and Mac Allister forces Madrid to focus on defending their right side.
Meanwhile, Bradley is darting into the space between Rudiger, who has been moved across by Liverpool’s left-side overload, and Mendy, who is pinned by Salah’s wide position (out of shot).
Mac Allister then plays the ball over the defence and into the path of Bradley…
… whose header is saved by Thibaut Courtois.
In the following attack, it’s a similar situation but this time Rudiger is keeping an eye on Bradley.
Here, Jones plays the ball infield to Mac Allister…
… and Bradley drops to offer himself as a passing option, which moves Rudiger a couple of steps forward.
Bradley’s threat in the right half-space forces Rudiger to react and, in an attempt to stop the right-back, he moves out of position.
Bradley exploits that by returning the pass to Mac Allister, who is attacking the space Rudiger vacated with Mendy not in a position to cover for his centre-back because of Salah’s threat out wide.
Mac Allister then completes the move by striking the ball into the bottom corner to give Liverpool the lead.
“Before they go out, we always prepare them what to expect from what we have seen from them (the opponent) till now. But what we saw from them (Madrid) until now was with Vinicius Junior,” said Slot after the game.
“Now they lined up without Vinicius Jr, so after the first half we know better what to expect than we knew before the game.
“Sometimes these small adjustments help as well, but it has mainly to do with the effort we put in in the first half already.”
By introducing a subtle tweak in their attacking phase, Liverpool presented another solution to break down Carlo Ancelotti’s defence and it proved to be the catalyst for their first victory against Madrid since 2009.
In Slot’s brief time as Liverpool’s head coach he has shown on multiple occasions how his minor tweaks can affect the game without disrupting the team’s structure and losing control.
It’s a quality that can make the difference in Liverpool’s search for another Premier League title, and especially in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
(Header photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
