At first glance, Liverpool’s system change against Paris Saint-Germain seemed extreme.
Following the 4-0 humbling away at Manchester City in the FA Cup just days earlier, the Reds ditched the diamond shape they’d been using over recent weeks and went with what appeared to be a 5-2-3.
Arne Slot went with wing-backs in Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez. Virgil van Dijk was sandwiched between Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez in defence while Alexis Mac Allister returned to the team to form a double pivot with Ryan Gravenberch.
In ‘attack’, Hugo Ekitike was to the left, Florian Wirtz was to the right and Dominik Szoboszlai was central.
In his post-match press conference, the Liverpool manager explained his thinking behind the switch up: "They have pace everywhere all over the pitch. Incredible pace - Hakimi and Nuno Mendes have offensive threat.
"We played them with Jeremie Frimpong and with Milos Kerkez, that was the thought behind it. I thought we could try and press them really high and aggressive, every time we tried to press them high and aggressive, those were the moments we got ripped apart."
On paper, this might make sense. You match pace with pace. But in reality, the team selection was one focused on damage limitation. It’s been the story of Liverpool’s season.
After a series of losses late last year, Slot dropped Mohamed Salah, added a centre-back at right-back and used a midfielder on the right side of his attack to shore things up.
He used this approach regardless of the opposition. Sunderland at Anfield got the same level of respect as Inter at the San Siro. Liverpool stopped looking to win games and simply set up not to lose.
The former Feyenoord coach went one step further against the Ligue 1 champions. He didn’t pick a team not to lose. His team selection was that of a manager just hoping to keep the tie alive ahead of the second leg at Anfield.
A loss was almost guaranteed. It was just a case of how many the Reds would lose by.
It will no doubt be disputed but that’s the message Slot sent with his starting XI. Liverpool, the current reigning champions of England, played three centre-backs, two full-backs and essentially four midfielders.
Their only forward in the team was Ekitike and he didn’t even lead the line, he was used on the left.
Slot wanted to match pace with pace but he actually just told PSG to attack his side. He felt as though traditional wingers wouldn’t be able to cope with Hakimi and Mendes.
Instead of focusing on how to deal with the two PSG full-backs, the plan should’ve focused on how the Reds could cause the duo problems.
And the decision didn’t work, did it? Mendes finished the game having carved out three chances and two big chances. Hakimi had three shots and attempted four dribbles. Both were a dominant factor in the game. The Reds sacrificed their attack and still failed to thwart the two they’d honed in on.
So while it may have felt drastic, it tracks with how Slot has managed the season. From don’t lose to don’t lose by a big margin. It would’ve been on his mind after City tore through this Liverpool side with ease on Saturday.
He has no fix for it. He’s had no fix all season.
Back in November, he claimed a dramatic system change wasn’t on the cards.
“Is the question: ‘Should I change dramatically? I don’t know what is in your head but if, for example, you want another system with five defenders that could be an issue. I don’t even have five defenders.
“The system we are playing now suits the players best. They have played this system probably throughout their whole career and there is hardly any training time for us. So it is almost impossible to change our complete idea about football if we play every two days.”
In January, he claimed his philosophy had not changed, despite many observing Liverpool’s conservative approach in games.
“I did not change our style but teams have changed their style against us. My football is Liverpool vs PSG. That is how I would love to have every single game but you need to have two teams to have an open game of football and not all these things [long balls and low blocks] that don’t make a game of football nice.”
Yet when presented with the opportunity to showcase his football, he set Liverpool up like a non-league team making the trip to a Premier League side in the FA Cup.
The Reds were lucky to only lose 2-0. Slot even acknowledged that after the match. Giorgi Mamardashvili made a number of saves and PSG spurned a number of chances.
Liverpool teams of yesteryear would’ve been licking their lips at this scenario. The Reds have overcome greater margins. Anfield on a European night is just different. This feels different though, doesn’t it?
Slot is having an identity crisis right now. The team lack confidence. Anfield is no longer the fortress it once was. Liverpool have nothing to lose in this game. The team selection on Tuesday will, once again, tell us everything.
If the Dutchman opts for a reserved XI, a comeback isn’t on the cards. If he names a strong XI and feeds into the frenzy that is Anfield, PSG could be rocked.
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