Liverpool gave fans a glimpse of what a post-Mohamed Salah team could well look like during the Champions League clash with Inter at the San Siro.
While the No11 had been benched for the previous three matches, the team selected by Arne Slot for games against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds United felt like nothing other than a stop-gap. It was the same shape just with Dominik Szoboszlai in on the right in place of Salah.
Against Inter, though, the former Feyenoord boss switched things up entirely. The Reds switched to a 4-4-2 shape with a diamond midfield. Was this by design or simply a reaction to the squad available to him, with Slot having to travel to Italy without Salah, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa for various different reasons.
Credit to Slot, he could’ve shoehorned players into roles they simply weren't suited to in order to keep the shape the same, but he didn’t. He knew it’d be a physical battle in midfield, with Inter deploying three work-horses there, so he matched them in many ways, sticking Ryan Gravenberch at the base of the diamond, Szoboszlai on the right of the diamond and Curtis Jones on the left. Alexis Mac Allister, much to the surprise of a lot of people, was given the No10 position to support a two-man attack made up of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
Slot revealed in his pre-match interview ahead of the game that Liverpool had used a diamond shape against Leeds, though it wasn’t at all apparent during the game.
"I decided to play with an extra midfielder in the game against West Ham. We won the game so I decided to do it one more time against Sunderland.
"At half-time, I brought him [Salah] in. Then against Leeds, we faced a 5-3-2 and I decided to play a 4-4-2 diamond if you want to talk about it like this with Hugo Ekitike a bit off the right side and Cody Gakpo a bit off the left and Florian Wirtz in between. I could have played Mo off the right but I decided to play Hugo."
This time, it was obvious. Isak and Ekitike would split and work the channels. They aren’t so much a partnership, it’s only the second time they’ve played together from the start and you can tell that there’s not a real understanding there just yet. But that’ll come with repetition. It’ll also come when the Reds start to attack as a team. Right now, the objective is fairly obvious.
Stop losing games.
Liverpool aren’t necessarily looking to win. They’re going out looking to keep a clean sheet. And that requires everyone to put in a graft. Even the strikers, signed for a combined £200million in the hope they’d score goals galore.
Against Inter, everyone bought into it.
Ekitike and Isak topped the charts for Liverpool when looking at sprints. The pair also covered the most distance with their sprints. They did more for the Reds without the ball than they did with it. Ekitike was limited to three shots, with two of those arriving after Isak was replaced while the No9 had one attempt all game and that arrived from 22 yards out.
Whereas the previous diamond shape used by a Liverpool manager leant heavily into the attacking talents of Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, this one deployed by Slot was utilised to maximise the off-the-ball work of everyone. Anything in attack was a bonus.
Mac Allister, Jones and Szoboszlai ranked in the top four for distance covered. Mac Allister, Jones and Ekitike ranked in the top five for number of duels won. Gravenberch topped the charts for interceptions.
They worked harder than their hosts. They limited Inter to an xG of just 0.44 and the defeat was their first home loss in Europe since February 2022.
Slot wanted to flood the middle of the pitch and this shape allowed him to get four midfielders involved, often outnumbering the opposition’s midfield three. The plan worked. It also allowed him to get Isak and Ekitike on the pitch together, something fans have been waiting for since the pair joined in the summer.
The Liverpool boss hinted at it early on, saying: "I see Hugo mainly as a No.9, that could also play from the left or together with another no.9.”
Meanwhile, Isak plays in a two-man attack for Sweden. You have to imagine this formation would suit Wirtz too if he was to replace Mac Allister at the tip of the diamond. There are signs that this could be a long-term plan for the Reds. It gives them the solidity Slot is searching for. It gets their three attacking signings into the team without any of them being shoehorned into roles they don’t suit. It also seems to play to the strengths of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong at full-back.
It ticks a lot of boxes for the Reds. It is, however, worth noting that there are some limitations to it. For starters, Liverpool only really possess four midfielders. It means one injury severely inhibits their ability to execute this game plan. It also puts a lot of pressure on the midfield as they have to cover wide areas when defending.
It might be a short-term fix. With how tight the league is, a short-term fix could fire Liverpool back into Champions League contention.
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.