Coach’s Corner: Breaking Down Leicester’s Shock Win Against Liverpool

Standout performances from Kasper Schmeichel, Ademola Lookman, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall contributed to the result, but neither side covered themselves in glory and it often felt as though each team was looking to let the other control the game. As we know well by now, Liverpool are at their best when pressing high and winning the ball as close to the opposition goal as possible, but Leicester’s aversion to the ball and inability to keep it when they had it led to both teams looking lost for large parts of the game.

The home side lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation, with a makeshift back line containing Ndidi and Amartey at centre back and key man James Maddison playing in behind the two strikers. Opposition manager Jurgen Klopp spoke pre-match about the problems that Leicester’s midfield diamond caused them in their previous meeting and was wary of the danger posed by Maddison at the tip. From the outset, Leicester’s game plan was to get the ball forward as quickly as possible to what was in effect a front three, bypassing the midfield and trying to get Maddison on the ball in order to create something for Vardy and Iheanacho. This proved effective on occasion in the first half, with Leicester able to take advantage of Liverpool’s pressing to get the ball quickly up the pitch and try to get their front men on the ball while Liverpool’s centre backs were isolated.

Liverpool deployed in their typical 4-3-3 system, with Jota leading the line centrally. They often looked to create 3v2 situations up against the Leicester full backs, particularly on the right flank with Salah, Alexander-Arnold, and Fabinho. On the other flank, Mané and Jota swapped positions fluidly, with Mané drifting inside and Jota either going left or dropping deep. This movement led to Liverpool’s biggest chance of the game from open play after 54 minutes, and I felt that they should have looked to play through the middle much more, especially given Leicester’s inexperienced central pairing.

The big moment in this game wasn’t Salah’s penalty miss and subsequent header onto the bar, but Klopp’s insistence on attacking the wings when Leicester’s central defensive pairing was clearly the weak link to exploit. The Reds set out to play down the wings and constantly switched the play directly between full backs, with Alexander-Arnold often finding Tsimikas with high, cross-field balls.

Liverpool’s Mistake in a Game There for the Taking

Liverpool’s biggest chance in the first half came from the penalty, won after a really, really, poor tackle from Ndidi. Despite the miss, the nature of that foul in the area should have led Liverpool to realise that the Leicester centre back was not comfortable in his position and trigged a switch in tactics to target the centre of the Foxes’ defence rather than the wings. As I mentioned in the introduction, the only other clear-cut chance Liverpool created was also the only time they played down the centre, with Jota dropping in deep and playing Mané through as he came in off the flank. The issue with Liverpool wasn’t that Salah missed his penalty or that Mané shot over, it was that they didn’t create more chances like that one.

56' – Jota plays a wonderful pass into Mane's path, he runs clear of Castagne and goes one-on-one but lifts his effort over the bar.

[0-0]#LEILIV

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 28, 2021

Leicester Slow to Get Going

Leicester took their time to adjust to their game plan, and they really didn’t wrap their heads around it until the second half. They attempted to bypass the midfield and get the ball forward quickly in order to play with the front three while at the same time catching the Liverpool team out of position after a quick transition. In reality, they moved the ball way too slowly, with the centre midfield pairing of Chaudhry and Soumaré the biggest culprits who even gave the ball away sloppily on several occasions.
When the ball did go forward as quickly as required, it was usually Dewsbury-Hall involved over on the left. Vardy took up his usual position playing on the shoulder of the last defender, and had a great chance on 34 minutes after the ball was played forward and circulated quickly. However, there were many more occasions where Vardy made good anticipatory runs but the ball just never came, and Leicester were generally quite poor in possession – which isn’t surprising against a team like Liverpool.

The first half was generally scrappy for both teams, with both looking a lot better in transition and on the counter-attack. Things changed early in the second half, though, when a spate of substitutions included Choudhry coming off for the eventual goalscorer Lookman. The substitution was key not just because of the goal, but because of the difference Lookman made in the centre of the pitch. In fact, despite the three substitutions made across both teams on 54 minutes, I actually only jotted down Lookman’s introduction as I felt that that change in particular would make a difference.

The goal came just a few minutes later and it was no surprise that Lookman was involved. He was much more positive that Chaudhry, looking to move the ball forward and quickly, and making forward runs to support play further up the pitch. This is exactly how he ended up in a position to score after catching out the Liverpool defence by playing in Dewsbury-Hall down the wing and surging into the box to take the return pass and finish. This was the kind of play that Leicester were missing in the first half and it was great reading of the game from Rodgers and Lookman to make the change and play in a more direct style.

Liverpool Huffed and Puffed

After scoring, Leicester dropped back into a half block, only pressuring Liverpool when they encroached into their defensive half. The goal really suited Leicester’s game plan, allowing them to sit back and try to break on the counter, and they actually looked their strongest for the ten minutes or so after scoring. However, as the game wore on and Liverpool committed more men forward, changing to a 4-2-4 after 70 minutes, Leicester invited too much pressure and failed to put passes together, meaning they had to withstand wave after wave of pressure. They were playing far too deep to let Liverpool have so much of the ball, but with two uncertain centre backs and a slim lead to defend it was understandable why they dropped so much.

Liverpool continued to circulate the ball from wing to wing, but were less direct about it after conceding. They played through the middle more often in order to give them the opportunity to penetrate the Leicester defence if possible, before playing to the wing if no opportunity was available. This led to an increased number of attempted shots and forward passes that gave Liverpool plenty of set-piece opportunities in the closing minutes, but ultimately their efforts were in vain, in no small part due to the time they wasted before figuring out that playing centrally was the key.

Liverpool’s Mistake in a Game There for the Taking

Leicester Slow to Get Going

Liverpool Huffed and Puffed

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