It was not so much out of choice but more out of necessity that Jürgen Klopp put out a very brave team against Chelsea on Liverpool’s opening game of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. Without the adequate reinforcements, Klopp simply had to be bold, and in the end — on paper — his decision wasn’t technically a failure, securing an away draw as John Henry watched on from the stands.
But based on Liverpool’s performance overall, Klopp and indeed Henry will have plenty of lessons to take from the way the side performed against Chelsea, and the formation the manager decided to deploy.
In pre-season, and even at times last season, Klopp had already trialed an all-out-attack system, with one of his forward players dropping back into midfield. Last season both Roberto Firmino and Cody Gakpo played in that role.
This time around, without Firmino, it was Gakpo who played most of his pre-season minutes in midfield and earned the call to be used as a number eight against Chelsea as well. To his credit, in pre-season, Gakpo did an exceptional job in that role, but against Chelsea, up against an energetic midfield, the Dutch international struggled a little bit.
It was no surprise that Gakpo — alongside Diogo Jota — was one of the first players to be plucked off and substituted in the game, with Klopp bringing in a more traditional midfielder in Curtis Jones.
Gakpo struggled to get into the game, making just 30 touches in 66 minutes, and won just four of his ten duels.
It wasn’t really through a fault of his own, the system just didn’t operate in Liverpool’s favor. Klopp had gone for a bold approach, taking a big risk and hoping for a high reward, and in the end it did not work.
Chelsea dominated possession. The home side finished with 65 per cent of the ball, and completed more than double Liverpool’s passes in the game. It was a frustrating game for Liverpool, particularly in midfield, with the Reds not capable of getting any sort of control.
Forced to counter attack, there were of course positive moments, but this was a far cry from the way Klopp’s sides at Liverpool dominated opponents in the past.
The all-out-attack formation with a more offensive midfielder like Gakpo might work with two deep holding midfielders, but Dominik Szoboszlai is not that type of player. Like Gakpo, he also has a natural inclination to go forward. Meanwhile, Mac Allister is capable of playing deeper, but he too is better suited to operating a little bit further forward.
Ultimately, Klopp didn’t have a choice against Chelsea. He tried an experiment instead. But it’s an experiment that will have taught him an important lesson. His Liverpool side simply needs more additions, especially in the holding midfield area — with that done, so many more things will fall into place. John Henry must now realize he cannot tie the hands of one of the club’s greatest ever managers for too much longer.
