Liverpool's Fortune, Not Switch to 4-3-3, Leads to Win at Queens Park Rangers
An epic encounter between Queens Park Rangers and Liverpool ended 3-2 to the visitors on Sunday, with a late-goal show treating the Loftus Road crowd.
Let's take a tactical look at how this game played out.
Formations and XIs
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Queens Park Rangers reverted to the 3-5-2 formation they'd previously ditched earlier in the season, with Harry Redknapp apparently desperate to incorporate two strikers against the Reds. Bobby Zamora played up front with Charlie Austin.
Liverpool played a 4-2-3-1 formation again, with Emre Can joining Jordan Henderson in midfield and Steven Gerrard playing behind lone striker Mario Balotelli.
Direct to Zamora
Defying most expectations, Queens Park Rangers were largely excellent throughout the game and dominant in the first half.
They found early success by skipping the midfield altogether and playing longer balls straight into Zamora's chest and head, allowing him to match up one vs. one with Dejan Lovren and bully him physically.
Zamora's hold-up play was strong, allowing the wing-backs and central midfielders to push up and collect the ball off him, sustaining pressure and attacks. Playing off the target man, QPR created several strong chances and saw Leroy Fer strike the bar twice in the first half.
The eye-popping chance of the half—Fer's first—saw Zamora slipped in behind the defensive line and fire a low ball across the box for a tap-in. It wasn't converted, but his excellence was noted by all.
Shambolic Defensive Play
We're accustomed to Liverpool's defence being below par. We all know the attack carried them to their title challenge last season, and when put under actual pressure—for example, away to Crystal Palace—the back line would often crumble.
In recruiting Alberto Moreno, Javi Manquillo (loan) and Dejan Lovren, fans hoped Brendan Rodgers had solved the issue. Unfortunately, with both Moreno and Manquillo unavailable for this game, familiar issues came to the fore.
Jose Enrique is declining rapidly; he doesn't track runners, wakes up half way through games and generally looks unaware of what's going on around him. Glen Johnson isn't much better, although after QPR focused on Enrique, the right side didn't see a lot of action.
Lovren, too, is struggling with the step up. He was marshalled by Jose Fonte at Southampton and neither he or Martin Skrtel are "leading" this side.
Mauricio Isla, Zamora and Sandro didn't even need to be at their best to pick off space and create chances on the right. Enrique struggled all day, and Can's rustiness through not playing for a while shone through.
Switch to 4-3-3
At half-time, despite the score standing 0-0, it was clear Liverpool had been outplayed in most facets of the game. Had Fer not been profligate with his chances and Simon Mignolet not found peak form, they could have been 2-0 down.
Rodgers switched to a 4-3-3, placing Gerrard in the deepest role and slotting Can and Jordan Henderson either side of him, and it immediately helped the Reds gain an element of control. It wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but possession was easier and QPR's dominance was quelled.
Philippe Coutinho and Joe Allen came on just past the hour mark, and though Allen is credited with a strong game retaining the ball, it was more the systematic change that helped.
Coutinho and Raheem Sterling play superbly together, and they were both instrumental in linking quick counter-attacks to score the goals that won the game.
The 4-3-3, albeit infrequently, got Liverpool some way back to their attacking style of 2013-14: playing into space and springing runners into holes.
Quick-fire Conclusions
- Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno need to enter the XI ahead of Real Madrid. Even Kolo Toure is an option at this point.
- QPR were much, much better but still lost, and that's of huge concern to Harry Redknapp.
- Commiserations to Richard Dunne, who scored his 10th Premier League own goal and becomes the first man to enter double digits in that regard. He's only scored nine at the right end.
- Two wins in a row for Liverpool. As poor as they've been, they're picking up points—unlike Arsenal.
- Mario Balotelli was beyond useless. With every pass he received, there was a 95 per cent chance he'd do nothing with the ball and irritate his team-mates. He missed half an open goal from 10 yards and had his back turned, not paying attention, as the cross for the opener was slammed in.
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