Southampton vs. Liverpool: Tactical Review of Premier League Game
Southampton succumbed to a "job well done" by Liverpool on Sunday, losing a close game 2-0 at St. Mary's Stadium. A Philippe Coutinho stunner and a Raheem Sterling second settled the tie, though the hosts had a number of gripes with the referee and were probably good value for two penalties.
It was a fast and frenzied game, so let's take a look at three major tactical talking points that emerged from the game.
Formations and XIs
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Southampton began in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Steven Davis holding alongside Victor Wanyama. James Ward-Prowse played just ahead, and Filip Djuricic made his first start on the right.
Liverpool played their usual 3-4-2-1 and started without Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Sturridge. Raheem Sterling started up front, while Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren—two former Saints players—also played from the beginning.
1. The Dejan Lovren-Emre Can Decision
An interesting call right from the very start was how the introduction of Lovren shook up the Liverpool back line. The early conclusion: not positively.
Lovren coming in forced Can to left-centre-back despite excelling on the right since the turn of the year, and it's an even stranger decision when you consider how Lovren can only really play left-centre-back, not right-centre-back, in a four-man defence.
What's happening there?
Inside the first 25 seconds, Djuricic shot free of the line, and Can was forced into a clumsy challenge that could have resulted in a penalty. Unfamiliar on the left side, he flailed for most of the game and hacked down Nathaniel Clyne later on only to bizarrely escape punishment once again.
Lovren bringing the ball out on the right was also very difficult to watch, making the entire setup hard to understand. Liverpool won and collected a clean sheet, yes, but Martin Skrtel was immense in covering his colleagues' tracks, and referee Kevin Friend did the away side a lot of favours.
2. Southampton's Refusal to Play Quick and Long
Southampton's 4-2-3-1 clashed with Liverpool's 3-4-2-1 in the middle, clogging the central zones and trapping up to eight men in a small zone at any one moment.
Joe Allen enjoyed a stellar second half, and Victor Wanyama blazed through the game in his typically powerful fashion; with no space and everyone committed to the tackle, it was odd to see the hosts try and force play short and central so often.
Clyne opened up a few times on the right as he got behind Lazar Markovic, but Saints utilised few of their chances to play longer, quick balls. Even after Eljero Elia was threaded through on goal and Simon Mignolet controversially blocked his effort on goal with his hands outside the box, the threat wasn't used nearly enough.
With two defensive midfielders, two No. 10s and three centre-backs, Liverpool fell into a defensive shell and withstood the pressure using their numerical advantage. Also, very few chances were created via high turnovers due to Graziano Pelle's (understandable) inability to press three defenders.
3. Inspired: The Introduction of Alberto Moreno (and a Bit of Jordon Ibe)
Southampton introduced Morgan Schneiderlin at half-time for Davis, but that wasn't the substitute that changed the game. Brendan Rodgers made an even better move during the same interval, replacing Markovic with Moreno.
Markovic's obvious shortcomings as a wing-back have been hidden over the past two months due to the amount of pressure Liverpool have sustained in games and the sheer amount of the ball they've seen, but against Saints, where they were firmly on the back foot, his lack of defensive nous flared up in bright colours.
Rodgers saw this and swapped him for a player naturally suited to the left-wing-back role in his system. Moreno bombed up and down, using his speed and multifaceted skill set to wreak havoc. He handled Clyne with aplomb, shut off Saints' obvious threat down his flank, and his low cross caused the second goal.
He even stood up to the Sadio Mane-Clyne combination once the former had been substituted on. Jordon Ibe, on the opposite flank, also had an outstanding day once again, with this match serving as a 90-minute lesson in just how important the Reds' wide players are in the 3-4-2-1.
