Champions League: How Arne Slot and Liverpool Turned Things Around in the Second Half vs Bayer Leverkusen

It’s become a repeated scenario in recent weeks that Liverpool didn’t shift gears until the second half of their games, which happened again in their latest Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen. And so one can only wonder, what did Slot exactly do to produce that second-period performance?

This article will discuss the main reasons Liverpool struggled in the first half and how a few tweaks helped them break the deadlock in the second.

Now, it’s safe to say that Arne Slot’s men started the game as we all expected, especially with the ball.

The Reds used the usual 4-2-4 build-up shape and looked to progress the ball with direct passes from the flanks toward the likes of Luis Diaz, who dropped deep.

This way, the up, back, and through the pattern is initiated, with Diaz laying the ball back and one of the pivots launching the ball toward the wingers.

You can see the same pattern in the second example here but on the right-hand side, with Konate, Salah, and Trent combining to progress the ball.

This strategy kind of worked in the early stages of the game, however, Leverkusen were quick to adjust.

They shaped up in a 4-4-2 pressing structure, with the midfield sometimes forming as a diomande. This was used to contain our midfield players and restrict the Reds from progressing the ball through central areas.

However, the Germans’ press was what really caused Liverpool issues during build-up.

They pressed us in a hybrid manner, meaning that their approach was mixed. They pressed man to man in certain areas and defended zonally in others.

From goal kicks here, you can see that two midfielders were sticking to MacAllister and Gravenberch, that’s the man to man approach. Meanwhile, the Boniface and Wirtz were shadow marking the our pivots and not heavily engaging in the press. The same can be said about their wide players, who waited for pressing triggers to make their jumps.

Meanwhile, the left-sided striker always curved his run from the left-hand side towards Kelleher.

This was done mainly to lock Liverpool’s build-up to the left-hand side, cutting off the passes toward Trent and Konate, who are the Reds’ best ball progressors from deep.

Now when it comes to Liverpool’s defensive structure, things also were not that bright in the first period. Leverkusen were able to easily play through the press in two different ways.

They were able to combine with short passes and progress the ball steadily quickly, but they also managed to go more direct to the flanks with over the top passes.

Leverkusen replicated what the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea did by overloading Liverpool’s pivot players and pulling them wide to play through the center, but they also did something completely knew!

Instead of always dragging LFC pivots wide and creating space in the central area, both Leverkusen pivot players played close to each other in midfield, pulling MacAllister and Gravenberch inside to create space out wide for the likes of Frimpong and Grimaldo to take advantage of.

Fortunately, for the Reds, the backline wasn’t as passive as in recent league games and so, despite Leverkusen finding it easy to progress the ball, the likes of Van Dijk and Konate managed to step out to anticipate the ball.

Most importantly, Liverpool killed the spaces between the lines where the likes of Florian Wirtz can be lethal, which limited Leverkusen to only 0.16xG in the first period.

The second half was where the fun started for Liverpool supporters!

First, the Reds’ approach was more intense without the ball.

The front pressing line was more aggressive giving little to no time and space for Leverkusen to build out from the back as we forced them to go long. From there, there was no chance for the Germans to compete in the air with the likes of Van Dijk and Konate backing the press.

Instead of the 4-2 build-up shape, Arne Slot pushed Alexis MacAllister high up the pitch with Curtis Jones occupying the right hand side. With this change, Liverpool’s build-up structure became more of a 4-3-3 with double eight players.

This forced Leverkusen’s block to drop deeper, as they had to defend the extra man in MacAllister, and so, Liverpool had more space and time on the ball, resulting in more control.

Even when the Germans pressed high, Liverpool were able to target Curtis Jones with direct passes from Kelleher to bypass the press.

Once they had more control, Liverpool players created central overloads, and by moving the ball consistently from side to side, they managed to open up passing lanes towards the center.

The constant rotations the likes of Jones and Diaz provided by arriving into the central spaces was crucial for the success of the out-to-in passes Liverpool were trying to do.

The first action was through MacAllister in the 52nd minute. This one you’re seeing was through Gravenberch who used his magical turn to drive into space and put Salah in a dangerous position.

Minutes later, it was Luis Diaz who received this kind of pass from outside to in.

And finally, in the 61 minutes, Curtis Jones dropped into the space created to receive the ball, before turning and slipping Luis Diaz with a wonderful through ball.

Luis Diaz added the second just a few minutes later, and from that moment on, Liverpool threatened the visitors with almost every attack they had using their best tool in their arsenal: Transitional threat.

After all, this is still Jurgen Klopp’s squad, and Arne Slot should be given credit for not only managing game states and flipping things around but also bringing the best out of this team in transitional moments.

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In other news, Not Gakpo or Diaz: Xabi Alonso Says 27-pass Liverpool Colossus Was Instrumental in 4-0 Win Over Bayer Leverkusen