Conclusion. Liverpool’s principles and values in possession are incredibly encouraging, constructive and promising, with the potential to generate a lot of high-threat moments. However, the execution in the final actions of the process often lets them down, which naturally affects the overall perception. But if we look at the underlying principles and intentions, everything looks very promising. Iraola is increasingly showing us his personality and his game model, built around a variety of concepts and variations. Contrary to the popular narrative, we are moving towards an elite level of play in possession, but it will take time to fully develop the understanding and, above all, improve the quality of execution. And this brings me back to Wirtz. That is one - but absolutely massive - factor that will influence whether he succeeds at Anfield. Thank you if you made it this far, and apologies in advance for such a lengthy thread🙏

There were also deliberately created attacking transitions through quick restarts after fouls. In the first instance, Kerkez lost the physical duel; in the second, Kerkez took the shot despite having Isak well positioned

I also have footage from the second half, where Liverpool continued to develop their original ideas, but I don’t want to overload an already lengthy thread. One thing worth highlighting, though, is the addition of a concept involving penetrative passes through the half-space, which ultimately played a part in the build-up to the goal

Another situation saw Isak dropping deeper, while Gakpo rotated positions from a deeper area, occupying the half-space and attracting the opposition LB. This created space for Araújo to make his run into the attacking line

Fluidity is intensity - we’re heading in the right direction. This diagonal front-to-back-to-front combination was already a high-quality piece of play. Unfortunately, the final shot lacked precision

With each passing minute, the principles and intentions became increasingly clear: pin the opposition players wide, create passing lanes, and connect through quick one- and two-touch combinations, denying the opponent time to reorganise. This time, Isak turns with the ball and plays it into Barcola. He drives into the box, gets a shot away, and the deflection almost sends the ball into the net

Almost a carbon copy of the previous sequence, with the same technical error - the pass goes out for a goal kick. Barcola is visibly frustrated. Another promising attacking opportunity goes to waste

And again, Liverpool found it relatively easy to enter the attacking zone, but the sequence ultimately broke down because of the decisions made. Wirtz could, and perhaps should, have played the ball into Barcola rather than forcing the play into a congested area. This time, at least, we won a foul in a dangerous position

Similar patterns appeared on the opposite side, where Liverpool liked to use Wirtz, who has a natural ability to build strong relational connections. Isak would drop in to receive the set, while Liverpool repeatedly combined in triangles, constantly creating uncertainty within the opposition block

Liverpool repeatedly returned to these patterns, using Kerkez’s underlapping and overlapping runs. Kerkez plays the ball into Barcola, who sets it back to Wirtz while simultaneously pinning his opponent, clearing the space for Kerkez’s run. Wirtz then plays the ball around the outside to the overlapping Kerkez. Another great example of creating a platform that allows a player to execute and maximise their key strengths in this case, Kerkez

Barcola moves inside, dragging his defender with him, then runs across the ball as it is played into the isolated Kerkez. The sequence unfortunately ends with an unsuccessful cross, but the overall dynamism, collective movements and the ease with which Liverpool entered the final third were encouraging

Iraola was consistently able to unlock the central sector with great ease. Wirtz drifting towards the flanks was particularly helpful, opening up a lane for Szoboszlai to carry the ball forward and then combine through triangular combinations

Another variation was playing through and around the block. Alexis made a movement to create a passing option, did an excellent job of protecting the ball under pressure and then laid it off to Wirtz, which triggered Kerkez’s inside run. Unfortunately, once again, the technical execution let us down - this time from Wirtz

These poor decisions and their negative consequences occurred fairly often, but thanks to sufficiently quick defensive organisation, we were able to prevent them from becoming costly. Iraola knows what he is doing when it comes to working on cohesion and reactions in the transitional phases. If you want to promote a “tennis-style” game, you have to be almost perfect in your transition moments - as an aside, this is why we often see Liverpool putting so much emphasis on refining their out-of-possession game, as you can see, it is the foundation of their IP

The patterns were repeated with different variations through counter-movements, but isolated poor decisions were ultimately what determined whether these sequences succeeded. Gakpo rotates his position, dragging Truffert with him. This automatically opens space for Araújo to penetrate into. However, Alisson doesn’t recognise the opportunity and instead plays the ball into Wirtz - the least physical player in the situation - who loses the duel. The danger is ultimately avoided thanks to an excellent intervention from Jacquet.

From the very beginning, Liverpool demonstrated the full spectrum of their options in possession. As mentioned, the structure was based around a 4-2 / 4-3 shape, with the main idea being to isolate Barcola. This was supported by the wide positioning of the players, creating sufficiently large relational distances within the block. That meant the long balls, which naturally take some time to travel, didn’t give the opposition enough time to reorganise and add an extra player to the area. In this context, the shift to a midfield three was a very smart adjustment

Marco Rose identified an advantage and then neutralised it in his favour - but Iraola had already prepared for that adjustment Iraola had prepared several sub-variations within the long-ball concept. He anticipated that the opponent would eventually shift into a slightly more passive defensive approach, no longer allowing our 6s to pin their markers. This created the conditions to exploit one of Szoboszlai’s biggest strengths: his ability to play long passes with time and comfort, facing forward and with the game in front of him. It also provided a platform for Barcola to isolate his opponent and utilise his 1v1 ability

In this instance, the ball dropped to Wirtz. Gakpo made an underlapping run inside and behind him, looking to connect with Isak, who would receive Wirtz’s pass and set it back, allowing the ball to be progressed centrally through a third-man combination. The idea was clear: bait the opponent into shifting towards the wide channel, thereby opening up the centre of the pitch. Liverpool could then create a collective connection through movement and quickly attack the opposition, with the help of the wide-isolated Barcola. If only Isak had received the ball from Wirtz. Unfortunately, the pass lacked precision and the entire sequence broke down

Liverpool repeated the pattern, using Araújo to break through the opposition line by creating overloads both in front of and beyond the ball. The 6s would pin their markers, while Araújo would subtly move diagonally higher, acting as the link for progressing the ball into the middle third

Szoboszlai would leave his reference area to jump onto the ball carrier, preventing him from turning with the ball and forcing him to play backwards. This was also the trigger for Araújo and the rest of the macro-group to create a closing net around the opponent, compacting the area around the ball. We would then shift into a micro-group of three players, whose responsibility was to win the ball back. In this instance, Liverpool achieved the objective, regained possession and progressed the ball into the final third