Liverpool – Galatasaray: Agent Anfield Leads Liverpool out of the Lurch (4-0)

Liverpool lifting their level for continental clashes at Anfield is a tale as old as time. The Kop clamored for a comeback with home advantage in this second leg, and supporters saw a pitch perfect performance when almost everything fell into place, producing a night to be proud of.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

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Galatasaray gave an ambivalent impression of themselves to reach this stage of the tournament. On the one hand, they have demonstrated the individual quality and offensive attitude to overwhelm opponents with energy and emotion. On the other hand, their dubious game management has meant undue stress at several points of their progression— not least the second leg of the playoff against Juventus. With a one goal lead in their back pocket, how would the Turks take care of this clash?

Liverpool look to bring some joy to a campaign that has underwhelmed. Their substantive spending spree in the summer has not signaled more domination in the Premier League; to the contrary, their title defense fell flat from the autumn, and they are mired in a fight to finish in the top five of their domestic division after dropping more points against Tottenham Hotspur. But this unfinished project could still give supporters something to shout about if the players could extend the European run.

Arne Slot swapped two players from the selection he sent out in the first leg at RAMS Park. Alisson was back between the posts, displacing second shot stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Jeremie Frimpong filled in as a right back instead of Joe Gomez. Dominik Szoboszlai sat in the middle of the park with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch. Florian Wirtz would remain the left winger over Cody Gakpo, Mo Salah started on the right wing, and Hugo Ekitiké earned another opportunity upfront.

Okan Buruk brought two new members of his camp into the starting eleven after last week. Wilfried Singo shifted into central defense since Davinson Sánchez was suspended, and Sacha Boey featured as a right back. Goalscorer Mario Lemina partnered with Lucas Torreira as pivots in the midfield. Rolland Sollai stepped up to be the right winger, Barış Alper Yılmaz moved to the left of the attack, and Noa Lang dropped onto the bench. Victor Osimhen aimed to create chaos as the side’s striker.

Committed counterpressure sets the tone

Slot has been scrambling for a solution that works with this group of talent since the start of the season. One of his experiments has involved the use of a front two: occasionally with Alexander Isak and Ekitiké, but also as a way of getting Salah to start further infield, lessening work he must to do to get close to the goal. The availability of Frimpong made that possible, and the hosts switched system from the first leg to use a 4-1-3-2 shape that featured Wirtz and Szoboszlai in wide midfield roles.

Slot’s side did not generate a high shot count through their circulation of the ball, but a big difference could be felt from the first few minutes in their work without possession. Last week, when Wirtz would lose the ball, Galatasaray marched through the middle of the pitch, and Osimhen was allowed to isolate himself against the central defenders like so many other strikers this year. On this occasion, Liverpool successfully pinned the guests in their half of the field through consistent counterpressure

12^th minute: offensive transition from Liverpool. Wirtz had attempted to cross the ball into the box, but the delivery was blocked. Kerkez crashed into a tackle with Boey, allowing Ekitiké to strike. The forward failed to sell a feint, so Galatasaray briefly broke out (although another crunching Kerkez tackle delayed the transition).  Wirtz, Kerkez and Ekitiké immediately converge on Sallai then Mac Allister tackles Torreira, and Ekitiké has another shooting opportunity with Salah on the shoulder.

Liverpool kept their foot on the opposition’s neck, and Gravenberch grappled with Sara, steering the play forwards once more. Szoboszlai set up Salah for a blocked strike, and a follow-up attempt from Wirtz would earn a corner. Mac Allister flashed the ball across the floor, and the path was cleared for Szoboszlai to stride forward and fire an effort into the bottom corner, putting the hosts into the lead.

Minutes later, Salah stole the ball after an attempted back pass from Abdülkerim Bardakcı, and he tried to lob Uğurcan Çakır, but the goalkeeper got a hand to the ball and kept the tie deadlocked.

Liverpool leave chances on the table

Galatasaray were further hindered by an injury to their star striker. A collision between Konaté and Osimhen left the Nigerian writhing on the floor in pain, and he required bandages for his arm. He was virtually a non-entity in attack while Liverpool looked for a second strike to complete the turnaround.

The hosts had successfully found massive gaps in the midfield against a higher press last week, and those spaces were still available even though Buruk’s men rarely strayed beyond the halfway line.

38^th minute: offensive sequence from Liverpool. Another successful high press allowed Gravenberch to get the ball. Torreira jumped towards him, but the Dutchman darted out of the way of pressure and passed into the feet of Mac Allister. His teammate held off Boey, breaking into the room behind Torreira, and five options were pressing up against the last line of the guests. Mac Allister looked for a diagonal pass to feed a straight Salah run, but Jakobs intercepted the through ball cleanly.

Buruk desperately tried to leave Osimhen on the field until the break, but his men were wilting under the pressure. Frimpong misplaced a pullback for Szoboszlai, and Yilmaz let the ball hit his foot to roll towards Ismail Jakobs. But Szoboszlai was too sharp, sprinting before getting clipped by the fullback. Eventually, the referee pointed to the penalty spot, presenting the Reds with a brilliant opportunity to take control of the tie. Salah stepped forward to strike, and Çakır dived correctly to his left.

The Reds wrestle the tie away

At the start of the second half, Buruk made a double substitution. Sallai slotted into the role of the right back as Boey departed the action, Leroy Sané slipped into the position of the right winger, Yilmaz moved upfront as the replacement for Osimhen, and Lang filled in as the left winger.

But before the reinforcements could make any impact, Liverpool locked into another gear. In the 51^st minute, the battles from a long ball produced a free drop for Szoboszlai, and Torreira could not protect the passing lane towards Mac Allister. The two forwards split successfully down the channels: Salah was the first recipient down the right and he found Ekitiké in the penalty area on the left to score.

Anfield’s approval emboldened the players to push on for more goals. Gravenberch got the ball at the base of the midfield, slipping between Yilmaz and Torreira with a tight second touch before feeding Mac Allister to eliminate Lemina. Wirtz wandered forward, and his through ball allowed Salah to shoot at the target. Çakır parried, but Gravenberch finished the slick sequence that he had started.

Wirtz worked open another angle to access the running of Frimpong, and the fullback fired a low delivery into the danger zone that produced an own goal from Singo. However, Frimpong had been marginally offside, allowing the guests to avoid conceding a third goal in the space of six minutes.

The hosts would not have to wait long for that crowning fourth strike. It again arrived through a combination between Wirtz and Salah as the Egyptian forward filed infield. A classic whipped effort at the top of the box flew beyond Çakır, and the tie was truly finished as a competitive contest.

Takeaways

From the word go, it looked like Liverpool were playing with a point to prove. The scoreline should have been more brutal than it was after ninety minutes were over, and the challenge is to set a stable standard for the rest of the season through the platform of this performance. The team can look ahead to a reunion with reigning Champions League holders PSG in the quarterfinals. If Slot can sprinkle some of the magic from this match across that tie, an upset is not outside the realms of possibility.

Galatasaray were the unfortunate outfit to be on the wrong end of such a convincing showing. The odds were certainly stacking up against them: without the backing of their fans, playing at a charged stadium with the relief of their star striker saw the pressure pile up insurmountably. But it is also not the first time the team has struggled to contain a Champions League opponent and smartly ride out waves of pressure. If this group stays together, that is the next step to go deeper in the competition.

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