Liverpool – Real Madrid: A Bitter Taste For Xabi Alonso At Anfield (1-0)

In the hope of a similar outcome, Xabi Alonso counted on the same setup to clash against Liverpool at Anfield. Nonetheless, a shortage of solutions in the final third, vulnerability in defensive setpieces, and Arne Slot’s tweaks against Real Madrid’s man-marking high press secured the victory for the Reds.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Real Madrid and Xabi Alonso bounced back from their loss against Atlético Madrid in Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Since then, Los Blancos have managed to win six out of six games. In the middle of this run, Real Madrid edged past the Old Lady in the UEFA Champions League, building momentum for El Clásico. The controversy fueled the atmosphere before the clash. Real Madrid came out victorious, expanding their lead to a five-point difference.

Since the end of September, Liverpool has been on a run of bad results. The Reds have lost six games out of eight, with four of them being in the Premier League. That saw Arne Slot’s side be adrift by seven points with Arsenal. Inability to defend long balls and vulnerability in transition were the main issues Arne Slot had to put an end to. The return to the old setup appeared to be the getaway. As a result, Liverpool tasted their first win in a while against Aston Villa, gaining stability before Real Madrid’s game.

Arne Slot made one change to the main eleven that started the Premier League fixture against the Villains. Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil Van Dijk, and Andy Robertson formed the backline. Ryan Gravenberch partnered with Mac Allister in the pivot. Mohamed Salah hugged the touchlines on the right, whereas Cody Gakpo made way for Florian Wirtz on the left. Hugo Ekitiké led the attack.

Xabi Alonso relied on the same setup that won him the game against Barcelona. Éder Militão and Dean Huijsen paired in the middle of the defense. Federico Valverde and Alvaro Carreras acted as fullbacks. Arda Güler and Aurelien Tchouaméni composed the midfield with Eduardo Camavinga as a right winger and Vinicius Junior on the left wing. Jude Bellingham operated behind Kylian Mbappé.

Liverpool out of possession

High up the pitch, Liverpool pressed Real Madrid in a 4-2-3-1 formation in which Salah and Wirtz narrowed inside to limit central access and jump onto the fullbacks. Ekitiké and Szoboszlai engaged with the center-backs and screened Güler and Tchouaméni, whereas Gravenberch occupied Bellingham between the lines and was ready to pounce on Tchouaméni, with Mac Allister staying close to Arda Güler. At the backline, Liverpool tended to keep an extra defender against Real Madrid’s front three.

When Real Madrid’s center-backs picked the fullbacks, Liverpool executed a series of jumps. On the left side, Salah ran toward Carreras, and Szoboszlai stuck with Tchouaméni. Ekitiké readied himself to spring toward one of Real Madrid’s center-backs. On the far side, Wirtz narrowed inside to keep tabs on Arda Güler. Mac Allister took charge of Bellingham, allowing Gravenberch to shift wide and Bradley to jump toward Mbappé, who dropped in. The rest of the backline swung across to cover behind.

On the right side, Ekitiké kept a close position with Éder Militão, with Wirtz running toward Valverde. Salah shifted across to mark Tchouaméni, with Szoboszlai occupying Arda Güler. Mac Allister joined the crew to provide support whilst Gravenberch tracked Bellingham across the pitch. Near the touchlines, Robertson stepped out on Camavinga, whereas Van Dijk, Konaté, and Bradley swept across.

6th minute: Huijsen exploits Ekitiké’s diagonal run to access Tchaouméni, who feeds Carreras near the flanks. Real Madrid’s left back misses his pass toward Vinicius Junior, who moves deeper; however, Bradley’s clearance goes back to Carreras. The latter clips the ball to Vinicius in a one-on-one against Konaté. Bradley immediately recovers to double up on the Brazilian winger.

In settled possession, Álvaro Carreras tended to invert and draw Salah inside to open up a direct passing lane between Huijsen and Vinicius Junior. That put the latter in isolated situations against Bradley, who limited the Brazilian’s risk. In the low block, Gravenberch moved across to mark Mbappé in the left inside channel, which left Szoboszlai and Mac Allister overloaded by Real Madrid midfielders.

Arne Slot solutions to Real Madrid high press

To overcome the hosts’ man-marking high press, Liverpool center-backs split wide to expand the distance Bellingham or Mbappé had to cover before arriving at their targets. Ekitiké dropped deeper as a free option, unlocking the diagonal passing lane between him and Konaté. The former switched the play toward the right side, where Szoboszlai joined the ball-side to distract Carreras and give Salah space to collect the ball uncontested. Huijsen covered behind Carreras, whereas Militão was still recovering. In the meantime, Wirtz moved infield, creating a numerical superiority with Ekitiké around Valverde.

In the low block, Real Madrid defended in a 4-1-4-1 lineup. Arda Güler marked Florian Wirtz, who narrowed inside between the lines. Jude Bellingham jumped on Konaté, cutting off access to Gravenberch. However, Szoboszlai darted around Tchouaméni, threading between Konaté and Salah. The Egyptian winger found himself in a one-on-one situation against Carreras. However, he failed to dribble past Real Madrid’s left back.

23rd minute: Liverpool’s buildup sequence against Real Madrid’s man-marking high press. Mamardashvili finds Salah with a line-breaking diagonal pass. Bradley sneaks around Vinicius Junior to access the space between the lines. The former, with an underlaping run, receives Salah’s pass and scampers forward. Vinicius Junior recovers; however, he fouls Bradley to prevent him from continuing forward.

Real Madrid had the numerical advantage in the backline to work the ball around Liverpool’s high press. Nonetheless, the Reds tended to trap the hosts near the touchlines, with Robertson and Wirtz swarming around Camavinga to dispossess him and turn over. Twenty-five minutes in, Valverde halted Wirtz from capitalizing on the turnover and initiated a counterattack. Carreras picked up the ball and found Mbappé on the left side. The French striker fed Vinicius Junior, who waited for Carreras’ overlap. Real Madrid’s left back responded; however, Bradley successfully blocked off Carreras cutback.

One minute later, Liverpool retreated to defend in a low block with Gravenberch keeping tabs on Carreras in the left inside channel. Down the central corridor, Bellingham dropped out to draw Mac Allister’s attention and stretch the space between the lines. Enter Tchouaméni, who was left unmarked by Szoboszlai, but the French midfielder’s shot wasn’t enough to threaten Liverpool.

Real Madrid’s man-oriented press enabled them to funnel the play sideways and force Liverpool to go long. Half an hour gone, Courtois swept behind the backline to clear Bradley’s long ball toward Carreras. The latter’s headed clearance landed at Bradley’s feet. Tchouaméni jumped on Szoboszlai, whilst Huijsen and Carreras shuffled wide toward Salah and Wirtz. As a result, the home team stretched the space between the lines for Bradley to prod a diagonal pass onto Ekitiké, who attacked the space between the center-backs. Liverpool generated a three-versus-three on the right inside channel. Real Madrid withdrew to their penalty box, allowing Szoboszlai space to shoot.

Real Madrid took advantage of Liverpool’s hybrid press by baiting Ekitiké to press Huijsen. Not only that, but the visitors’ center-backs split wide, expanding the distance and overloading Wirtz on the right side. Meanwhile, Bellingham dashed deeper, creating separation with Mac Allister and providing himself as a free option. Nevertheless, the Argentinian midfielder immediately closed down Bellingham, stripping the ball away from him. Gravenberch picked it up and accessed the overlapping Bradley, whose cross was cleared by Huijsen.

Nevertheless, decreasing intensity might be a one-way ticket to disaster. To elaborate, Valverde tended to narrow inside and carry the ball around Wirtz. Camavinga withdrew down the flanks with Tchouaméni and Bellingham shuffling toward the ball side. Real Madrid’s trio worked the ball out as Wirtz, Szoboszlai, and Gravenberch allowed them space to navigate passes. Resultantly, Tchouaméni infiltrated the space between the lines and fed Mbappé down the central corridor. The latter picked out Vinicius Junior, who failed to dribble past Conor Bradley.

In a medium block, Real Madrid’s fullbacks operated close to the center-backs, attempting to shift Liverpool’s defensive unit across. Meanwhile, Bellingham pinned Bradley on the left inside channel to free Vinicius Junior to receive Valverde’s switch. Gravenberch shifted to provide support to Bradley, which freed Bellingham inside the box to collect Vinicius Junior’s pass and dribble past Konaté to fire a shot into Mamardashvili’s body.

Long balls remained one of Liverpool’s solutions to bypass Real Madrid’s high press and medium block. Nearing the end of the first half, Mamardashvili clipped the ball toward Ekitiké down the right half-space. The French striker, with Szoboszlai operating wide, overloaded Carreras. The former collected the second ball and pulled the trigger. Courtois, with a heroic save, denied the hosts’ chance to open the score.

Florian Wirtz freedom to roam

Florian Wirtz had the license to roam freely. He joined the crew in the middle of the park as Gravenberch stepped behind the block. As a consequence, Liverpool generated a three-versus-two situation in midfield. Additionally, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai switched positions, with the latter attracting Vinicius Junior to jump. By doing so, Bradley was the Reds’ free option to work the ball out. In the meantime, Wirtz’s run toward Huijsen pushed the latter backward to expand the space between the lines and open up a diagonal passing lane between Bradley and Ekitiké.

When operating wide on the left, Wirtz and Robertson pinned Arda Güler and Valverde near the touchlines. Camavinga moved to midfield in the second half, so he tracked Mac Allister when the latter darted deep on the left. Down the central channel, Szoboszlai tied Tchouaméni’s hands. Therefore, the Reds enlarged the distance between Real Madrid’s double pivots for Gravenberch to sneak behind Bellingham. The latter had no choice but to foul the former.

54th minute: Liverpool buildup sequence. Wirtz, operating between the lines, delays Camavinga’s jump on Mac Allister. Konaté exploits the situation by enticing Bellingham to press and pick out Mac Allister. Meanwhile, Bradley crept behind Vinicius Junior to unlock the progression. As a reaction, Real Madrid is forced to retreat, with Gravenberch functioning around Bellingham and exploiting the space between Tchouaméni and Camavinga to slide the ball to Ekitiké. The latter lays the ball off to Szoboszlai, who is fouled by Tchouaméni.

Five minutes later, Gravenberch moved behind Real Madrid’s first line of the press to unlock the passing lane between him and Bradley. Tchouaméni shifted across to monitor Wirtz on the right side, with Camavinga jumping onto Mac Allister. As a consequence, Szoboszlai remained free between the lines, whereas Ekitiké had room between the visitors’ double pivots to drop in and receive Gravenberch’s diagonal pass. Ekitiké threaded with Wirtz in a one-two combination, allowing him to scamper forward and find Salah on the right at the edge of the box. Militão cleared Salah’s inswinging cross away.

Wirtz and Ekitiké swapped positions on the left side, with the former pinning Militão inside and the latter pulling out Valverde near the flanks. That vacated the space behind the Uruguayan for Robertson to conquer on the underlap. Mac Allister deceived Arda Güler, exploiting his blindside to link with Ekitiké and gallop through Real Madrid. Fortunately, Militão stepped out to cut off the pass toward Wirtz.

Real Madrid lack of numbers in the box

Camavinga returned to function as a right winger with Mac Allister following him across. Kylian Mbappé tended to join his compatriot on the right side, with Tchouaméni and Güler penetrating the box. Liverpool overloaded the Real Madrid pair at the edge of the six-yard box. Hence, the Reds’ center-backs easily dealt with the visitors crosses.

Liverpool sat in a 4-2-3-1 low block. Dean Huijsen tended to invite Szoboszlai to press and find Arda Güler around Florian Wirtz down the right inside channel. The Turkish midfielder dribbled past him and picked out Mbappé on the left half-space. The same rituals occurred, wherein Vinicius Junior carried the ball toward the cutback zone and played it toward the far post, where Robertson headed the Brazilian’s delivery away.

Real Madrid found space around Liverpool’s low block to work the ball out. Alvaro Carreras pushed on and underlapped Vinicius Junior. Salah tracked back to provide support against the Brazilian, with Gravenberch taking charge of Carreras. That evacuated the edge of the box for Vinicius to find Kylian Mbappé, whose shot went wide.

Takeaways

Liverpool put an end to Real Madrid’s winning streak since the 5-2 thrashing against Atlético Madrid. The Reds exploited Real Madrid’s man-marking approach via long balls toward Mohamed Salah, who was able to unlock progression via his link-up play. Additionally, Florian Wirtz, having the freedom to stroll, was another alternative to overload Los Blancos midfield and work the ball out. Not only that, but Xabi Alonso’s players commited mistakes close to the box, which served Liverpool well in exposing Real Madrid’s vulnerability in defensive setpieces.

Xabi Alonso stated that Real Madrid was unable to gain ground and access in the final third. Arne Slot alluded that he instructed his players to either press high up the pitch or to retreat and defend in a compact low block. The telos was to negate the space and prevent Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior from running behind. Not only that, but Xabi Alonso admitted that his team lacks accuracy while circulating the ball, which hindered Los Blancos in imposing themselves.

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