Record Breakers: The Tactics Behind Liverpool's andManchester City's Title Triumphs

by Robert Weaver

Overview

Record Breakers: The Tactics Behind Liverpool and Manchester City's Title Triumphs and Record Points Totals lifts the lid on Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola's tactical systems and strategies. Written by a Premier League analyst, the book focuses on the seasons when these two footballing giants registered the highest points totals in Premier League history. It compares their styles and principles of play both with and without the ball, analyses the differences in the positioning of their players and outlines their specific movement patterns, all in the context of how opposition teams attempted to defend against them. Learn how Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling were used very differently from Mo Salah and Sadio Mané, how City's system got the best out of Kevin De Bruyne, and how Trent Alexander-Arnold became a unique playmaker from full-back. From 'inverted full-backs' to 'false 9s' via 'free 8s', discover how City and Liverpool's tactics reflect modern football's evolution. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785319853
Publisher:	Pitch Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	07/15/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	776,926
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Rob Weaver has ten years' experience as a professional opposition analyst, including five years in the Premier League. This included analysing Liverpool and Manchester City in preparation for matches against each other.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Chapter 1 Guardiola at City and Klopp at Liverpool 19

Chapter 2 City in possession overview 33

Chapter 3 Liverpool in possession overview 50

Chapter 4 Build-up: an end to 'split' centre-backs 64

Chapter 5 The evolution of the full-back 82

Chapter 6 City's wingers versus Liverpool's wide forwards 109

Chapter 7 How City accessed one of modern football's key spaces 132

Chapter 8 A modern solution to a modern attacking problem 149

Chapter 9 Liverpool's full-backs as wing-backs 158

Chapter 10 Full-back underlaps 187

Chapter 11 The concept of 'free 8s' 192

Chapter 12 City's and Liverpool's 'final ball' 204

Chapter 13 Firmino and Agüero - modern centre-forwards 231

Chapter 14 A five-man midfield to prevent supply to City's front five 252

Chapter 15 Exposing a single pivot - midfield rectangles and double false 9s 260

Chapter 16 Liverpool's alternative shape - 4-2-1-3/4-2-3-1 267

Chapter 17 How did a back five match up against City's front five? 271

Chapter 18 Liverpool against a back five - isolating the centre-backs 279

Chapter 19 Goalkeepers starting attacks 285

Chapter 20 Why did City and Liverpool high press? 325

Chapter 21 The counter-press: where Guardiola and Klopp's philosophies overlap 365

Conclusion 378

Acknowledgements 380

Bibliography 381