Pep Lijnders explains the Salah and Firmino tactical change

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Pep Lijnders, assistant to Jurgen Klopp, has broken down the thinking behind Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. The duo have played different roles for much of the season.

Last season’s 4-3-3 system was very successful for Liverpool. Salah was a revelation on the right wing, Firmino established himself as an outstanding ‘false 9’, while Sadio Mane offered unpredictability from the left.

It was enough to push Liverpool to the Champions League final, of course. This year, however, Klopp has gone in a different direction.

Liverpool have lined up with a 4-2-3-1 for much of the season. The biggest different is Salah’s role, with him playing as a traditional striker this year.

It worked, too. Salah is the joint top scorer in the Premier League with 17 goals, along with Sergio Aguero.

They haven’t looked like the side of last season, though. Liverpool have won games and looked grittier but the free-flowing attack of last year isn’t quite there.

So what brought about the change? Why did Liverpool move away from something so successful? Lijnders detailed exactly why Salah and Firmino were moved to goal.com.

Lijnders on Salah and Firmino

“First of all, Mo has the ability to create from the inside,” he said. “That differentiates him from many others of his type – he’s a real goalscorer.

“So, to have him in the last line as high as we can, with the speed he has, the goal threat he has, it makes it easier for us to create a freer role for Bobby [Firmino].

“For Mo, it’s really good to understand the game in that way, to be the point. For him it’s great. He’s closer to the goal, he can use his speed more, he’s more where we want him to be.

“That’s a natural development for him.”

While results justified the move, Firmino doesn’t look as strong. The Brazilian has scored nine goals this season but a hat-trick against Arsenal distorts those figures slightly.

His withdrawn role, making him more of an attacking midfielder, arguably leaves Firmino a little unsure. His best game has undoubtedly been against Arsenal, but outside of that he’s been a little disappointing.

It’ll be interesting to know if Klopp & co stick with the set up – the last two games have seen a reversion to 4-3-3 – but Lijnders does sound high on it.