Virgil van Dijk rejected new claims about Liverpool’s 4-4-2 formation. Jurgen Klopp made a big change at the club this season.
Liverpool’s poor form to start the season led to a big change a few weeks ago. Jurgen Klopp moved from his tried-and-tested 4-3-3 formation and switched to 4-4-2.
So far, it’s gone okay. Liverpool beat Rangers, narrowly lost to Arsenal, destroyed Rangers 7-1, beat Manchester City, beat West Ham United and embarrassed themselves against Nottingham Forest. It’s decent but there’s work to do.
Virgil van Dijk addressed the new system in his press conference on Tuesday. He was asked if the 4-4-2 is seeing him dropping deeper with the backline as Liverpool look to play with a bit more caution.
The Dutchman rejects that claim, however, and believes it’s more a case of the team adapting to certain opponents.
“I don’t think [Liverpool have dropped deeper],” said Van Dijk. “I think in the way we play, we have a start system but it’s also about how we fill it in live.
“You need intensity to make it work, regardless of what formation or position you play. I don’t think it changes much in my position and I don’t think we drop off as much as maybe has been spoken about.
“I think if you talk about the game against City, where you know they’re going to have the ball quite a bit, you’ll be aware of the players they have.
“That’s what you do in every game – you try to read what kind of players the opponent has and what their strengths are. And tomorrow [against Ajax] is going to be the same.”
Van Dijk and the 4-4-2 formation
Van Dijk is right. Liverpool aren’t really dropping any deeper with the backline – not noticeably, anyway. The Manchester City game isn’t a fair example, given the completely different style.
The Reds were very high against Forest, though. They pushes and attempted to control the game inside their opponents’ half, dominating possession. The problem was that they couldn’t find a goal and found themselves on the backfoot often.
And the latter is the real problem. Liverpool are on the backfoot more than ever and it’s shining a very bright light on their back four. They’re either too high or too deep – problems you’ll inevitably run into when exposed. The Reds need to find a way to stop that exposure from happening, then the line won’t seem like such a problem.
We do think they’re onto something with the 4-4-2, though. Liverpool have more protection with two sitting players, while attacking with numbers. Finding a way to evolve the system into something uniquely Liverpool is now the big task.
Defensively, though, the gamplan remains the same. Push high, squeeze teams, and win that ball back quickly.
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