‘That’s helped’: Carvalho shares what Klopp now has Liverpool doing to ‘get back to our best’

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Fabio Carvalho says Liverpool now watch videos of last season for one very good reason. The Reds hope to recapture something special.

Liverpool have their mid-season training camp fully underway after a friendly against Lyon on Sunday. The Reds lost the game 3-1, but as Phil Thompson points out, no one should read into the result too much.

This training camp is all about gradually finding Liverpool’s best form, after all. They don’t return to competitive action until December 22nd, giving them plenty of time to find it.

And it turns out that friendlies and training sessions aren’t all Liverpool are up to. Jurgen Klopp has them watching videos of last season, says Fabio Carvalho, in an attempt to fix their pressing.

“We’ve been looking at videos from last season and obviously that’s helped,” Carvalho told LFCTV. “[Liverpool] want to get back to the pressing how the team pressed last year, which was very useful to win games.

“We created a lot of chances from it. We haven’t been at the level, pressing-wise, this year and it’s something we’ve been working on. We’ll keep working and hopefully get back to our best.”

Liverpool watch videos of last season

It’s a good idea, given Liverpool were unquestionably sharper with their pressing last season. One massive reason that every defender has looked weaker last season – even Virgil van Dijk – is that the press isn’t as effective.

Once that press is weak, teams can attack quickly and isolate defenders. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho have carried the brunt of that – both have found themselves isolated against runners all season long. That doesn’t happen if the press is tighter and more aggressive.

High-intensity pressing is undoubtedly the hallmark of Klopp’s system and style. This season is hasn’t been up to scratch, either through personnel changes or exhaustion. This break, for several reasons, should see a return – and viewing last season’s perfection is a fantastic way to show the players what’s gone wrong.