Atletico Madrid manage to nullify Liverpool’s creative force
Liverpool’s domestic dominance saw them trail-blazing through the Premier League. In Europe however, they suffered their only loss where they fielded a first team.
Drawn against Diego Simeone’s Atletico, Liverpool would have preferred any other side than the rampant Atleti. The Madrid team might have offensive problems this season but they still boast the second best defense in La Liga. Conceding only 17 goals in 24 games.
In an encounter that was built on heavy pressing from two coaches who in a way or two drink from the same footballing philosophy jar, Atleti managed to beat the odds and come out winners at the Wanda.
The term “defensive masterclass” has been recently labeled on any narrow win for the underdog. Not all of these wins were “defensive masterclasses”, however this one was.
Limiting Liverpool to only 0.5 xG, Atleti shut up shop after an early goal from Saul Niguez. Atleti being Atleti with Simeone up and down the touchline like the principal director of an orchestra. The musicians were everyone else at the stadium wearing red and white. The fans were as pumped up as Atleti’s midfield when they occasionally pressed Liverpool’s build up. It was as if everyone in red and white was living on fast forward.
Stopping Liverpool isn’t something that simple. A team that excels in almost every phase of play while also having the tools to play against different styles. Pressing, set-pieces, possession play, transitions. You name it and they can do it.
Atleti somehow managed to stop them. The shape was no different than the usual Atleti shape. A 4–4–2 that is built to cause you nightmares while you are still awake. Simeone’s idea was to contain two of Liverpool’s main threats. Roberto Firmino’s movement into midfield and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s creativity from the right hand side.
Firmino is a phantom. Aggressively man-marking him harms your shape as he drags players out of positions. Leaving him free lets him link play as he overloads every area of the pitch. Simeone’s idea was to man-mark him if he’s only in a position to threat. It wasn’t as aggressive because sometimes you could find Firmino free during Liverpool’s build up, but Atleti at that time would be pressing Liverpool limiting their passing options into the Brazilian.
Saul was the main man-marker for Firmino. Sometimes it was Thomas Partey if Saul was pressing upfield and at less frequency it was one of the center-backs. Saul made sure that if it was one of the center-backs that he would signal the change of marker.
Early on in the game you can spot Firmino doing his normal thing of dropping into midfield to link Liverpool’s wing play. Saul was breathing down his neck making sure he doesn’t receive the ball comfortably.
This is a common image of Liverpool’s passing combinations. Andy Robertson has the ball by the touchline and plays it into Firmino, who then plays it into Sadio Mane behind the defence. Saul was there to prevent that
Robertson’s pass was further behind but Saul kept going. As leaving Firmino to receive comfortably would allow him time and space to switch the ball to the other side towards Arnold.
In a position where Firmino wasn’t a threat he wasn’t aggressively man-marked, preventing the occurrence of an uncoordinated Atleti shape. Yet Saul always kept track of the Brazilian, regularly scanning the area to know where he would run.
Saul’s scanning worked perfectly in this example. He saw Firmino running into a space in the Atleti defence and now that Firmino is in a dangerous position, the aggressive man-marking is switched on.
Firmino manages to receive the ball and feeds Arnold. This was just damage limitation as if Saul wasn’t alert enough, Firmino would have had the time to adjust his body shape and move inside the box.
Firmino always presents himself as an outlet for Robertson or Arnold to progress the ball towards Salah or Mane. He moves into midfield to catalyze these passing combinations. Saul was alert to that as mentioned earlier and can be seen here.
Once Firmino moves or one of the full backs changes his body orientation. Firmino isn’t a top priority anymore for Saul. Here, he signals to Felipe to pick Firmino up in case Firmino runs into the space. In the situation in the 31st minute Salah was pinning both center-backs so Saul had to track Firmino, here it’s only Stefan Savic who is pinned. Therefore, Felipe is free to pick Firmino up.
The other part of this display was Atletico’s left winger positioning to nullify Arnold. Firstly it was Thomas Lemar, then it was Koke in the second half when Lemar was forced to leave the pitch due to pain — probably from the amount of running he did in that half.
Atleti decided to drop the horizontal compactness in favor of nullifying Arnold. The phrase seems odd but with Saul containing Firmino, none of the other Liverpool midfielders are dangerous enough in terms of creating chances.
When the ball was on the far side of the pitch, Lemar was positioned nearer to Arnold rather than shifting inside to maintain horizontal compactness. The gap left wasn’t issue, because the creative force for Liverpool (Frimino & Arnold) were marked out.
Lemar’s positioning deprived Arnold from the time he had once the ball was switched from the other side. The Frenchman co-ordinated with Renan Lodi, Atleti’s left back, to defend against the threat on that side. Here it’s a 2 v 2 between them and Salah and Arnold. Had Lemar been more inside the field it would have meant that Arnold would receive comfortably as Lodi won’t go out and leave Salah.
As the ball is switched, Lodi had a better body orientation to go out towards Arnold. If Lemar isn’t there and more inside the field it would leave Salah 1 on 1 against Felipe with space behind Lodi. All of this forces Arnold into a pass backwards.
The picture may deceive you into thinking Atleti were playing a back five, but they weren’t. Lemar always kept track of Arnold when the ball was on the other side of the pitch, so that once the ball is switched Arnold won’t have time to receive. Meanwhile, in the center of the pitch you can spot Saul alert of Firmino’s presence.
Even before the ball was anywhere near Arnold, Lemar was always checking where the right full back is. You can see him here completely not looking at the ball and searching for Arnold.
Once Lemar saw that Arnold is behind him, he back-paddled a couple of yards to be in position in case the pass was made.
The positioning of Lemar and his alertness to the situation allows him to intercept the pass into Arnold and start an Atletico attack. This interception was the origin of Alvaro Morata’s chance where he could have doubled the lead.
It was groundhog day when Liverpool had the ball on the left side. Lemar wasn’t fussed about the midfield gap and was always alert to check where Arnold is. This of course is helped by Saul’s quarantine of Firmino which you can spot in the center next to the referee.
Before Arnold receives the ball, Lemar is going towards him to prevent the right back from having anytime on the ball.
The repeated harrowing nullified Arnold and forced him multiple times to go backwards.
Atleti were mainly concerned with nullifying Firmino and Arnold. Here, Lemar is moving outside to be in position in case a pass was played into Arnold. The gap in Atleti’s left channel wasn’t a problem because there was no one to utilize it.
In the second half it was Koke’s turn. A different player but the execution was the same. Positioned nearer to Arnold rather than maintaining horizontal compactness.
This snippet probably tells the story. Rather than going inside to mark Firmino, Koke is completely far towards the wing anticipating a switch of play towards Arnold. Firmino is free centrally, but it doesn’t matter as the other players which would play the ball into Firmino are heavily pressed while the outlet on the right is marked by Koke’s positioning.
Atletico Madrid had space in their midfield but they nullified the creative force that would utilize that space one way or another. So theoretically, the space being there didn’t matter.
Liverpool are the most complete side in world football right now and stopping them isn’t that simple of a task. Simeone did it though by limiting their creative forces of Firmino and Arnold.
A trip to Anfield beckons and if Atleti were to go through they would have to repeat all of this, in addition to what Juergen Klopp brings to the table.
