Alright folks, grabbed my coffee this morning – extra strong, needed it – and sat down determined to finally crack how Liverpool lined up against Madrid last season. Kept seeing folks argue about it online, like Trent was midfield or something wild.
Starting Out Messy
First thing I did? Pulled up two browser windows side-by-side. On the left, a replay of the match, full screen. On the right, my crappy notes app. Hit play. Instantly realised I was in trouble. That Madrid press? Mental. Made it hard to even see who was where for Liverpool when they had the ball.
Tried just watching Trent Alexander-Arnold. Everyone raves about him moving inside, right? Watched him for like, fifteen minutes straight, keeping my finger hovering over the spacebar like a maniac. Paused every time Liverpool got the ball in their own half. Saw… him drifting. Yeah, he definitely shuffled into those central zones when Liverpool were building from the back, especially when Fabinho dropped deep. But then… the camera cuts away! Can’t see the full picture!
Getting Down to Pixel Hunting
Frustrated, I grabbed a piece of actual paper and a pen like it’s 1995. Scribbled ‘GK’ at the bottom for Alisson. Above him, wrote ‘CBs’ with Virgil and Konate. Now for the tricky bits.
- Trent: Okay, definitely spent more time near Fab than hugging the right touchline. Especially when Madrid pressed high. But he wasn’t level with Fab, always a bit further forward, kinda buzzing around.
- Robbo: Contrast! Andy Robertson was practically glued to that left sideline. Proper old-school fullback positioning most of the time. Didn’t seem to be tucking in much at all.
- Midfield Chaos: Henderson, Fab, Gakpo? Fab sat deep, obviously. Hendo was everywhere. Left side, right side, dropping deep. Trying to cover so much ground. Gakpo? Honestly, it felt like he was floating between midfield and where Firmino used to play, that bit behind the striker. Wasn’t a pure winger, wasn’t a pure midfielder either.
Kept pausing, rewinding, scratching my head. It wasn’t a neat 3-2-5 or whatever the cool kids draw. Looked messy. Like Klopp told Trent “Get inside when we build,” told Hendo “Cover everything,” told Robbo “Just stay wide, mate,” and told the front three plus Gakpo “Make runs.”
The Big Realisation (and Why Madrid Won)
Finally clicked after rewatching that first Madrid goal. You see the space? Right behind Trent, because he’s tucked in dealing with Kroos or whoever. Robbo’s pinned back wide on the left. Hendo’s trying to get across. Gap. Big, giant hole on Liverpool’s right flank. Madrid targeted it all night. Trent wasn’t midfield. He was a fullback trying to play midfield sometimes, but the rest of the shape didn’t shift to cover the space he left behind him.
Felt proper annoyed then. Like, the pieces weren’t connected. Tucking Trent in felt like a neat idea, but without the left-back doing similar or the midfield shuffling properly, it just opened them up. Especially against mad dribblers like Vinicius. He ate that space for breakfast.
Wrote down my final thought: Liverpool didn’t have a new, solid shape. They just asked key players to do different, sometimes overlapping jobs. Against lesser teams, maybe okay. Against Madrid? Got picked apart in those spaces they left. End of story. Bit of a letdown, really. Expected some fancy tactical masterclass, saw more of a makeshift patch job that got exposed.
