Champions League Final – You are the coach!

This topic contains 19 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by The Fulcrum The Fulcrum 1 year, 10 months ago.

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  • #2100937
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Rob Fort Worth TX
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    • :

    An hour gone and Madrid are winning.

    Not the best of starts to a second half and worrying signs that Madrid are taking control. Still decent possession from us, but, like we’ve seen often this season, inconsistent end product down to not the best choices in the attacking third (credit to Madrid tho for an excellent, organised shape out of possession).

    Something has to change. What would you have done?

    I’ll kick off if I may?

    Madrid were having a lot of success in mid. Tired legs were beginning to show.

    Lads, we’re going 4231.

    On comes Tsimikas for Robbo to offer something different on that side.

    Off comes Diaz and Henderson.

    On comes Minamino and Bobby so our line-up looks like:

    Alisson
    Trent, Konate, VVD, Tsimikas
    Fabinho, Thiago
    Salah, Minamino, Mane
    Bobby

    I’d have kept Keita where he was (3 goals, 1 since October and 1 assist all season isn’t what we need in that moment). Extra body in mid with the quick feet of Minamino and Bobby mixing it up in the box at every opportunity. Jota, an option up front but 1 goal in 6 weeks (14 games) doesn’t overly instill confidence in me that he’ll put us level. One other options is Bobby as the 10 and Origi (or Jota) up top.

    Would the tactical shift have guaranteed a goal or two, would it balls, but it’d have given them something different to think about last half hour and hopefully, a goal in open play for the first time in a final this season (5.5 hours and no goals).

    Over to you!

    BTW, this is FUN. I want to keep this thread FUN. As soon as it starts getting into realms of playground ‘my Dad’s harder than yours’ daftness I’m just gonna ask the Eds to remove it. Cheers.

    #2101050
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
    Blocked
    • :

    Well, I had hoped for a 4231 during the match, I cant remember exactly when, so I’ll have a go at that. This game was crying out for Firmino IMO. So the formation change is a no-brainer.

    Alisson
    Trent – Konate – Van Dijk – Robertson
    Fabinho – Henderson
    Salah – Elliott – Mane
    Firmino

    Klopp mad the right call in taking Diaz off. That was the biggest game of his life, and an incredibly valuable experience for him but he wasn’t able to give us the goods, on the night.
    I’d love to have continued with Thiago but I don’t think he was fully fit.
    So, they would be the 2 to go off and ya, later on, Milner for Hendo, if he was too tired to play on. Again OT is a big question here but Milner would do a really solid job in that role.

    Tsimikas on for Robertson late on for fresh legs, perhaps, depending. The fitness of Fabinho in OT… We’re really beyond any guessable threshold there though arent we.

    #2101100
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
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    • :

    I’d also have gone 4 2 3 1 With 20 minutes left and Madrid starting to keep the ball more…..

    Here’s my wildcard setup….
    Alisson.
    Gomez, Konate, Matip, Tsimikas….
    Fabinho, Vvd….
    Salah, Firmino, Jota….
    Mane.

    I know it may seem counter productive to bring on defensive players when needing a goal, but those defensive players are ball winners and extra targets for corners and set pieces. They are all good in transition and might have brought a bit of calmness to the attacking players, who were exhausted from chasing counter attacks from the low block setup.
    There are a lot of goals in those 4 attackers

    #2101114

    gingerlfc
    Participant
    • :

    For the last 15mins of the game we went 4-2-4 which in actuality looks more like 2-4-4 with the fullbacks pushed up. A ridiculously attacking formation, much more attacking than 4-2-3-1. Basically a full court press.

    The amount of the ball we had in their box was crazy, unfortunately through a mixture of Courtois excellence and not the greatest finishing we couldn’t put it away.

    With the 5 subs i think I would have made a double sub earlier.
    It’s very, very unusual for us not to score over 90mins.
    Coincidentally the only other times I remember us not doing it was in the 2 previous finals.

    I don’t really think we have the players to suit a 4-2-3-1.

    It was a final in which a team with 1 shot on target, who’s keeper won MOTM, who conceded 9 shots on target won. A tad strange.

    #2101132

    Mikus
    Participant
    • :

    Rob, I mostly agree but I’d have maybe flipped Bobby and Minamino around. I think Bobby would have been a better feeder of the ball into the box and Minamino is best at the very top end of the pitch as a runner/finisher as I don’t think he has the physicality to play deeper. The goal he scored vs Southampton typified where he best fits. But both players have a bit more cleverness about them. I like Jota but I don’t think he was what we needed at that time and he’s also less effective on either wing.

    #2101209
    MrMakaveli
    MrMakaveli
    Blocked
    • :

    If Klopp put Van Dijk in midfield for the first time, in a final and didnt win, he’d get absolutely battered by the press for bottling it etc. I think Van Dijk would be well capable of playing the role, as his technical skills are far beyond your standard CB, so on paper it’s definitely an interesting one. It’s food for thought, when you consider the quality and indeed qualities of our 3 main CB’s.

    #2101231
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
    Participant
    • :

    Yeah, I mean it’s just a bit of fun and can’t see klopp ever do it….but think he has played there for Nederlands before. Think weve probably all had our fill of players being played out of position after last season….but as a break glass wildcard solution I think its got some merit.

    #2101234

    gingerlfc
    Participant
    • :

    You’d have made your team more defensive with your changes.
    I don’t see the benefit in that when chasing a goal.

    #2101239
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
    Participant
    • :

    Our attack became ineffective late on because we could retain the ball and we couldnt make any space. We could have brought on 11 forwards and that looked unlikely to change. As said it’s just a bit of fun but if we could have retained the ball and out muscled them and also made better use of our corners we would still have had 4 very attacking players on pitch with goal threats also from Matip, konate, vvd, Fabinho

    #2101244

    gingerlfc
    Participant
    • :

    I just don’t see how having 4 centrebacks and a defensive midfielder on the pitch at the same time for the last 15/20mins increases our likelihood of scoring a goal or 2.

    But that’s just me.

    #2101266
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Participant
    • :

    Tsimikas, really, should be the only change at the back. 4231 essentially turns into a 343 with the ball offering balance in front and behind with the two centre halves now WIDE and the number 6 split between them.

    Thiago and Fabinho screening with one operating as an 8 depending on which side the attack is, Minamino with license as the 10, Robbo and Trent doing their thing with the 7 and 11 to double on the flanks (the 7 and 11 then look to cut it quick) and then the 9 looking for pockets and space in the box and also trying to take a centre half with him. We definitely have the personnel to run this formation.

    We didn’t stretch Madrid enough second half. Yes, we had chances, but majority of the time Madrid were able to keep the opponent and the ball in view.

    #2101280
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
    Participant
    • :

    Gomez in for Trent because Taa was giving us nothing in the later part of the game. He was frustrated, tired and very sloppy. I thought the question was what would you do(with the benefit of hindsight) in the final parts of this specific game. Not with a completely fit and firing squad what formation would you like to play with

    #2101283
    Rob Fort Worth TX
    Rob Fort Worth TX
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    • :

    Fulcrum, yes, post 60 min changes.

    #2101295
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
    Participant
    • :

    Well, in the game I saw, for the final 30minutes I thought our midfield was very ineffective at recovering the ball and getting it back to our forwards, I also dont think we had midfielders on the bench that were going to change that (maybe Ox before he was injured a couple of seasons back….or Elliott before his injury, but dropping them in now would be daft), I thought Robbo and Trent were out on their feet and out of ideas. I thought Firmino came on too late to have any impact and saw very little ball. Jota came on and I think won us two corners…that were then poorly delivered and target men swamped. I like Minamino as he is good at creating space but wouldnt bring him in a head of Firmino who showed great use of space in the recent Southampton game. I think it’s fair to say that mane or salah were staying on unless injured. Of course I would pick more attacking players to come on …..but that’s what Klopp did….and it didnt work….so went for something different. But I think we all know, if that very same game was played in the same way with the same players 10 times in a row… then 9 times out of 10 we would have got one past Courtois

    #2101325
    Razor
    Razor
    Participant
    • :

    Would have thrown on Matip in the final few minutes seeing as we sent Virgil up to win long balls. Probably would have taken Robertson off for Tsimikas at some point. Seeing as the game plan was to man-mark Kroos and Modric, I would have brought on Thiago later instead of starting him as he wasn’t fully fit. The forwards were isolated as well, essentially playing 3v5 against their defenders and Casemiro and the distances between the lines were too large. Was far too static up front. Jota up front would have suited the way we were playing better IMO. We didn’t have a compact shape from back to front. We could have squeezed them a bit higher up the pitch and gone man to man with Virgil on Benzema, Robertson on Valverde and Konate on Vinicius. We had better defenders this time than when we dominated them at Anfield. Sad to say, I think Klopp overcompensated by dropping the defensive line and concurrently using our #8s to go man-to-man in midfield and we couldn’t play our game effectively while still pushing the forwards up against their defence. Left too many gaps for our press to cover.

    #2101337

    captkirk
    Participant
    • :

    I put Matip in my starting line up because he’s more experienced than Konate, been there done that, and his forays that destabilise the opponent was missed, he was instrumental in that goal Salah scored against City.
    Had called for Gomez introduction at HT.
    I was surprised Origi was not on the bench, big time player who can make himself a nuisance upfront. Have I missed something here? cause I was convinced he would be in contention to come on late like in Madrid against Spurs.
    Five subs were not used to freshen things up, would even have had Minamino have a crack of the whip as Salah had tried in vain to breach Courtois.
    That was never going to happen anyway and feel Klopp is indebted towards players who made him win a CL and is not prepared to shake things up and hurt the egos of the superstars in the team.
    That’s an advantage Pep has over Klopp as he is ruthless, but I’m straying a bit here.

    #2101360

    gingerlfc
    Participant
    • :

    Origi has a move lined up and I imagine he/the club did not want to risk that with an injury.

    #2101408
    j c
    j c
    Participant
    • :

    I would have been tempted to go 3 at the back, Konate, VVD and Fabinho. Then press TAA and Robbo much higher.

    Then I’d want the midfield pair to help out in the wide areas when needed, as we aim to attack down the wings and stretch the Real Defense. Forcing them to increase the gap between defenders, creating much more space to move and play the ball into.
    The left and right player in back 3 keep tabs on Real’s wide men while we’ve got possession (in case they get too cocky and aren’t pinned back by the presence of taa and Robbo).

    I’d have been demanding Salah get wide more often. And stuck with Diaz, Mane, Salah upfront. But swap Tiago for Firmino, just for fresh legs.

    We did manage to create a few half chances in the last 30 minutes, but a lot of our possession came to nothing because Real was just too compact and we seemed reluctant to get TAA and Robbo forward due to their threat on the counter.
    Going to 3 at the back might have solved both these problems. But who knows what new problems Real could create for us.

    #2101442

    Sean the sailor
    Participant
    • :

    Absolute bollix about trying to blame the Liverpool fans for Saturday night. Spanish reporters all reporting the same story. People bashed for their tickets etc. piss ooor from the police yet again after the rangers game.

    I wouldn’t play down liverpools achievements. 2 cups,63 games played. Lost on sat and full credit to Madrid. What a run they had.

    Much more concerned with people nearly being crushed then losing. French minister clearly trying to save their own backs. This is not about Liverpool. It’s about safety of people etc.

    Absolutely loved this season. Very proud of the team and people can play it down etc and people actually mocking us for not winning the quadruple ffs. We won our finals end of story and again playing down wins cause we won on pens

    The cl group was the supposed group of death. We beat the Italian champions, Spanish champions, Portuguese champions etc. could go on but people just want to belittle our season. It’s absolutely pathetic.

    Literally read a few posts on here and reporting of the incidents on sat. Time to take a break from football. We go again next season. Proud to be a red and a brilliant season

    #2101460
    The Fulcrum
    The Fulcrum
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    • :

    Good man Sean, great team, hell of a season, Klopp around for any rebuild…all so positive……however paris leaves a slightly bad taste, not losing the game….all teams even great ones lose…the fan treatment was so disturbing. Anyway we enjoy the break and go again!

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