The Return of the Full-Back
Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas offered tactical clues in Liverpool's pre-season against Real Betis over the weekend.
I know, I know, pre-season friendlies aren’t great. Well, let me tell you, they aren’t much better when you’ve got to stay awake until 2am to watch them, either.
Nevertheless, I did exactly that over the weekend, because although friendlies can be a bit trivial at times, they can also offer an insight into what lies ahead in a tactical sense.
Think of pre-season as the rehearsal before the show. You’re getting a glimpse of the players who are still reading the script and learning their lines. You’re witnessing the ideas of the man in charge. You’re seeing the skeleton of the spectacle that is to come.
Liverpool beat Real Betis 1-0 over the weekend, but who cares? We aren’t bothered about the result, we’re bothered about the clues that Arne Slot gave us in what was technically his first official game in charge of the Reds.
So here’s what we’re not going to do. We aren’t going to overanalyse everything that happened in Pittsburgh. Sure, friendlies can inform us about subtle tactical details, but let’s not go crazy here.
Instead, we’re going to focus more on principles during pre-season. Things that are likely to persist. Things that appear quite clearly different in comparison to the previous regime.
Watching Liverpool against Betis, I was really intrigued to assess the behavior of Slot’s full-back duo. After getting a small taster against Preston North End in a behind-closed-doors bout last week, we saw more evidence in the US to suggest the Reds are switching things up at the back.
Before we touch on the Betis game, a quick history lesson. Last season, Liverpool suffered from a width problem at times in the final third, and one that had been spiralling out of control for some time.
Years ago, when the Reds peaked under Jürgen Klopp, width was never an issue because the German complemented his inside forwards with a full-back pairing consisting of a youthful Trent Alexander-Arnold, and a Duracell-sponsored Andy Robertson.
Those two guys hugged the touchline, allowing Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané to roam towards the penalty spot. Everything was great, until Roberto Firmino left the club and tactical trends changed.
Once the Brazilian departed, Liverpool essentially lost a body in the middle of the park, and they needed to find that support from somewhere else considering Darwin Núñez is not suited to such a responsibility. Pep Lijnders eventually stumbled upon Alexander-Arnold as the solution.
The Scouse defender suddenly started drifting inside, with Robertson also tweaking his positioning to keep Liverpool in vogue. The Scot still got forward at times, but while dovetailing his duties as a situational wide centre-back depending on the scenario.
So you had the same inside forwards of old, but without the same full-back duo as before. Alexander-Arnold was a new-look midfielder, and Robertson was a third centre-back of sorts.
Liverpool were still good last term, but the middle was just too crowded. Every player in red seemed to gravitate towards the centre, almost like the centre circle was magnetised.
So there’s your problem. Arne, what have you got for us? Well, it is very early days, but I think we’ve already been provided with some evidence to suggest Slot is making adjustments.
First of all, Liverpool used a 4-2 build-up shape against Betis, with the back four very connected as a unit. Curtis Jones and Wataru Endō helped in midfield.
Now, I’m not sure what is going to remain in place forever and what isn’t, but Slot used the same structure at Feyenoord last term. He made changes in certain matches, of course, but you get the sense that his full-backs are going to be involved when Liverpool are building from the back.
Indeed, Conor Bradley said as much in a recent interview. In a conversation with Liverpool’s official website, he got asked about tactical differences under Slot. "Probably a bit more structure in the build-up phase,” he said.
Beyond building from the back, I was particularly interested to see how each full-back would behave in reference to his teammate on the opposite wing. Did Bradley have a different role to Kostas Tsimikas?
Having watched the contest, I don’t think he did. I’m looking forward to seeing more evidence, but both players had the same duties in my opinion, as opposed to one player being asked to do completely different things to his full-back teammate.
What I liked most of all was how the duo seemed to perform on the same wavelength. If Bradley advanced into the penalty box, Tsimikas would tuck inside on the edge of the final third from the left, adding to Liverpool’s safety net in case possession was lost.
If Tsimikas penetrated the box on the left flank, Bradley would recognise that it was his turn to tuck inside from the right. So no matter what, you always had width on the ball-side of the pitch, and you always had cover against a potential counter-attack.
Check the below clip. Tsimikas underlaps, albeit without much dedication, before Bradley does the same on the opposite side later in the move, with his Greek teammate adjusting his position accordingly. Their relationship was good.
Bradley overlaps, Tsimikas covers. Tsimikas overlaps, Bradley covers. On repeat. It isn’t rocket science. Slot isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel here, but it’s definitely a potential means of fixing our concerns in wide areas.
Bradley did more advancing — and drifting inside — than Tsimikas, no doubt, but I’m inclined to think much of that stemmed from his offensive and energetic nature as a player, as opposed to him being presented with a more attacking role by Slot. We’ll see.
From what I’ve seen from Liverpool against Preston and Betis, each full-back is going to be active in the final third under Slot, albeit perhaps rarely at the same time.
The reintroduction of overlaps in particular looks set to be vital. If you’re going to have the ball more often — which looks likely given what Jones said last week — you’re going to face stubborn defensive blocks more often in the Premier League.
Liverpool weren’t great at opening up defences like that under Klopp. I think we’ll improve in that department under Slot, with overlaps, underlaps and runs in behind from deeper areas destined to be key.
The below clip from Liverpool’s Inside Training series kinda reinforces what I’m pushing. Watch Bradley. I feel like we need to get accustomed to close-knit combinations in wide areas, concluded by a full-back running beyond and hitting a low cross towards the penalty spot.
If you consider all that, you’re asking quite a lot from your full-back. They need to be composed enough to start building from the goalkeeper. They need to be mobile enough to underlap and overlap. They need to be smart enough to know when to cover. And they need to be capable enough to deliver around the box.
I know what you’re thinking. Josh, what does this mean for Alexander-Arnold? Well, you’re demanding a lot from your full-back here, which bodes well for our vice-captain, because he’s amazing.
A Slot full-back seems unlikely to be merely functional. The Dutchman seems reliant on these guys, so I can probably see Alexander-Arnold staying as a right-back unless Bradley really impresses.
Our new boss also wants his engine room to be calm and at ease, whereas our number 66 is pure Hollywood whenever he’s in possession. I see Jones as more of a Slot midfielder. Good at receiving under pressure, never loses the ball, plays short passes, prioritises retention.
“Patience, kill them with passes,” said Slot during a training session in Philidelphia on Sunday. I’m sure Alexander-Arnold could do that under the right coach, but as of right now at least, he’s probably more of a full-back for me.
It’s all guesswork for now. The summer is about experimentation. And given Slot is new in the job at Anfield, it’s very much about convincing a gang of strangers to adopt your methods, too.
The signs are promising. Patience has been the theme of pre-season so far, and if you’ve been following my Substack over the past few months, you’ll know that’s great news for Liverpool.
The Reds face Arsenal next. Getting forward might be a little harder against the Gunners, but watch Bradley and Tsimikas. The role of the full-back could be in the process of making a return.
Great observations re: both fullbacks in the build-up (can invert) as well as the attacking phase (attacks down the flanks, under & overlapping. Trent & Conor would thrive at RB with these tactics. However, that's not the case with Kostas at LB & Robbo would be awkward in the build-up.
If the early tactics become THE system, then the transfer rumor re: Ait Nouri starts to make a lot of sense. Ait Nouri was made for these tactics at LB because of his exceptional technical ability. He'll be an asset in build-up because he's very comfortable w the ball, strong at receiving/controlling & progressing thru passing and (importantly) by beating his marker on the dribble. In the final third, he's an equally strong attacker, a legitimate goal threat on the underlap. That's not true at all for Kostas (his discomfort on the ball was present long before Friday night). Robbo's technical ability is better but he isn't a natural footballer comfortable in the build-up.
I can see us signing Ait Nouri this summer & waiting to sign a CB, with Joey or Sepp as 4th and 5th CB this season or until January. If we signed Ait Nouri & assuming Curtis as a pivot, we have so much flexibility in the build-up. Trent can invert to form a double pivot w Curtis. Ait Nouri can do the same from LB. Macca and/or Dom can drop deeper to help build. Trent & Ait Nouri are rare in that they can do both the build-up and the attack exceptionally well. I'd pay his release clause ASAP (£38 million well spent).
Great piece Josh. I had the impression that people, Reds included, considered Betis as a Spanish version of Preston, totally ignoring the fact that they finished 7th in La Liga last season. Betis did not seem to make much headway against us under Slotts methods and this did seem to get under the skin of Fakir, for one, who must have been relishing the idea of playing the Reds...so many young opponents giving him the chance to show what we missed out on. Didn't happen for him, anyway.