How Jurgen Klopp forced the Premier League to dance to Liverpool’s tune

Jurgen Klopp’s phenomenal impact on the club has understandably been much heralded, but what has gone largely unmentioned is how he has ushered in a tactical revolution at the very top of the game, potentially changing the way football is played forever.

Liverpool have 13 more points than you would normally expect based on their goal difference, based on historical data. That could be seen as a team performing above its level, and there may be a small element of that, but in Liverpool’s case there are definitive explanations for their extraordinary dominance.

The control that Klopp’s Liverpool have on matches is rarely seen more clearly than after the team have taken an early lead. That seems to occur with unusual frequency, but it’s part of a clear strategy. No team in the division starts at such a tempo and with such attacking intent, with Liverpool targeting the start of the game as an opportunity to expose opponents. As a result, no team in the league have scored more goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season, and no team in the league has scored more first-half goals in total.

There is a narrative around Liverpool that ‘Kloppage Time’ has become the new ‘Fergie Time’. Yet while Liverpool do score a decent number of late goals (more on that later), it is interesting to note that as a team they score more first-half goals than second-half goals – a stat that very much goes against the historical trend.

When they get that early lead Liverpool are then in a position to sit back, shield the defence well to hold onto their advantage, and force teams to come out and attack them more than they would have planned. Ergo, Liverpool have taken control of the game.

Critics and rival fans have accused Liverpool’s dominance of being boring, and there is often a correlation between control and boredom (Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona weren’t short of people calling them boring either for example). And Liverpool matches that have followed this pattern aren’t hard to find – last year’s Champions League final being the most high-profile example. But for a Liverpool fan, or manager, it's hardly boring to watch your team exert complete control over a match.

The way Liverpool do this, completely switching their style of play after taking the lead in games, isn’t new in football but it has been a rare tactic in recent years. This idea of a blueprint – implemented by the likes of Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, Marcelo Bielsa etc – isn’t something that rings true when you watch Liverpool.

Their reputation is of high-tempo gegenpressing with attacking intent… but their reputation is also of counter-attacking football with a dangerous front-three. In Liverpool’s case both of those are true, it just depends what the scoreline is.

Where Klopp has potentially changed the direction of modern football is in his use of the midfield. Liverpool’s possession statistics, while not at Guardiola levels, are high, however his team fundamentally does not control that possession or create changes through the midfield route. For the past 15 years, controlling the game in midfield has been the go-to style in top-level football, packing that area with technical players to dominate possession and transition attacks from those areas.

But Liverpool’s midfield, although being high-quality, is not used in this way. Klopp instead uses his midfield to set that early tempo, implement that pressing game, and shut down space for opposition teams to play in.

For this to be successful it takes a great deal of motivation, and also a very high amount of energy – hence the extremely high rotation of minutes among Liverpool’s midfielders. Only three players will start in these roles, the most familiar being Gigi Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. However, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has played well over 1000 minutes and made more appearances than the Brazilian, James Milner isn’t far behind, and even the injury-impacted Naby Keita is into double figures for league games played this season. The quantity of capable midfielders and the manager’s clever rotation has allowed Liverpool to maintain an energy level in that central area that few teams, if any, have matched in the history of the game.

Klopp has pushed even more focus on to the full-backs in his Liverpool side, using the two players on the pitch who are most often going to be the spare man as an opportunity to create.

The Premier League individual possession statistics make for fascinating reading in this regard. Second in that list is Virgil van Dijk, who anchors Liverpool’s play, is an out-ball for goalkeeper and midfielders, and is utilised to switch the play. But Liverpool take all three podium spots in that statistic, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson making up the rest of the top three, with the Englishman leading the way.

It’s no secret that Liverpool use their full-backs as creators, but the extent to which they do so is stark. The pair are Liverpool’s top assisters this season, both are in the league’s top five, and they are the only full-backs in the league’s top ten for assists.

At Liverpool, 91% of chance creation this season has come from the full-backs and front three. That is a higher number than any team across Europe’s big five leagues from any of the past five seasons. It is a stat which lays out the reality perfectly – this is a team that has changed the approach for creating chances. For now it’s a style that the other Premier League teams can’t cope with. Whether it turns into the new normal remains to be seen.

Liverpool’s change of style with a lead has led to many late goals – although not outside of the norm for a top side, or anything really close. What has been a feature is the team’s willingness to counter-attack and bypass central areas with those attacks.

Two stats illustrate this quite clearly: No team has scored more counter-attacking goals in the Premier League this season. And Liverpool rank sixth in the division for long passes attempted, far ahead of any of the other recognised top clubs (the remainder of the recognised ‘big six’, along with Leicester, are the teams who have attempted the fewest long passes this season).

Why have Liverpool been able to counter-attack so much against lesser teams? Partly of course it’s because they’ve taken the lead in matches and then been able to hold that lead. And partly it's because they have one of the most incisive attacking trios in the game. But in addition it is because by controlling the game through their defenders they pull teams onto them, creating space for that clinical forward line.

It must also be noted that Liverpool have largely been fortunate with injuries this season. The team have absorbed injury absences, with their first-choice goalkeeper, two of the centre-backs, and a host of central midfielders all missing games. But the players on which Klopp bases his tactical style – the full-backs, Van Dijk and the front three – have all been available for the vast majority of the campaign.

Couple that fitness record with brilliant management, tactical innovation and impressive motivation, and Liverpool have been able to enjoy the most controlled title win in recent memory.

Where will Klopp take them from here? It’s going to be fascinating to find out.