Emulate Jürgen Klopps Liverpool Tactic in Football Manager
Today we are proud to bring you a new tactical system created by Andrew Young which looks to replicate the real life system of Jürgen Klopps Liverpool tactic used so far in the 2019-2020 season. This article continue our focus on broadcasting how to emulate real life tactics in Football Manager and let you download some of the best tactical systems from some of the top managers in the world.
Continue reading as we give you Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool Tactic where gegenpressing and wonderful attacking football lets you dominate in Football Manager, and hopefully conquer the world.
Introduction to the idea and manager
The concept of pressing is nothing new. In fact, its origins go back to a tactic implemented in ice hockey back in 1934 by the coach Thomas Patrick Gorman. Ernst Happel’s 1970 Feyenoord team and Rinus Michels’ Netherlands team of 1974 were among the first higher-level teams to implement this style in football. Pressing, however, is not necessarily carried out high up the pitch (high block, also known as ‘forechecking’) – it could also be carried out in the midfield area (medium block) or when the opponent has the ball nearer your own penalty area (low block). However, it was Jürgen Klopp who pioneered the idea of gegenpressing – the art of pressing the opponent immediately after losing possession in an attempt to quickly regain possession.
This approach has served Klopp extremely well during his career in management, firstly with Mainz with whom he won promotion to the Bundesliga, then later with the then financially-limited Borussia Dortmund where he won two Bundesliga titles in a row in 2012 and 2013, bringing Bayern Munich’s dynasty to a brief halt.
Jürgen Klopp’s success using gegenpressing and his brand of football earned much admiration not only in Germany but also worldwide, so much so that Liverpool’s American owners identified him as the ideal fit due to his personality and tactical nous. By October 2015, Liverpool had been going through the motions for several months before they replaced Brendan Rodgers with Jürgen Klopp.
The German’s impact was immediate, guiding the Reds to the final of both the Europa League and League Cup (albeit they lost both finals). After a few transfer windows, bringing in players well-suited to his system and developing the players he opted to keep, Klopp transformed Liverpool into a top-four Premier League team and has more recently helped turn them into title contenders, with only the record-breaking Manchester City getting in their way. Further evidence of his impact has been their appearance in successive Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter.
Formation, positions, and tactics
In addition to the gegenpressing style already mentioned, Klopp’s teams at Dortmund and Liverpool have also been fairly consistent in their formation (4-3-3/4-5-1). These typically involved:
- A four-man defence, with attacking full-backs.
- A three-man midfield, typically more industrious than creative.
- A three-man attack, with quick inside-forwards.
For this particular article, I will delve into the details of Jürgen Klopp’s tactical approach for the 2019/20 season so far.
Throughout the 2018/19 season Klopp maintained his familiar gegenpressing style, although the mentality of his approach was more controlled compared to previous seasons – they conceded only 22 Premier League goals all season. So far in 2019/20, early evidence indicates a return to the more attacking approach. The defensive line is much higher, which enables a closer connection between the players while in possession, and allows for a greater tempo in their attacking play. Roberto Firmino, in particular, has reaped the rewards of this change in mentality, linking play more fluidly between the midfield, inside-forwards, and supporting full-backs.
The higher defensive line could also be accounted for by the attributes of the centre-back pairing. Virgil van Dijk and Joël Matip are tall centre-backs with good recovery pace, essential in situations where the opposition break the offside trap. In the opening Premier League game against Norwich City, it was Joe Gomez who partnered van Dijk in the centre of defence, and Gomez visibly struggled against both the counter-attack and the ball over the top. Although he is a quick centre-back, he does not have the height of Matip. The higher defensive line has also allowed for a much higher line of engagement, allowing pressing (and especially counter-pressing) to be performed with a high block – an advancement on the medium/medium-to-high block witnessed more often during 2018/19.
The formation and typical starting XI so far in 2019/20 has been:
Alisson (although injured at the time of writing) plays the role of the sweeper keeper, and his distribution of the ball is usually in the form of a short/medium range pass or throw to either of the centre backs or wing-backs. He is usually the first choice goalkeeper, although a calf-injury suffered during the opening match against Norwich City has resulted in Adrián playing in his absence.
The centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Joël Matip seems to be Klopp’s preferred choice. They provide a combination of height and recovery pace, and much of Liverpool’s corner routines so far in the 2019/20 season have aimed to exploit their aerial threat – both players already had a headed goal to their name by the end of August. They also shift slightly wide when the wing-backs get forward while Fabinho stays in a relatively deep central position, which allows the team to recycle possession if attacking spaces and options are limited, and also to be suitably positioned in case the opponent attempts a counter-attack.
Fabinho has been deployed as the deepest of the midfield three, and has gained plaudits for the way he has performed in this role. The Brazilian has good agility and concentration levels to remain aware of his surroundings when receiving the ball. A good example of this was Mohamed Salah’s second goal in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Arsenal in August. Running back to offer Alexander-Arnold a passing option in his own half, Fabinho, facing away from his attacking teammates, had the peripheral vision to quickly spot the run of Salah as he was receiving the ball and played a first-time pass in his direction. Salah still had plenty to do, but Fabinho’s qualities created a slick transition which caught a few Arsenal players out of position, most crucially David Luiz. He is there to break down opposition counter-attacks and when the opponent beats the press.
The other two midfield places are usually occupied by Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson. Their collective role is to press the opponent without the ball, although Henderson presses further up the pitch whereas Wijnaldum carries out his pressing duties more laterally across the midfield – the latter plays a more restricted role compared to the one he performs for the Netherlands. In possession their passing is short and safe, and they will occasionally venture forward if there is clear space to exploit. Much of their energy is spent on making decoy or support runs to create space for Firmino to assert his creative influence and for the wing-backs to have sufficient space to deliver an early cross.
The opening goal in their 3-0 win away to Burnley is an example of this. When Alexander-Arnold had possession of the ball, Henderson made a diagonal run down the right, encouraging two Burnley players to follow him. Henderson plays a first-time pass back to Alexander-Arnold who now has plenty of space thanks to his captain’s movement and teamwork, and the wing-back can whip a cross towards the area where the front three are all waiting. On this occasion, the cross took a deflection and looped into the net for a fortunate own-goal, but this was a good example of the support that Henderson and Wijnaldum provide when the team have possession.
These things often go unnoticed, especially in match highlights where the output of the front three and the wing-backs typically gain more exposure from pundits and reporters. They are always aware of their position when the wing-backs attack, so as not to allow the team to over-commit in terms of getting players forward. While Fabinho and Firmino are the glue that hold the team together, Henderson and Wijnaldum are the engines that keep the transitions slick.
The two wing-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, are now widely regarded as being among the best wing-back pairings in the world. The assists they collectively registered in the 2018/19 season tells its own story. Both players get forward to support the attack at every opportunity, and have the stamina to attack and defend their respective sides of the pitch throughout the whole match. It seems evident that Klopp encourages them to deliver deep and early whipped crosses, which often catch even the most towering centre-backs unaware. Early evidence from the 2019/20 season indicates that they have also been encouraged to get into shooting positions if the space is there to exploit – both players had similar opportunities during the 3-1 win against Newcastle United, and were denied by the excellent goalkeeping of Dubravka.
The industrious functionality of the midfield three gives Alexander-Arnold and Robertson the license to roam forward and support the attack, in addition to the space provided from the inside-forwards cutting inside (Salah and Mané) and drawing defenders away. Despite being on opposite wings, they both have a clear understanding of each other’s position on the pitch. For example, when Alexander-Arnold prepares to whip a cross into the penalty area, Robertson will often be seen running into a suitable position to retrieve the ball in case the cross is either cleared or over-hit, and vice versa. Another example of their understanding, is that it is often the case that if one of them is pressed back by an opponent, the other will move into a position where the pressed wing-back can switch the ball – Alexander-Arnold in particular has mastered this passing technique, which has been used effectively to beat the opponent’s press. It’s almost Gerrard-like in its execution.
The discussion of the attacking service provided by the wing-backs now leads us nicely to the celebrated front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, and Mohamed Salah. Firmino does not match the goal scoring exploits of the other two, but he is undoubtedly the glue that maintains the link between Liverpool’s midfield and attack. He is also the one who leads the press when the team is not in possession, and will often be the one who uses his intelligence, vision and flair to conjure up an opportunity for a teammate. What Firmino provides is truly distinctive – I cannot think of any other player in the world right now who offers the same blend of attributes and traits as the Brazilian (if you can think of one, feel free to comment).
As for Mané and Salah, they have developed into world-class attackers. Both of them operate somewhat as inside-forwards, with their starting position out wide but always looking to cut inside and play more narrowly when the team is moving forward. As already mentioned, this provides space for the wing-backs to support the attack. Out of possession, they keep fairly close tabs on the opponent’s full-backs, with Firmino following the centre-backs, and Henderson advancing out of the midfield three to press the defensive midfield player. It is a carefully performed press.
How to replicate the tactical setup in Football Manager?
For most readers, this will probably be the main reason you are reading this article. I have spent many hours attempting to replicate the style of Liverpool’s 2019/20 system in FM19, and it has been a challenging task. The formation is not so much where the difficulty lies, but rather the playing roles to assign to the midfield three and Firmino. My purpose here was to try and get the team to play and function together in as similar a manner as the real version.
However, I believe that I have devised a good method of achieving this.
Formation
The graphic above shows the layout of the team, which FM19 identifies as a 4-1-2-3 DM WB Wide formation, and it features the following first-choice players and roles:
- Alisson: Sweeper-Keeper (Defend)
- Matip: Ball Playing Defender (Defend)
- Van Dijk: Ball Playing Defender (Defend)
- Alexander-Arnold: Wing-Back (Support)
- Robertson: Wing-Back (Support)
- Fabinho: Anchor Man (Defend)
- Wijnaldum: Carrilero (Support)
- Henderson: Ball Winning Midfielder (Support)
- Salah: Inside Forward (Attack)
- Mané: Inside Forward (Attack)
- Firmino: False Nine (Support)
Position/Role Instructions
Once these roles are in place, the only positional instructions you need to change are:
- Ball Playing Defenders: Stay Wider.
- Ball Winning Midfielder: Shoot Less Often.
- Carrilero: Shoot Less Often.
- Wing-Backs: Cross More Often.
- Inside Forwards: Sit Narrower.
- False Nine: Roam From Position.
Tactical Style
I used the following settings for the tactical style:
- Team Fluidity: Fluid.
- Mentality: Attacking.
- Attacking Width: Fairly Wide.
- Approach Play: Pass Into Space, Play Out Of Defence, Overlap Left & Right.
- Passing Directness: Slightly Shorter.
- Tempo: Extremely High.
- Time Wasting: Never.
- Final Third: Whipped Crosses, Hit Early Crosses.
- When Possession Has Been Lost: Counter-Press.
- When Possession Has Been Won: Counter.
- GK Distribution: Take Short Kicks.
- Defensive Shape: Use Offside Trap, Higher Line of Engagement, Much Higher Defensive Line.
- Defensive Width: Narrow.
- Pressing Intensity: Extremely Urgent, Prevent Short GK Distribution.
Set Pieces
The most consistent feature of Liverpool’s attacking set pieces in the 2019/20 season so far is how they deliver their corners. They tend to be outswinging corners, so Salah (left-footed) takes them from the left and Alexander-Arnold (right-footed) from the right. They are mostly aimed towards the far post, where Matip and van Dijk stay reasonably close together to make the situation as difficult as possible for the opponent. Here’s how to apply these on FM:
- Attacking Corners (Left): Salah takes corner. Delivery to far post. Matip lurks at far post. Van Dijk attacks far post.
- Attacking Corners (Right): Alexander-Arnold takes corner. Delivery to far post. Matip lurks at far post. Van Dijk attacks far post.
Observations
From implementing the above tactical settings, I have been watching full matches and the team functions mostly like the real thing. With the midfield positional roles, it has resulted in Henderson pressing further forward than Wijnaldum, while Fabinho has been breaking down plenty of opposition attacks. The midfield three was one of the main challenges to try and imitate as far as the real setup is concerned, but this setup does a very good job of it.
Imitating Firmino’s role has been quite a conundrum. Whilst there are a couple of roles which, in theory, suit his attributes and traits, I’m inclined to believe that the match engine doesn’t quite do his style much justice. It’s not easy to get a consistently good rating for Firmino, whether you play him as a Deep-Lying Forward or a False Nine, unless he is scoring goals. I started off by playing Firmino as a Deep-Lying Forward. In the first Premier League match of the season, my Liverpool team beat Southampton 6-1 at Anfield. Fantastic result, of course. However, there was a clear anomaly here: Firmino scored four of those goals…
There is no player I admire more than Firmino, but I strongly doubt that this would ever happen in real life. He once scored a hat-trick against Arsenal, but, as outstanding as he was that day, that hat-trick included a penalty and the benefit of some comical defending from Arsenal. Anyway, I digress. When watching the full match of the 6-1 win against Southampton, Firmino was contributing very little in terms of link-up play. Out of possession he was working exactly as I was hoping he would – at least that was a success. After this match, I changed Firmino’s role to a False Nine. We went on to win the following four league games. Firmino did not score a single goal in any of these, but there was some improvement in his link-up play, although still not quite to the extent I was hoping for. I am tempted to experiment with the idea of moving Firmino into an attacking-midfield role to try and imitate the link-up play he does so wonderfully with Liverpool in real life, in the form of an Enganche or a Shadow Striker. I will let you know how this experiment goes.
As far as results are concerned, 5 league wins out of 5 games is a good start, despite a favourable fixture list to begin the season. Here is a brief overview of these matches:
Liverpool 6-1 Southampton: As already mentioned, Firmino scored four goals. Mané and Matip scored the others. Alexander-Arnold got a hat-trick of assists, with Robertson also getting an assist. The below graphic shows the average position of each of the starting XI during this game. As you can see, Henderson ventured the furthest forward out of the midfield three, as intended.
West Ham 0-2 Liverpool: Two second-half goals from Salah, set up by Robertson and Mané.
Liverpool 3-0 Watford: Two goals were scored from corners delivered to the far post (Fabinho and an own goal). For this match I rested Wijnaldum and replaced him with Keïta, but I had Keïta playing in the Ball Winning Midfielder role and Henderson in the Carrilero role. The other goal was the result of Keïta regaining possession deep in the opponent’s half after some good pressing. He passed to Mané, who squared the ball low across the area to Salah for an easy finish. The first graphic below shows the average position of the starting XI, as well as a heat map which demonstrates the attacking influence of both Alexander-Arnold (2) and Mané (10) throughout the match. The graphic below illustrates the area of the pitch where Keïta won possession in the build up to the third goal.
It is important to illustrate also the movements of the players when the team is on the attack. In the graphic below, Keïta is running forward with the ball after receiving a pass from Henderson. I have placed a ring around Fabinho to emphasis his holding role in order to prevent any potential counter-attack from the opponent. The wing-backs, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson, are both running forward to support the attack. The inside forwards, Mané and Salah, are making diagonal runs inside in anticipation of a through-ball. Firmino, the false nine, is running back to pull the opponent’s centre-backs out of position. Meanwhile, Henderson is also running across to cover the space that Robertson has left behind.
Huddersfield 1-3 Liverpool: Mané scored two goals – one was a rebound from a set piece and the other was from an Alexander-Arnold cross. Salah converted the third goal from the penalty spot after van Dijk was fouled in the box. The stats graphic below emphasises the involvement of the wing-backs in providing multiple crosses, which is typical of how they play in real life.
Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool: Not a good performance, but the match was won thanks to an own goal and a Fabinho header from an Alexander-Arnold corner.
So far, the goals have been scored by Salah, Mané, and those providing the aerial threat from set pieces such as van Dijk, Matip, and Fabinho, the latter of whom I’d given instructions to attack the corner ball from deep. The assists are coming from the wide players, especially the wing-backs. There is little contribution in terms of assisting or goalscoring in open play from the midfield three, which is pleasing as it mirrors the real life scenario, emphasizing their purpose of being the engine in the team and keeping the transitions slick. Only 3 goals have been conceded in these 5 games, but, just as in real life, there have been several instances where the opponent has managed to get in behind the high defensive line, before being denied by a recovery challenge – this is why quick centre backs are essential for this system.
Training
Training is something that should be taken seriously if you wish to implement Klopp’s style with a significant degree of success, rather than leaving it to the Assistant Manager. The training setup changed considerably for FM19, and all for the better. Admittedly, the new layout does look somewhat intimidating to take on initially, but it is worth persevering with. After all, its setup is a more accurate reflection of the real world. In the context of attempting to successfully implement Klopp’s 2019/20 system, I would strongly recommend that you spend enough time to familiarize yourself with how the training system works, and eventually take the bold step of creating a series of weekly training schedules to fit different scenarios, for example:
- Early pre-season
- Late pre-season
- Two-match week
- One-match week
- International break (for those not called up for international duty)
- Cup final week
In terms of when you should approach the matter of training, use the following approach on your first day in the job:
- Determine how the DNA of your club should be defined under your management. I would base this on up to five (and no more) attributes.
- Set up your first choice formation and playing style.
- Take time to familiarize yourself with the training methods available, and create custom weekly schedules which you will use at different moments of the season. Your DNA and tactics should define the content of your schedules.
Personally, I would recommend addressing the above matters before you even consider changes to your playing and non-playing personnel. You could find that a certain type of coach is required to deliver your training methods more effectively. On that note, you may also wish to reconsider how your attributes should be set up when starting your career, in order to enhance your own effectiveness as a coach as well as a manager.
When I say “DNA”, I am referring to a limited set of attributes which, in an ideal world, you would like all of your players to have, or at least aspire to attain. Limit this to no more than 5 attributes. For the benefit of attempting to successfully implement Klopp’s style, I decided on the following as the DNA attributes: Work Rate, Teamwork, Stamina, Agility, and Anticipation. I feel that these are important attributes to have throughout the team to deal with the demands of the intense pressing and also the speed of transition. You may feel that a completely different set of attributes would be appropriate – it is entirely your decision.
I then looked at my tactical instructions to consider which attributes require more time to work on. Bearing in mind that Klopp’s approach involves a high tempo, counter-attacking, and closing down, I wrote down the following tactical attributes: Anticipation, Decisions, Teamwork, Vision, Acceleration, Agility, Pace, Off The Ball, Work Rate, Stamina, Bravery, Tackling, and Positioning.
Having decided upon my DNA and tactical attributes, I carefully looked through all of the training methods available. You don’t have to do this, but I went through the effort of creating an Excel spreadsheet to calculate which combination of training methods would most likely improve the desired attributes more than a standard Overall session, as an example. The training methods that I was left with as suggestions were:
- Endurance
- Quickness
- Team Bonding
- Attacking Shadow Play
- Ball Distribution
- Transition-Press
- Ball Retention
- Overall
- Tactical
There are also other sessions which should never be removed, such as Match Preview and Recovery, and you should always allow for a sufficient amount of Rest blocks. Also, when time allows, I implement an occasional Community Outreach session, which has a positive impact on fan confidence, teamwork and morale.
It is impossible to fit all of these training sessions into a single weekly schedule without increasing fatigue and the risk of injury, so I would recommend creating a series of different schedules so that all of these methods are being trained regularly enough. Personally, although I have identified Endurance and Quickness as being among my suitable training methods, I never include both within the same weekly schedule due to their physical demands. Within a schedule, I prefer to implement either Endurance or Quickness on the day following a day of rest – this is usually on a Monday if my team has played a match on the prior Saturday, or on a Tuesday if my team played on the prior Sunday.
Also, I implement Endurance or Quickness as a morning (or S1) activity, but due to the impact this has on morale, I follow this up with an afternoon (or S2) Team Bonding session to instantly improve the mood and enhance the teamwork level in the squad, not only on an attribute level but also for the upcoming match. The image below illustrates how I have accommodated my customized training schedules into my October routine, which featured an international break, a one-game week, and some two-game weeks (links are available in the Download section at the base of this article).
Due to the physical demands of Klopp’s style of play, Recovery sessions after each match hold even greater importance. Recovery sessions require a combination of Physios, Sports Scientists and a Doctor, so you need to ensure that the Physios and Sports Scientists are of a particularly high standard.
Suitable transfer targets for this system
If you are managing Liverpool, this is something to consider carefully. There are plenty of young players in the squad, but the front three are all hitting their peak age (26-27), so it is worth considering bringing in young players who you can develop in the short term so that they are ready to step into the place of Firmino, Mané, and Salah once they have passed their peak. Depending on your financial outlook on football – I recommend Soccernomics as a good book to read – it would be wise to get them on longer-term contracts and sell them just before they hit 30 while their value is still high. Players like Milner, Sturridge (bear in mind this is still based on FM19), Lallana and Lovren should be taken into consideration here, and to a lesser extent Henderson, Wijnaldum, Matip and van Dijk also. It could be that you get lucky with some quality newgens by the time this becomes a real concern, but here are some players who, in theory, could perform well in this system*.
*Again, please bear in mind that these suggestions are for FM19, so if FM20 (or later) is being used by the time you are reading this, the players may be at different clubs, or their attributes, value or attainability could be very different.
Ibrahima Konaté: 19-year-old centre back at RB Leipzig, valued at £6.25m. He has the physical attributes to be able to perform in a high defensive line, and could be a sound long-term replacement for van Dijk or Matip, and a long-term centre-back partner for Joe Gomez. Standout attributes: Jumping (17), Pace (16), Strength (17), Balance (16).
Aarón Martin: 21-year-old left wing-back at Espanyol, valued at £4.7m. On FM19 you might be content with Alberto Moreno as your back-up, but in case he wants to leave or you want to cash in on him, then Martin should be an able back-up for Robertson as he could still provide the crossing abilities required of this system. Standout attributes: Crossing (15), Natural Fitness (15), and is supported by a solid blend of Mental attributes.
Kevin Mbabu: 23-year-old right full-back at Young Boys, valued at £7.5m. In this system where the quality of the crossing is important, I would not recommend using Joe Gomez as a right wing-back option in the event that Alexander-Arnold is injured or needs a rest. In fact, James Milner is the better alternative here, albeit in the twilight in his career. However, Mbabu’s attainable value is not too much higher than his actual value, and he can provide the attributes required to flourish in the wing-back role, although some individual training will be required to get him fully up to speed as a wing-back, bearing in mind that he is much more natural as a full-back.
Kai Havertz: 19-year-old central attacking midfielder at Bayer Leverkusen, valued at £23.5m. You might be wondering, “Why would I need an attacking midfielder in a system that doesn’t have central attacking midfielders?” Not only that, but you may also baulk at the asking price. Havertz is a very interesting player who, in my opinion, is one of only a couple of young players in the world who could adapt to and perform the Firmino role. A scouting report in-game even suggested that he could be re-trained as a striker, which opens up opportunities to learn the deep-lying forward or false nine roles.
Some of the qualities are already in place, such as a suitable height (6’1”) which could help him lead the line, as well as composure, first touch, technique, vision, teamwork, off the ball, and flair. His traits also include playing one-twos. Some of his other attributes need working on, but if you can sign him early, re-train him, and possibly include him as part of a mentoring group involving Firmino, then Havertz could be ready to step into his shoes after a few years, pulling off the same delightful through-balls while also working hard for the team.
Other honourable mentions include:
Rico Henry: 21-year-old left wing-back at Brentford, valued at £2.9m. For this system specifically, Henry could be a surprisingly good fit and an able back-up for Robertson.
Mohamed Elneny: 25-year-old defensive midfielder at Arsenal, valued at £19m. You may find Elneny’s inclusion to this list somewhat odd, but in FM19 the Egyptian is usually surplus to requirements at Arsenal, and can be attained for around £17m. His attributes make him a suitable back-up anchor man to Fabinho in this system.
Eddie Nketiah: 19-year-old striker/inside forward (left or right) at Arsenal, valued at £8.5m. Could develop into a quality long-term replacement for Salah or Mané.
Hwang Hee-Chan: 22-year-old striker at FC RB Salzburg, valued at £6.25m. He will never be able to perform the Firmino role in a way quite like the Brazilian does, but he could still be his long-term replacement in that he already has some of the “DNA attributes” (as alluded to in the Training section) for the system. At the very least, he would make an impressive Pressing Forward and be a good option for any Premier League team, regardless of their playing style.
Donny van de Beek: 21-year-old midfielder/attacking midfielder at Ajax, valued at £5.25m. As described with Kai Havertz earlier, van de Beek could also be re-trained as a forward to perform the Firmino role. While I firmly believe that Havertz has the greater potential in this regard, van de Beek does represent a more budget-based option and it could turn out to be a masterstroke.
Federico Chiesa: 20-year-old inside forward at Fiorentina, valued at £25m. An expensive option, but the Italian youngster certainly has the potential to fill the shoes of Salah or Mané in the long-term. If Italy are to return to their past glories anytime soon, Chiesa will be at the heart of it.
Andrija Zivkovic: 21-year-old inside forward at Benfica, valued at £13.5m. Like Chiesa, a long-term option to succeed Salah or Mané. Not quite as quick, but still a talent.
Marco Benassi: 23-year-old central midfielder at Fiorentina, valued at £13.75m. This player has the attributes to carry out Wijnaldum’s role (the Carrilero) extremely well. His unwillingness to run with the ball is actually a good thing in the context of this system, as it would help to maintain the discipline in the midfield.
Dayot Upamecano: 19-year-old centre back at RB Leipzig, valued at £6.75m. Ibrahima Konaté’s centre back partner Upamecano is also worthy of consideration, with similarly good physical attributes to deal with the risks presented by being in a high defensive line, although with not quite the same towering frame as his French teammate. Nevertheless, he is an option worthy of much consideration.
A Football Manager tactic which looks to replicate Jürgen Klopps Liverpool tactical system used so far in the 2019-2020 season. Experience gegenpressing and wonderful football which Liverpool has amazed us with in Football Manager.
Download Training Schedules:
Training Schedule: One-Game Week (Endurance) – Download
Training Schedule: One-Game Week (Quickness) – Download
Training Schedule: Two-Game Week (Week One) – Download
Training Schedule: Two-Game Week (Week Two) – Download