Klopp made 9 changes to the lineup that featured against Bournemouth at the weekend with Firmino and Lucas the only players who were retained.
It was a 4-1-4-1 attack-minded shape with Lucas as the only holding midfielder; Milner on the right, Coutinho on the left, Firmino and Lallana were more or less operating centrally in behind the striker Origi.
The two full-backs were very high up the pitch as Everton went into a defensive mode from the first second and it was all about Liverpool winning or losing the second ball which can lead to an Everton counter.
As we see in the image above, Milner was pivotal for Liverpool once again with his tireless work rate. The veteran started a bit central to partner Lucas but very early into the game he sensed that Everton were all about defending and hitting on the counter, he stationed himself on the right hand side supporting Clyne to overlap and linked up play with Lallana who was tucked in from his original right position.
Origi struggled to start with, as he was tightly marked by Everton’s centre-backs and the Belgian was surprisingly not flexible enough in his movements to outfox them. After about 30 minutes, he started to be more and more flexible with his movements and allowed other runners with some space by taking out markers with him. He scored a deserved goal 5 minutes before half-time and looked set for a good second half only to be challenged clumsily by Funes Mori and the Belgian was eventually stretchered off.
The full-backs were very high as mentioned above, and what that meant is players like Coutinho were tucked in all the time as Moreno was more of a winger in this game. Lallana too started in a position very close to the Everton box, then obviously Milner stationed himself wider to help out Clyne whenever he needed a hand.
It was Klopp’s first derby and he fielded an attacking lineup, a bravo man who knew that Everton are short of confidence and will play on the counter. The German just played on that and employed a free-flowing 4-1-4-1 with lots of freedom for the forward players.
It was a one-sided affair in the end, to be honest many expected this to be more of a cagey contest with Everton sitting deep. Klopp would be happy to get this away without much fuss in it. While the injury to Origi could just be a blow, replacements like Sturridge doesn’t harm the case much.
By Mizgan on 21st April, 2016
Twitter – @mizgans
