Before Joel Matip replaced James Milner in the 78th minute during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, the game had ebbed and flowed, been fairly end to end, but had seen none of the controversy and incident that would punctuate the final minutes.
For close to 80 minutes Tottenham dominated possession but Liverpool looked the more dangerous. They had scored in the third minute through Mohamed Salah, but there was never the sense that they were hanging on, despite Spurs’ possession stats. This all changed after Jurgen Klopp threw on his final substitute which saw a centre-back replace a midfielder, and a switch to a back three.
The change of formation affected two areas of the game which allowed Mauricio Pochettino’s side to grow in the final 15 minutes.
Matip’s introduction to the back line unsettled a Liverpool defensive unit which had looked uncharacteristically solid for much of the game to that point. The unlikely partnership of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk impressed in the centre, while Loris Karius was having one of his best games for the club.
Adding a third man to the mix, alongside a new signing and a player who has struggled for much of his time at Liverpool, meant that an extra body had to be taken into account when organising the back line, and this proved a step too far for Klopp’s defence which became ragged.
The second issue was the gap it left in midfield. To that point, Liverpool had operated with a three-man midfield of Jordan Henderson, Emre Can, and James Milner, with Georginio Wijnaldum replacing Henderson just after the hour mark but maintaining the trio.
The extra centre-back saw the midfield switch to a central pair rather than a trio, and though Salah and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain dropped back slightly to form a 5-4-1, it still left them a man light in the centre.
This gave Spurs the space to work the ball through the middle of the park, and the jumbled back line gave them the chance to cause trouble in the final third.
Victor Wanyama’s equaliser was scored just a minute after Matip’s introduction. It came as a result of poor defensive positioning from a Christian Eriksen cross, and lack of reaction in midfield after Karius had punched the ball clear. Even though it was an extraordinary strike from Wanyama, it could have been prevented at either one of these two stages.
Both penalty incidents were unfortunate for Liverpool, but the opposition were able to get into these situations due to the change in shape. Harry Kane had not touched the ball in the Liverpool area from an open play situation until he fell over Karius to win a penalty in the 83rd minute, and the Tottenham midfield three were regularly able to find passages to the final third. Pointless possession had become possession with purpose, as Liverpool invited Spurs onto them.
Klopp had already used the one central midfielder he had on the bench when he introduced Wijnaldum, and occasional central player Oxlade-Chamberlain had also been brought on, but in a wide role. If the Liverpool manager had been able to call upon the services of another midfielder at this point, would he have changed to a back three?
The inability to sign Naby Keita in either the summer or winter transfer windows, and the departures of Philippe Coutinho and Marko Grujic, has left the club light in central areas. So much so that they had two strikers on the bench in Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke.
Maybe Klopp would still have thrown the extra centre-back on as he has in the past in an attempt to see out games, but here it only served to abandon the defensive shape of the entire team and encourage Spurs to throw everything they had into attack.
If the change was a more like-for-like, Liverpool may have been able to keep the opposition at arm’s length but instead, chaos ensued.
Away from the contentious decisions, referees consulting with fourth officials, and the furore surrounding interpretations of the laws, there were also some football reasons for Liverpool’s late collapse. They were able to score a wonder-goal of their own thanks to the sensational Salah, but they contributed to the late drama as much as referee Jon Moss and his assistant Ed Smart.
Klopp’s unwise decision to switch to a back three was the turning point, with all the incidents in and around the Liverpool area coming after his third substitution and change of shape.
Underneath the storm of controversy there may be a lesson to learn for Klopp and his side when it comes to seeing out games, which is something they’ll need to do if they’re to finish in the top four, and progress in the Champions League as the season approaches the business end.
