Matchday in focus: Liverpool FC | OneFootball

History, a shift in style and current form: we run the rule over the English champions.

The opposition

Liverpool may have lost 2-1 to rivals Manchester United on Sunday, but when it comes to their history in the league, the legendary club drew level in May. After the Red Devils moved ahead of the Reds as England’s record champions under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011, LFC equalled United’s haul of 20 top-flight titles last season.

The team from Merseyside earned great plaudits not just for the title itself. It came after an upheaval which was barely noticed, making the story all the more remarkable. Arne Slot succeeded Jürgen Klopp, who in nine years had led Liverpool back to their former glories, winning a Premier League title in 2020 and the UEFA Champions League in 2019, as well as two other final appearances, where they were beaten by Real Madrid both times.

Tactics

In year one, Slot and his team didn’t make major changes to the personnel or the system, although Liverpool play with less constant pressure and more control of the ball under their new coach. But just because the Reds press less comparatively does not mean they are less ambitious when it comes to winning the ball. They entice their opponents more, deliberately allowing passes into the centre of midfield, where Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are then waiting to pounce.

Generally, Slot rarely deviates from the 4-2-3-1 formation with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo as the danger men out wide. With 90 percent passing accuracy and 59 percent possession, Liverpool are in the top three in those categories in the Champions League after two matchdays.

The players responsible for fuelling that dominance and turning it into goals include two summer signings from Leverkusen, the pacey Jeremie Frimpong and playmaker Florian Wirtz, as well as strikers Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké, who joined from Newcastle and Frankfurt respectively.

Form

The loss to Manchester United was the Reds’ third 2-1 defeat in a row in the league following reverses against Crystal Palace and Chelsea. In the league phase of the Champions League, a 3-2 win at home to Atlético de Madrid on Matchday 1 was followed by a 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray. Head-to-head

The first and only encounter between Frankfurt and Liverpool dates back 53 years. In 1972, the English giants triumphed 2-0 on aggregate in the first round of the UEFA Cup. Overall, the Reds are unbeaten in their last 14 games against German teams in Europe (W11, D3).

Runs and stats

There hasn’t been a single 0-0 draw in Eintracht’s last 67 matches in European competitions.

Reunions

Ekitiké returns to Frankfurt just three months after his move to Liverpool.

As well as Ekitiké, there are seven other members of the LFC squad who have played in the Bundesliga: Wataru Endo (Stuttgart), Ibrahima Konaté (Leipzig), Frimpong (Leverkusen), Wirtz (Leverkusen), Dominik Szoboszlai (Leipzig), Gravenberch (Bayern) and Isak (Dortmund).

Isak played alongside Eintracht trio Michy Batshuayi, Mo Dahoud and Mario Götze for BVB during the 2017/18 season.

Meanwhile, Batshuayi, Robin Koch and Rasmus Kristensen have come up against Liverpool plenty of times in their career. On 29 October 2022, Koch and Kristensen were part of a Leeds United team that won 2-1 at Anfield.