Premier League manager admits Klopp caught him cold with one tactic in Liverpool game this season
One Premier League manager has admitted to being caught by surprise over a tactic used by Jurgen Klopp when his side faced Liverpool this season. Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi gave an interview on Italian radio in which he said that his preparations for dealing with the Reds were made redundant by the role of […]
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One Premier League manager has admitted to being caught by surprise over a tactic used by Jurgen Klopp when his side faced Liverpool this season.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi gave an interview on Italian radio in which he said that his preparations for dealing with the Reds were made redundant by the role of Alisson Becker being tweaked in the 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium.
Speaking to Brescia Oggi about the ‘evolution of the role of the goalkeeper’, the 44-year-old said [via Sport Italia]: “Today he is becoming an additional player on the pitch at the time of construction.
“I give you the example of two matches played this year by my Brighton, against Liverpool and Manchester City: I had prepared the defensive phase, in both cases, going man for man.
“However, Klopp and Guardiola raised the goalkeeper a lot in relation to the penalty area, transforming him into an outfield player and definitely putting me in difficulty.”
The irony of De Zerbi’s comments is that the Brighton game featured a rare mistake from Alisson, whose positioning for Simon Adingra’s opening goal that day left a lot to be desired.
However, it was apparent that Klopp wanted to use the goalkeeper as an extra player in Liverpool building out from the back in possession, in order to combat the Seagulls’ ability to press high. It was from such a scenario that the home side won back the ball in the move which led to the deadlock being broken.
It’s been noticeable that the 31-year-old hasn’t been asked to play so far up the pitch since that game two months ago, and whether the Reds will be able to spring such a ploy on De Zerbi’s team again for the Anfield fixture at the end of March is debatable.
Nonetheless, it’s interesting to hear the Brighton boss confessing to how Klopp’s tactical tweak caused him ‘difficulty’ that day in October, and it attests to the courage the German has in his convictions that he’d attempt something like that, even though it backfired for Adingra’s goal.
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The post Premier League manager admits Klopp caught him cold with one tactic in Liverpool game this season appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.