66 Friday May 27 2022 | the timesSportSport Champions League Final
467). That Liverpool’s average possession in
2017-18, their first Champions League campaign
under Klopp, was 50 per cent highlights one
area of their evolution.
For the first time since arriving at Liverpool,
Salah and Mané both had the summer free of
international commitments and were able to
recharge and reset. Salah hit the ground
running as he sought to elevate his game to new
heights and justify his claim that “in my mind,
I’m the best player in the world”.
When sitting next to Elliott for one meal
during pre-season, he saw that the teenager had
some bread and fruit on his plate. The striker
asked Elliott how many slices of bread he had
already eaten. “One,” Elliott replied. Salah said
he should only eat the fruit.
Of Salah’s 31 goals this season, eight have
come in Europe, and his declaration that he is
seeking revenge on Real for the 2018 final in
Kyiv when he was bounced out by Sergio Ramos
in the opening half, leaving the field in tears
with a shoulder injury, underlines what this
game means to him.
There have been times when Liverpool have
swarmed over opponents. When Salah scored aNat Phillips was retained for the first half of
the season — memorably performing a Cruyff
turn to spin away from Milan’s Zlatan
Ibrahimovic in a 2-1 success at the San Siro as
Liverpool won all their group games — before
being allowed to join Bournemouth on loan.
Liverpool have defended higher this season
than in any other campaign under Klopp. The
average distance from their goal that the team’s
open-play sequences start has been 45.3 metres,
slightly higher than in the title-winning season
of 2019-20. The sight of opponents regularly
penetrating behind that rearguard proved an
illusion, with the guidance that makes assistant
referees wait before flagging for offside creating
the impression that Liverpool were struggling.
The opposite has been true.strikers find ‘lethal’ form
Liverpool’s domestic achievements have been
transferred into the Champions League, where
they are the second-highest scorers with 30
goals (Bayern Munich have 31), boast the joint
best average possession in games (60.1 per cent)
with Bayern and have made the most ball
recoveries — 521 (Real Madrid are second withReset in the Alps that inspired
Evolving their attack, changes in defence and a January
masterstroke have been key to a marathon season that
could yet end with European glory, Paul Joyce writes
A
s Liverpool’s players watched Real
Madrid’s remarkable Champions
League semi-final comeback against
Manchester City, a sense of relief
washed over some of them.
It was not a feeling that in any way suggested
they believed the Spanish club would be an
easier proposition than Pep Guardiola’s side in
the final. Far from it. Messages from family
members and friends claiming they would stand
a better chance of claiming a seventh win in the
competition were given short shrift and a
reminder pinged back that Carlo Ancelotti’s side
had beaten Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, as
well as City, in sealing their route to Paris.
Nor was it the case that Liverpool were scared
of City. Simply that the titanic, intense battles in
the Premier League and the FA Cup, together
with a title race that concluded in favour of City
only last weekend, meant the two teams knew
each other inside out.
Rather, relief came from the fact a collision
with Real Madrid in the Stade de France would
be different. Exciting. An opportunity to pit
themselves against opponents with whom they
do not go head to head each season.
Now Jürgen Klopp’s squad must make sure it
is different and there is no repeat of Real’s 3-1
victory in the Kyiv final of 2018.learning to be unpredictable
Preparations began ten months ago, with the
longest pre-season Klopp has ever had with his
players. Liverpool headed to Austria on July 11
and, by the time their season finishes on May
28, they will have been together for 321 days,
barring international breaks. The initial plan
was to go to Austria, return to England before
finishing off preparations by staying at Evian-
les-Bains in France. Potential travel
complications due to Covid-19 meant it was
decided they would stay in Austria for longer.
There was concern about how to sell being
away for a month to the players. The schedule,
on a spreadsheet, looked intimidating. Klopp
sent messages on the group WhatsApp chat
explaining his rationale. Liverpool were not
asking the players to do anything they wouldn’t
do with their countries, plus training time is the
most valuable commodity to Klopp and his
coaching staff. The bottom line was it was the
right thing to do in the pursuit of success.
Pre-season is always Klopp’s time. There are
no distractions and the planning was
meticulous. Liverpool took Warren Scott, from
their ground staff, away with them, which
proved perceptive when poor weather affected
training pitches. The throw-in coach, Thomas
Gronnemark, gave a presentation, the staff
played the card game Uno at night, and there
were the usual table tennis tournaments and
team bonding exercises. Ben Fogle, the
adventurer, gave a motivational talk.
The added bonus of so long together meant
plenty of thinking time for Klopp and his
coaches, Pepijn Lijnders, Peter Krawietz and
Vitor Matos. Lijnders, in particular, was
constantly brainstorming, tossing ideas around to
find new ways for Liverpool to strike back after
the difficulties of the 2020-21 campaign, when
their title defence unravelled because of injuries.
That season had, in Klopp’s words, been the
period he had learnt most from. Now was the
chance to put those lessons into practice.
Liverpool’s campaign had not imploded simply
because of the loss of personnel, although that
was the overriding reason. Klopp and his
coaching team realised that they had relied
heavily on specific patterns of play. They watched
videos of positive moments during the previous
season and thought about what they could do
better. It wasn’t about reinventing themselves but
evolution. How they could increase the
probability of winning a football match.
One of the ideas was to tweak the positioning
of Trent Alexander-Arnold to make him, and
Liverpool, less predictable. The availability of
Mohamed Salah for the full tour meant therewas an opportunity to focus on the right flank
and extract even more from it. The triangle on
the right with Jordan Henderson would be
important as the season progressed.
“We wanted to become more unpredictable
over our right side,” Lijnders explained. “We felt
we could attack with a bigger variety than in the
last years. It’s not only about him [Alexander-
Arnold], but also to find the best positions for
the other players. We look to evolve, but also,
the opposition pushes us towards new ideas. Mo
has a lot of freedom in our system, so Trent
adapts well with his positioning on the inside,
playing passes to spots he couldn’t reach before.”
Liverpool’s second game of the season was
evidence of a plan coming together. Harvey
Elliott touched a ball inside to Alexander-
Arnold who, rather than lurking in the full-back
role, was effectively in the No 8 position. He
turned a superb pass into the path of Sadio
Mané, who fired past the Burnley goalkeeper,
Nick Pope. It was the first of 19 assists for the
23-year-old defender, a remarkable tally that
showed just why Liverpool were right to try to
squeeze more from a generational talent.rebuilding from the back
The ball to Elliott which started that move had
been pinged 50 yards in trademark style by
Virgil van Dijk, playing at Anfield for the first
time since October 2020 after a cruciate knee
injury. A key date in Liverpool’s season was July- They played Hertha Berlin in a friendly in
Austria and in the 70th minute Van Dijk
appeared on the touchline, along with Joe
Gomez, who had also had a serious knee injury,
to launch their comebacks.
There had been pressure from Holland for
Van Dijk to captain them at Euro 2020 despite
the fact that he had not played for his club in
ten months, but the centre back stuck to the
plan mapped out by Liverpool’s medical team,
including Dr Andreas Schlumberger, head of
performance and recovery.
When Liverpool arrived in Salzburg, the sense
was that Van Dijk was back. Reality proved
different. An intense rehabilitation continued
for him and Gomez. They would take part in the
rondos training but, initially, were not involved
in the main sessions and would instead work
with Schlumberger. Some of the young players
were instructed to get at the duo with the
intention of reacquainting them with the
principles of one-on-one defending. That is
fundamental to Van Dijk’s style, as he showed
against Son Heung-min in the 2019 Champions
League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
The bond that Gomez and Van Dijk formed
with the medics during a painstaking recovery
would be shown at that Hertha workout. Covid
restrictions meant there were only a limited
number of passes for staff to be allowed in the
“red zone”. Van Dijk and Gomez insisted on
Schlumberger and Dr David Rydings, a
rehabilitation fitness coach, being present.
There was some concern about how Klopp
would cope should Van Dijk suffer a setback in
his comeback but his progress has been
remarkable. Liverpool were careful not to
overload him in the early weeks. The
Champions League campaign began at home to
AC Milan and Van Dijk was rested for that 3-2
victory. In the league, the only game he missed
through injury was against Southampton in the
final week because of a slight twinge in his knee.
Covid forced him to miss two other league
fixtures and he was on the bench against
Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The issues Liverpool endured in defence last
season prompted additional emphasis on their
back line in pre-season. Some sessions involved
four defenders against eight attackers. Time was
spent on the co-ordination of the defence.
Having been crippled defensively in 2020-21,
Liverpool took no chances. The signing of
Ibrahima Konaté from RB Leipzig immediately
strengthened them and the 23-year-old has
proved to be another savvy recruit.
The work at Liverpool’s pre-season training camp, centre right, has borne fruit with goals coming fromLiverpool's 11 goalscorers in
EuropeMohamed SalahSadio ManéRoberto FirminoLuis DíazIbrahima KonatéJordan HendersonFabinhoDiogo JotaThiago AlcântaraNaby KeïtaDivock Origi8 5 5 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1Not including two own goals