Liverpool vs Newcastle
2 / 26 / 2025Note: I analyzed through the second goal. I didn't see any tactical differences that affected the game after that point.
Liverpool felt utterly dominant in this game. They weren't perfect, and they did give up some chances and half chances on goal, but their tactics and overall play were another level above Newcastle.
In possession, Liverpool played what felt like a hybrid between a 4-back and a 3-back system. They did so by changing the positioning of the fullbacks. Trent stayed with Konate and Van Dijk in the back line most of the game. Tsimikas would start lower and then elevate up the pitch, and then the other three would slide to centralize. Liverpool started the game and, in my opinion, had the most success in the build-up when Gravenberch was the lone defensive midfielder. Macca and Szob (sorry, I can't be bothered to type their names out) played as attacking midfielders. Diaz drifted left with Tsimikas, while Jota and Salah went right. For the most part, they didn't play with a striker holding position down the middle.
There were some great offensive tactics I noticed from Liverpool, and I'm going to rattle them off here.
Throughout the game, they would purposely isolate Salah on the right side. This invited the fullback to step wide and high to cover him, as he didn't have anybody threatening the space behind him. The ball would get played to Salah, and if he didn't have a good chance to attack down the line he would play it back. This gave enough time for at least two other Liverpool players to make late runs in behind the Newcastle fullback who had just left their position to get on Salah's toes. It worked like a charm.
They wouldn't look to play the ball long as a first option, but they did threaten it constantly. Sometimes, they would send it. I would argue this was just to keep Newcastle on their toes.
On counter, Liverpool flood forward with options. Players would make runs without expecting the ball, which forced Newcastle to scramble a bit as they attempted to recover. This kind of movement opens up space, making the counter more dangerous on average.
Around the 14:45 mark, there was a brilliant example of tactical understanding from Macca. He could have turned, as there wasn't much pressure to his outside down the line. Instead, he didn't even look and played one touch back to Konate. This wasn't just lazy - not for the World Cup winning man. Macca knew there weren't numbers on the counter, so he slowed the game down to allow the people further up the pitch than him to get into position.
Whenever there's an apparent risk that the ball can be played long over the top, Szob and Diaz (and possibly others) make runs to draw people out of position, such as a dart through the middle. In addition, you'll often find one of the midfielders going very wide to play with the ball, which leaves gaps in the middle if the opponent doesn't purposely set up for a numbers advantage. Newcastle didn't, so this left space for Liverpool to move Newcastle's defense and play behind a line.
Grav took up the position of gliding in the middle amongst the Newcastle top 3. In this game, it wasn't a priority to move the ball through him. Instead, he exposed the gap between the top 3 and middle 3 by receiving balls that came to him from a higher position than his own.
Liverpool's collective understanding of each other's positioning is also so interesting to watch. It's at such a high level. They have the ability to play quickly in tight spaces and totally disrupt defensive pressure on a consistent basis.
Okay, that's all my thoughts specifically on Liverpool's offense.
Liverpool also had a fantastic defensive game. In transition moments, it's a swarm to the ball. The press relies on distance from the ball/player and "freedom" to run at it. If somebody is close to the ball without needing to mark somebody, they press right away to delay then to win. If the delay is successful, another person will press if THEY are close enough and not marking. If the opponent manages to establish possession, they drop into their defensive block and try to create small pockets of this press. It was very successful in this game.
The stats for this game read 61% possession for Liverpool. In my opinion, Newcastle were a bit restless on the ball. When you don't possess much, you don't create many chances. Therefore, it felt like they had a sense of urgency to go forward when they did have the ball. Sometimes, this led to a chance you would be willing to take, like a shot or a pass with dangerous potential. Regardless, they tended to lose the ball within a short period of time.
In addition, Liverpool's defensive structure seemed to be suffocating to the formation of Newcastle. When they got the ball going forward, they still had most of their numbers in the middle. This played into Liverpool's formation; Liverpool are okay with sacrificing space high and wide so that they are able to maintain their positioning in the middle and subsequently shift side-to-side to trap the opposing players.
Through 10 minutes, I found that Newcastle had almost no sustained possession. They tried to be tricky with repositioning as they built out. Livramento would shift into the middle and become another midfield pivot as Bruno G and Tonali would shift towards the ball. This worked on occasion, but it didn't lead to much in the end. It was immediately obvious that Schär and Burn were not comfortable playing with the ball. They didn't bring any patience to the build-up. I found that Newcastle's offense constantly felt isolated. They felt far too spread out on the wings and through the middle. On one occasion, I noticed that they countered off of a Liverpool pass, played the ball down the sideline and into the box, but then lost possession through the middle as the midfielders were so far back that Wilson and Willock had nowhere to go with it before Liverpool swarmed the area.
Newcastle did have moments where their press was effective. When I first noticed this, it coincided with Macca dropping in as a second pivot, which invited an extra Newcastle player forward. They took advantage. Overall, however, I found them largely ineffective.
Overall, Liverpool demonstrated a much higher understanding of their system. Newcastle played with little confidence, and this allowed Liverpool to impose their will on the game. In the end, they got it done.