A Premier League manager has admitted he was surprised by Jurgen Klopp’s tactics when his side faced Liverpool this season.
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi told Italian radio that his preparations for Manchester United had been thrown into disarray as Alisson Becker’s role was revised in the 2-2 draw at the Amex Stadium.
Speaking to Brescia Auggie about the evolution of the goalkeeping role, the 44-year-old said [via Sport Italia]: “Today there will be an extra player on the pitch during training.“Take the example of the two games we played at Brighton this year against Liverpool and Manchester City.
We prepared the defensive phase on both occasions. “But Klopp and Guardiola have made the goalkeeper a lot further forward in terms of the penalty area, which has made him an outfield player and caused me problems.”
The irony of De Zerby’s comments is that it was a rare mistake by Alisson against Brighton when his position for Simon Adingra’s first goal of the day was well under the mark.
However, it was clear that Klopp wanted Liverpool to use their goalkeeper as a complementary player, countering the Seagulls’ high pressing ability and occupying defensive positions.
In a similar scenario, the home team won the ball back, resulting in a stalemate.Interestingly, the 31-year-old hasn’t been asked to play this high up the pitch since that game two months ago.
Can the Reds pull off the same trick from De Zerbi at Anfield?
At the end of March, I doubt it. However, it is interesting that the Brighton manager admitted that Klopp’s tactical adjustments on that October day caused him “difficulties”, and it is a testament to the German’s courage that he believes he will get through it even if he doesn’t succeeds.
