Thomas Tuchel has been seen playing his three at the back role since his Borussia Dortmund days. The past two matches we saw him experiment the 4-3-3 role in Ligue 1, but in this article we’ll be analysing his favourite style of play: the three at the back formation.
Tuchel used this formation against Angers SCO this season, and it gave him a comfortable 3-1 lead with three of PSG’s attackers grabbing a goal. However, there were some flaws, and if Liverpool manage to read their strategy, they might well pull off an away victory.
The defenders usually sit back in PSG, therefore they have to constantly hand over possession to the midfield so the defence can stick back and soak up pressure. But with this distance between the players, Klopp can benefit a lot, as his natural game is to press high, a tactic that he calls Gegenpressing.
As shown in the picture, with lightning speed of Sadio Mane and Mo Salah on either flank, it would be easy for them to convert the play into a counter-attack.
Target Rabiot
Rabiot is, for the most part, a great player, but he can lack tactical awareness at times. If Klopp manages to deploy a midfielder to press Rabiot, he could force him into areas where he blocks passing lanes to PSG’s strikers.
In the image, you can see an example of where Rabiot is blocking a route to Mbappe.
Getting a defender and a midfielder to pressurise Neymar
The ball doesn’t circulate well along the field, so this forces Neymar to come short and collect it to create more chances. As studied, Neymar, when came short, had about 60 ball touches, out of which more than 50% were outside the final third against Angers SCO.
Klopp could let Milner/Wijnaldum and Robertson to take care of the left side, thus forcing Neymar to come back and make more passes backwards.
Try to get in behind through long balls
In this picture, PSG is seen doing the man marking. In this instance, Mane and Salah could make runs, and long balls would easily favour the Reds in scoring goals faster without the midfielders having much to do.
Soak the pressure out
Knowing Cavani’s critical abilities and Kylian Mbappe’s pace, it will be a mistake for Klopp if he plays defenders on a high line. Soaking out the pressure and sitting near the box would be the best option to take, thus making the midfielders do some creative work and cancel out the long ball tactic from the match.
Another reason to sit in the back is to escape from these situations. Cavani is brilliant and knows when to call the ball. Any mistake by the Liverpool defence (when they are high up the field) can result in a goal very quickly.