Same Tactic But Different Approaches. Liverpool vs Manchester City 2-3-5 Formation Explained.

Liverpool and Manchester City have risen recently thus dominating the Europe and England leagues respectively. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Pep Guardiola (Man City) have transformed their teams into dynasties that can rule for about 5 years even after their departure.

Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp 2-3-5 tactic explained.

Liverpool's 2-3-5 explained:

The Reds always line up in a 4-3-3 formation on paper but they keep a 2-3-5 formation when in possession. Mostly, the two centre backs act as the defensive line. The 3 midfielders are made up of the normal midfielders and that is, the defensive midfielder, creative midfielder and the central midfielder.

The 3 forwards, (Mane, Firmino and Sala) plus Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexandar-Arnold make the front 5. From there, let me explain to you the concept. 75% of Liverpool's game this season, have come from the wide areas where Robertson and Arnold are playing.

Liverpool's 2-3-5 formation with possession. Source: Liverpool Echo. 

The idea of using this tactic is to create many chances (crosses) from the wide areas. 

Man City's 2-3-5 explained:

Manchester City, just like Liverpool always line up in a 4-3-3 formation on paper but shift to a more advanced 2-3-5 formation.

The shape is similar to Liverpool but with a slightly different concept. The defensive row consists of the two centre back just like Liverpool. The idea of using this tactic, it's more attack-oriented and a lot of chances are created per game in the 'half-spaces'.

On the midfield block, two fullbacks together with a defensive/central midfielder make the defensive cover. When the fullbacks play in the midfield position, they are called 'inverted fullbacks'.

Man City's 2018/20 season line up on the ground. Even in 2019/20 season there's no difference. Source: Manchester Is Red. 

The 5 attackers are made up of the front three that is the 2 flanks and the striker plus two attacking midfielders i.e number 10 and 8.

Having understood how both teams play, let's go straight to the differences between the two heavy-weight clubs in England.

Differences:

Liverpool depend on crosses while Man City rely on creativity.

As I told you earlier, Liverpool fullbacks help in attacking by whipping crosses in the box. Liverpool play at least 10 crosses per match. This made Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson to have more than 10 assists last season and they're just fullbacks! 

Man City on the other hand depends on creativity of their attacking midfielders. The presence of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Ikay Gundögan have really helped City to score a lot of goals. Currently, De Bruyne is leading the assist charts with 17 Premier League assists.

Utilising the wide areas:

Man City always utilise the wide areas by using attacking midfielders to cover the 'half-spaces'. Pep always forces his flanks to stay far wide to create the spaces (half-spaces) for attacking midfielders late runs. When the wingers stay wide, they pull the opposition fullbacks out and that's when the half-spaces are created.

On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool team do not utilise the spaces. The front 3 always push narrow to create spaces on the wide areas for the fullbacks to occupy. It's in these zones where Liverpool's goals come from.

The role of strikers:

The main work of a striker is to score goals. The roles of strikers always differ between these two power houses. For instance, let's compare the first choice strikers from the two teams, Sergio Aguero and Roberto Firmino.

Firmino is more of a team player. It's through him that Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mané are among the top scorers in the EPL. He drops deep to create spaces for them in the final third. Also, he is mostly involving his team mates in his play. We can call him 'a shadow striker'.

Aguero on the other hand, is a poacher and always knows what to do with the ball and has the correct positioning for him to score. His late runs in the box, ability to read the play and high conversion rate, has made him  one of the best strikers in Europe's top flight leagues.

WEAKNESSES:

Both teams have a common mistake. It's not a mistake but rather, a tactical fault. By using fullbacks to attack and playing in the midfield, free spaces are left on the wide areas. So teams with wide wingers and are good in counter attacks, can win matches easily when playing against Liverpool and Man City.

Man City have struggled defensively since 2018/19 season. Source: Forbes. 

Although Liverpool tried to make their defence strong through buying Van Dijk, still this tactic can punish them severely. On the other hand, Robertson and Arnold can be easily caught out of position. The same applies to Man City who have been struggling to defend their winning margins this season.

Liverpool have been playing brilliantly attacking wise but when exposed to teams that play quick counter attacks, they end up conceding goals. Source: The Telegraph. 

Conclusion:

Manchester City will need to purchase strong and world class centre backs so that they can perform well in the Champions League. Liverpool should slightly improve their defensive strategies so that they can dominate the European football for the next coming years.