Two head-spinning periods were all it took for Manchester City to blow Liverpool away in their 4-0 FA Cup victory on Saturday afternoon.
Erling Haaland served up a quickfire brace in the final seven minutes of the first half, with another two City goals coming within eight minutes early in the second half — meaning the contest was over with barely an hour on the clock.
City were deserving winners, but Liverpool were on par — if not the stronger side — for the opening 35 minutes, posing an attacking threat while keeping City at arm’s length defensively.
The away side plugged gaps well out of possession and dampened the threatening runs of City’s wingers and full-backs for much of the first half. However, the absence of that defensive pattern that kept them in the game was precisely why the contest slipped out of their grasp.
Arne Slot was acutely aware of the threat that his opponent posed in wide areas, highlighting the importance of defending City’s left channel of attack, where the effervescent Jeremy Doku typically resides.
“It’s not always about Doku on his own, but also about the environment — how many players can we bring into that zone?” the Liverpool head coach said during his pre-match press conference.
“If it is one v one, then he is probably one of the best out there… but we have to ensure that our defender (right-back) is not as isolated as he was the last time we played them (City).”
Lessons looked to have been learned from Liverpool’s last league encounter at the Etihad, which saw them lose 3-0 in November. On Saturday, defensively-minded Joe Gomez was deployed at right-back to get tight to Doku, and — as planned — he was not isolated.
Midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai took it in turns to fill those zones Gomez vacated in Liverpool’s back line, tracking the now-archetypal inside runs of Nico O’Reilly from left-back.
This was evident within the opening minutes. Doku is doubled up on as he receives the pass from O’Reilly, with Gomez pulling across to the touchline to get touch-tight. Behind him, Gravenberch has plugged the gap to form a back five, with Szoboszlai close to him in condensing the space.
It was a theme of the first half in particular as City placed a lot of their focus on Doku’s side, with 42 per cent of their attacking touches occurring in the left third of the pitch during the opening 45 minutes.
Another example can be seen after 19 minutes, with Gravenberch dovetailing with Gomez as one steps forward and the other drops in. Also note Curtis Jones dropping in on the right side to track the runs of Rayan Cherki in the half-spaces, to form a brief back six.
Liverpool were clearly affected by the threat of City’s off-ball running.
Gravenberch has fallen into Liverpool’s defensive line on multiple occasions this season, which feels like a passive approach at times. You could argue that Slot’s midfielders are better off pressing higher to cut out the threat at source in the middle of the pitch, rather than retreat further back and relinquish territory.
However, it was an effective method to frustrate City for much of the first period.
Liverpool’s second goal conceded was from a failure to track an underlapping run on the right side, but their third and fourth concessions were notable for the spaces that were now available in the second half.
City’s third goal started with Liverpool’s possession from their own throw-in, meaning there was less requirement to be in a defensive shape. Still, one poor throw was all it took for City to find the very gaps Liverpool had been looking to block on their left side of the pitch.
As City pounce to win the ball high, it is the right-sided Cherki and Antoine Semenyo who combine. Here, Liverpool are in a back four without the protection of their midfield — but the area that City exploit is the same.
An excellent run from Semenyo is found with a perfectly weighted through ball, before delicately dinking it into the goal.
Slot’s side tried to regain some calm after City’s third, with the same discipline from Gravenberch and Szoboszlai to drop in and form the situational back five when City had the ball.
As shown below, this even happened between the two of them within the same sequence of play.
The issue was that their shape was pulled apart barely one minute later. City’s fourth saw O’Reilly gallop forward and release Doku in space, only to receive the ball between — you guessed it — those same gaps that Liverpool had tried all game to close.
Is it any wonder they were retreating into a back five when you consider how comprehensively they were punished without the extra man in the defensive line?
When questioned on his players’ ability to undertake their defensive duties for the whole game, Slot was understandably defiant.
“If you tell me that from 15 runs Manchester City makes, my players don’t run all 15 times, I disagree with you,” he said after the game. “But if you look at the goals, I (do) see runs not being followed, crosses not being blocked, duels in front of goal not being won.”
Final-third off-ball runs are a hallmark of Liverpool’s next opponents on Wednesday: Champions League holders, Paris Saint-Germain. When Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are on song, there is no European side better at such attacking rotations.
Slot’s side need to learn from Saturday’s frailties if they are to stand a fighting chance in Paris. Full defensive concentration for 90 minutes is the bare minimum, or else they risk another chastening defeat.