Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool are going to be more unpredictable in their approach this season, making them an even tougher opponent.
The Reds drew 1-1 away to Manchester City on Sunday afternoon – a result that Klopp is sure to be relatively pleased with.
The Liverpool manager went for a bold 4-2-4 system, starting all four of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota at the Eithad.
It worked extremely well before legs started to tire, with the visitors outplaying City for much of the opening 45 minutes.
Speaking to the press after the game, Klopp was bullish about his tactics moving forward, saying opponents are going to find it increasingly difficult to second-guess them:
Usually, people know which system we play, that’s now water under the bridge.
From now on, we can play three or four different systems which is good, and tonight it worked really well.
We thought we want to use the skills and the power of the four up front in specific moments to cause City problems, that’s one thing.
The other is that we [managers] all like to prepare for a game in the way that we know exactly what the opponent is doing, and I don’t think Pep knew we would play 4-4-2.
It’s not important, but it needed a while for City to adapt to it. That was the plan for today, and we will not have used that for the last time.
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I think this is what makes Klopp the best manager in the world at the moment – he is always looking for fresh ideas and not resting on his laurels.
The 53-year-old is never afraid to switch from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, or even a 4-2-4 as Sunday showed, often using attacking players in different roles, too.
Opposition managers will focus on Liverpool so much before games that it is important not to become too predictable, and Klopp is clearly aware of this.
Very few expected such a different formation at City, especially given the magnitude of the game, but it caught Pep Guardiola could and ultimately paid off overall.
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