Liverpool 5-2 Roma | Mohamed Salah’s tactical influence in the game

By
Raghunandhanan Narasimhan
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Liverpool 5-2 Roma | FI

Mohamed Salah produced a terrific performance to help Liverpool beat Roma comprehensively, as he scored two goals and assisted a further two before he was substituted off towards the later stages of the game. Liverpool came out all guns blazing and were helped by a Roma side who were woeful from a defensive standpoint as they played a high line with no intensity whatsoever in their midfield. This helped Liverpool gain a firm foothold in the game and overwhelmed Roma in the process.

Lineups:

Liverpool 5-2 Roma

Made using TacticalPad

Liverpool (4-3-3) Manager: Jurgen Klopp

Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Lovren, Robertson; Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah, Firmino, Mane

Roma (3-4-2-1) Manager: Eusebio Di Francesco

Alisson; Jesus, Fazio, Manolas; Florenzi, Stroortman, De Rossi, Kolarov; Under, Nainggolan; Dzeko

Tactical breakdown:

  • Liverpool benefited off a Roma high line that had no intensity in midfield whatsoever. Firmino’s movement was fantastic in dragging a CB with him and the diagonal runs in behind by Mane and Salah did the damage. Fluid stuff from Klopp’s men
  • Liverpool’s counterpressing suffcoated Roma and ensured a lot of turnovers in their own half. Roma’s structure off the ball made it very difficult for them to play from the back once they did win the ball off Liverpool only to surrender possession immediately
  • Mo Salah exploited the space in behind Kolarov, who was caught often upfield against Trent Alexander-Arnold. There was much space down the flank for him to carry the ball and run at Manolas, with runners into the box to play the ball into

Conclusion:

Klopp would have been furious at the fact that Liverpool conceded two goals late in the game after having raced to a 5-0 lead. It gives Roma a chance in the second leg after having advanced from the last round against Barcelona with a 3-0 victory at home, overcoming a 3 goal deficit. Eusebio DI Francesco got it wrong and was not helped with some really poor individual defending but Roma have a lifeline now in this tie. Salah was fantastic thorughout the game, continuing with his excellent run of form this season.

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