On Sunday, February 6, Liverpool defeated Cardiff City 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round.
Here, we are trying to make some sense of what we saw in that game.
Tactics
On paper, it was a straightforward 4-3-3 with Roberto Firmino as a false nine and Diogo Jota on the left of the front three.
In reality, it worked a bit differently, with Jota constantly moving to the central position vacated by Firmino while Curtis Jones advanced to the left-forward position.
Of course, as Cardiff were sitting in a low block, the Liverpool full-backs were very attack-minded too. As a result, the Reds' average positions looked like this:
Unfortunately, the tactics did not quite work in the first half. The ball was not quite getting into the box despite Liverpool enjoying 81% of ball possession - they only had one shot on target.
Score: 5/10
In-game management
The game changed in the second half, and Jurgen Klopp's subs played a major role.
Yes, Liverpool opened the score minutes before Harvey Elliott and Luis Diaz came on. However, it was after their introduction that the Reds started to feel at ease.
For both of the players, it was a special game for various reasons. While it made perfect sense that they did not start the game (Elliott was out for five months while Diaz just returned from South America), their directness and incisiveness was something the team missed in the first half.
In the end, Diaz created Liverpool's second goal, while Elliott scored the third one
Score: 8/10
Defence
As a result of Cardiff's defensive tactic, Liverpool's backline did not have much work to do.
That said, when they were called to action, they were not at their best.
Consider the incident at the very start of the second half when Mark Harris could've raced towards the goal if it was not for Caiomhin Kelleher's tackle which might've resulted in a red card on a worse day.
Cardiff's only goal was arguably a result of complacency. The game was in the Reds' pocket by that point, but they were too slow to track back after a turnover which resulted in three Cardiff forwards getting the better of two Liverpool centre-backs. A lesson to never switch off.
Score: 6/10
