How Arne Slot turned Xabi Alonso's OWN weapon against him

There is a lot of encouragement to take from Liverpool’s 1-0 Champions League victory versus Real Madrid at Anfield.

Another clean sheet, for a start, and signs that Liverpool are just beginning to thaw out after a very poor spell of six defeats in seven matches.

The midfield trio is back on form - with Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai all looking at home in one another’s company.

Praise must also go to the full-backs with Conor Bradley putting in his best Liverpool performance since the Reds beat Madrid here a year ago and Andy Robertson rediscovering his best form too.

But one key tactical tweak that facilitated this one-sided victory involved Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz stars off the left

Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s been an indifferent start to the Liverpool career of Wirtz - considering his reputation and price tag that could reach £116m.

He started the first four Premier League games of the season for Slot in the No10 position. That decision meant Dominik Szoboszlai had to be accommodated elsewhere and the knock-on effects were profound.

Wirtz has been in and out of the starting lineup since then as Arne Slot wrestles with finding the right formula. And against Real Madrid he appears to finally have come up with it.

Robertson left-back with Wirtz in front of him as a left-sided attacker. That seems to be the tonic for this Liverpool side.

Wirtz has huge influence

But why has it taken Slot this long to figure it out?

Well for a start we are led to believe the Dutchman gave Wirtz a tactical blueprint with him figuring as the team’s central playmaker. That was what won Wirtz over in spite of rival offers from Real Madrid and Manchester City.

The problem is that Wirtz has never really been that kind of player. Yes he can play attacking midfield but watch his highlights and look at his heat maps from his successful Bayer Leverkusen spell.

You see that his best work has always come in the left “half-space”. He’s not a traditional, chalk-on-your-boots winger in any sense of the word.

Instead he is a No10 who likes to operate from the left. He picks up those pockets in the channels, weaving magic, carrying the ball and have an impact on the game.

Alonso should have seen this coming

The 22-year-old enjoyed his best outing to date in a Liverpool shirt against Madrid - and now Slot needs to persist with him there.

The irony of course for Alonso is he should have had the game plan to forestall Wirtz’s five-star show.

Slot turned Alonso’s own weapon against him. How so? Because he played his best football - in that position - for the Spaniard at Leverkusen.

Stick with Wirtz off the left

Although he favoured a 3-4-3 at the BayArena, a common factor in their best moments was Wirtz taking up a left-sided station in the attack.

He could play as a No10 or a winger - it didn’t really matter what it was called, it was more about what he did.

Now Liverpool could stand to benefit from his first major outing in the position. Of course the effect on Cody Gakpo’s place in the team will be huge if Slot decides to persist with Wirtz as a left-sided option.

But the objective is to get Liverpool’s best formation out there as often as possible. We’ve been calling for Wirtz to play left wing since day one. Now Slot knows it too and his Liverpool career can finally get going.

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