By Chris Rowland and Daniel Rhodes.
W/c Monday March 16th 2015.
Welcome to our new weekly round-up. Similar to the old TTT Time, it’s a diary of news and events on the site, matters relating to LFC and also the world of football generally.
The Week in Football
Liverpool FC Matters:
Monday/Tuesday:
Brendan Rodgers credited his Liverpool players for responding effectively to a subtle tactical switch en route to claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea City. (LiverpoolFC.com)
The Reds had been second best throughout the first half at the Liberty Stadium as Garry Monk’s side prevented the visitors from establishing a rhythm.
It was a different story after the interval, however. Rodgers said:
“Any system you play in the game doesn’t work unless you have that ability to work, and we just weren’t anywhere near it in the first half. But that resilience and character kept us in the game.
“We knew we were going to be better in the second half, we changed the structure of the team a little bit and then I thought in the second half we really dominated the game.”
“People who know me and have watched my teams regularly from when I was a youth coach, my teams have played 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 diamond.
“If you look at Swansea tonight, they were a diamond and we were a box in midfield, and they got between us quite well I felt because they’ve got good players and they passed it well.
“We’ve prepared that in training for if we have to flip and you see the difference it can make. The players went smoothly into it.
“You push the sides further up, so it’s a 3-4-3 but in a different format. We pushed Raheem [Sterling] higher up the pitch onto the full-back, [Alberto] Moreno went right high and then the diamond occupies the spaces in midfield.
“They play with two front players, but we still go three versus two at the back and then that allows us to have the extra numbers. It worked well for us.”
Speaking after the Swansea victory, Brendan Rodgers also said Liverpool’s form has given them the opportunity to finish second in the Premier League. (BBC Sport video).
“Manchester City’s result at the weekend gives us an opportunity to finish second,” Rodgers said.
“Our mentality, the run and confidence we have at the moment we’re just going to take that into every game and see where it takes us.”
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