Roberto Firmino came off the bench to score a late winner as Liverpool beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in their Champions League opener at Anfield.
Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring with a header before James Milner made it 2-0 from the spot with 36 minutes played.
Thomas Meunier pulled one back for the away side against the run of play and Kylian Mbappe grabbed an equaliser seven minutes from time.
However, Firmino struck in the second minute of added time to clinch all three points.
Here’s a look at how Thomas Tuchel was ousted in the tactical battle against Jurgen Klopp.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 2
Shots – 9
Possession – 48%
Tackles – 14
Dribbles – 4
30-SECOND REPORT
PSG were immediately put under pressure as Liverpool pressed high up the pitch with great intensity. Tuchel employed a 4-3-3 system to mirror that of their opponents but they struggled to contain the hosts.
The attempt was to soak up the pressure and then get the ball forward quickly for their front three of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Mbappe to do the damage but they were left scrambling to protect their own goal instead and struggled to get out of their half.
They managed to weather the storm in spells but were eventually overwhelmed and conceded twice. During a period of respite in the first half, Meunier struck and Liverpool dropped off at the start of the second period. However, PSG did little to seize the opportunity and were fortunate to grab an equaliser, only to lose at the death.
TACTICAL TALKING POINT
Marquinhos role
Tuchel has used Marquinhos as a defensive midfielder this season and handed him a huge task for this encounter. To work around Liverpool’s high-press, he was instructed to drop deep in between the centre-halves in possession.
It worked in spells but for the most part proved too much of a workload for Marquinhos who had to shuttle across the width of the pitch ahead of the back-line to put out fires.
VERDICT
A slightly strange ploy from Tuchel to use Neymar out wide when he’s deployed him centrally so far this season. The Brazilian made PSG’s left flank extremely vulnerable without the ball and Trent Alexander-Arnold had a field day.
He was hesitant to make changes in the second half when his side were in desperate need of some inspiration and the 3-2 scoreline flatters the German’s passive approach from the dugout.
Rating 4/10
