Arne Slot masterminded Liverpool’s win over Chelsea thanks to traffic jam trick and Jones shutting down Palmer

LIVERPOOL played retired a tactical "game of chicken" against Chelsea connected Sunday.

And Arne Slot's broadside came location to roost with a 2-1 triumph courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones.

The Dutch tactician came up trumps acknowledgment to a genius mode of neutralising Blues prima antheral Cole Palmer successful a "traffic jam", portion simultaneously allowing Jones to predominate some ends of the pitch.

The England Under-21 planetary proved the quality shaper with his antiaircraft publication and captious interaction successful the last third.

Jones, 23, dedicated his match-winning extremity to newborn girl Giselle Deliah and woman Saffie Khan.

SunSport tactics guru Dean Scoggins explains however Slot was capable to compression a triumph retired of Enzo Maresca's side.

Slot's postulation jam

Slot and Maresca showed each different a batch of respect successful their respective set-ups, but it was the determination to unopen down Cole Palmer which was a cardinal quality maker.

Chelsea person often looked to find their apical scorer successful the corridors betwixt the centre-backs and full-backs.

In possession Liverpool lined up successful 4-2-3-1 enactment with Ryan Gravenberch and Jones successful a pair.

But erstwhile defending this morphed into a 4-3-3 arsenic Jones drifted into the transmission wherever Palmer likes to drift to prime up the shot to halt him receiving it successful those lanes.

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This was not a man-marking job, but alternatively a occupation of cutting retired the passing lanes portion helium besides got assistance from Cody Gakpo to assemblage that country to prevent the likes of Levi Colwill from executing his trademark agelong passes done the lines.

Jones' relation astir saw him hiding astatine times arsenic helium waited to pounce to property against the ball.

Much of Colwill's passing was constricted owed to the compact antiaircraft block, truthful limiting the quality to build.

Although Jones' task of marking the country of Palmer meant helium had a greater responsibility.

Double bubble Jones

Jones had a dual-role successful midfield astatine Anfield.

The archetypal saw him picking up the passing lane successful beforehand of Palmer, but this successful crook near him unmarked by the Blues' container midfield signifier erstwhile the shot was turned over.

This meant Jones was past capable to beryllium the spare antheral successful midfield for Liverpool, which resulted successful decisive consequences for the wide game.

Jones utilized this escaped abstraction to marque precocious runs into the punishment area, resulting successful him causing galore headaches for the Chelsea defence.

His question resulted successful 2 punishment appeals - 1 that was fixed and 1 that was not fixed - and successful him uncovering the unfastened abstraction to people the eventual victor aboriginal successful the 2nd half.

Chelsea's ain gameplan saw Malo Gusto tucking wrong from near backmost and pushing up alongside Palmer portion Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo completed their container midfield set-up.

This freed up abstraction for Reece James connected the close broadside with Gakpo and Jones doing a circumstantial occupation to chopped retired abstraction much centrally.

However, James was acold from his champion and struggled to utilise this space, with Liverpool capable to beryllium diligent and hold for the overload earlier counter-attacking.

String theory

As mentioned earlier, Gakpo and Jones worked successful tandem to unopen down the menace of Palmer.

Gakpo - an absorbing enactment prime up of Luis Diaz - was often seen sitting successful beforehand of Jones to assistance artifact the passing lane.

He remained disciplined and kept a dependable region from Jones arsenic a surface successful front, with Jones past capable to instruct him successful however they could champion combat the threat.

This extended to erstwhile the shot was switched to the different flank, with Gakpo capable to prime up Palmer aft Jones tucked successful to continually marque a 2v1 scenario.

Game of chicken

The patience shown by some teams meant a batch of the accent connected build-up play was near to the goalkeeper, and Chelsea's Robert Sanchez did not person a large crippled successful this regard.

Rather than jumping retired to press, Liverpool simply acceptable up and told Chelsea to effort and interruption them down - a akin determination to their set-up astatine Old Trafford against Manchester United.

The archetypal walk was the trigger, but lone if they had the numbers.

This "mid press" meant Sanchez was often forced to spell long, and volition apt beryllium different indicator that Chelsea volition determination for an costly ball-playing goalkeeper adjacent summer.

Dominik Szoboszlai was fixed circumstantial instructions to property Colwill erstwhile helium was connected the shot to halt him playing by blocking the passing lanes, but to permission Sanchez alone.

This antiaircraft ploy meant Colwill was incapable to play line-breaking passes into Palmer oregon Caicedo, forcing Chelsea retired of their comfortableness portion and doing thing Maresca does not privation them to do.

At 1 stage, Jones turned to Slot erstwhile they were being overloaded successful midfield, with the manager past telling Szoboszlai to halt jumping retired and acceptable up successful a five-player block.

A acold outcry from Jurgen Klopp's celebrated gegenpress tactics.

Tension ball

For each of Liverpool's awesome tactics, Maresca came precise adjacent to winning the crippled of chess with his "tension ball" tactic.

Playing astatine left-back, Gusto tucked wrong with Lavia playing successful midfield up of Enzo Maresca.

But alternatively than inverting into the deeper midfield relation seen previously, helium was really seen playing similar a near 10 alongside Palmer and Jadon Sancho.

He did not spot capable of the shot and was not bully capable successful that position, but showed superb enactment complaint which meant they could clasp their four-man signifier successful midfield.

And erstwhile Nicolas Jackson scored an equaliser conscionable aft half-time, it was done the hostility created by Gusto occupying abstraction that past freed up his attacking team-mate.

This thought did not rather wage disconnected each clip successful the archetypal half, but erstwhile it worked it apt would person resulted successful much unsafe opportunities if not for Jones having a superb crippled successful tracking the runs of Palmer.

In the archetypal fractional helium blocked 1 superb accidental from Palmer, though determination was 1 genius infinitesimal from the 22-year-old - an echo of greats specified arsenic Eric Cantona and Teddy Sheringham - wherever helium bought himself a fewer yards of abstraction conscionable by stopping.

That turned retired to beryllium the lone mistake Jones made successful an different faultless display.