Super Cups are strange beasts but both Frank Lampard and Jurgen Klopp will want to win it. What tactics can Chelsea expect from Liverpool?
Football is an intensely varied game with no way more right than another. That being said, there are currently two ideological tent poles many managers aspire to live up to. In the blue corner is Pep Guardiola and Manchester City and in the red corner is Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool.
Lampard has traits of both, but if one of the two had to be chosen has his desired end game, it would be Liverpool. Lampard wants his sides to press aggressively all over the field and maintaining possession is less important than catching the opponent unaware at the risk of losing the ball.
Against United, Lampard faced off against a manager who is nearly identical in philosophy to him. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, likely having a better grasp of the weakness of his side after spending most of the year with them, used that to his advantage. Now Lampard will have to prepare for a manager who not only knows the weaknesses of his own system, but knows when to change systems entirely to cope with an opponent.
At this point, most everyone understands how Liverpool plays and it does not require the misinterpretations that often surround Guardiola’s teams. Liverpool will look to win the ball back quickly and they will look to progress the play even faster. The longer Liverpool dwells, the less effective they ultimately are.
But Klopp knows all of that and is able to have his side flip a switch several times a match if need be. They are able to press hard for 15 minutes, then back off to lure the opponent back out before pressing hard again. When playing Liverpool, it is not enough to prepare for just one way, because Klopp will simply change to another way until it works.
Ideally, Lampard will try to force Liverpool into possession. That could be dangerous given how the defense looked against Manchester United, but it would be less dangerous than trying to come on to Liverpool and allowing space in behind for their attackers to exploit.
For what it is worth, the preseason matches against Salzburg and Gladbach will have been good preparation for Liverpool. Chelsea eventually found the right balance to cope with both, but that balance did come at the cost of several goals. The same could be true against Liverpool which is why those fine margins that failed against United need to land on the other side if Chelsea is to have a chance against Liverpool.