KEOWN TALKS TACTICS: Liverpool are the kings of catching teams offside

At Arsenal the shout would be ‘squeeze’. That’s the word which would be yelled when Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp were engaging in a high press. The midfield line would squeeze up with them, and so would the back line.

We knew that if our forwards pressured their opponents enough, then with no options in midfield, the opposition would be panicked into playing the ball forward in a hurry — and we’d be waiting for that moment.

Once the long ball inevitably arrived, so did the assistant’s flag, because we would have held our line and made sure the striker was behind our back line. That was our offside trap at Arsenal and it was a very effective one.

It’s still a feature in football today and no one does it better than Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. They have caught opponents offside 101 times this season, the next most being Manchester City on 61.

Liverpool’s front three work incredibly hard in their high press. They put immense pressure on their opponents, who are petrified of someone as lethal as Mo Salah taking it off them close to their own box.

Their midfield three squeezes up with them, and so does the defensive line. Watch Virgil van Dijk and you’ll see him forever directing the back line, telling everyone exactly where he wants them.

If a ball over the top is played, they will tend to hold their position. It takes bravery. But if you trust each other, there are so many benefits to this system. 

If your defensive line is too deep it leaves the opposition with too much space to play in and so many possibilities to score against you. You don’t feel in control. But if you squeeze up and keep a high line, you limit their options.

It’s not fool proof, of course. It can go wrong. If an opponent makes a run from deep, and