Liverpool's pressing machine: how they suffocate opponents

Press in numbers

There is a moment in every Liverpool match when the opposition realises what is about to happen: the first misplaced pass, greeted by a swarm of red shirts closing in from every angle.

The press is not random. It is choreographed: the forward initiates, the midfielders squeeze in coordinated triggers and the back line pushes up to compress the pitch to its smallest possible size.

The data shows why it works. Liverpool win the ball back in the final third more than anyone, and those recoveries convert into shots at a rate no other side can match.

• Most high turnovers in the division
• Highest pressing intensity in the league
• The majority of their goals start with a possession win

We do not wait for the game to come to us. We go and take it.