Welcome to part four of Total Football Analysis’s throw-in series

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At this point,

 we can say that we are ready to get into tactical details and diagrams.In the previous three parts, we have shown all the variables needed to understand the unique nature of throw-ins and what affects the throw-in strategies for different teams and coaches.We have also conducted a two-part interview with the expert coach, Thomas Grønnemark, asking him to discuss those variables and his opinion about many tactics in detail.Now, we are ready to discuss real examples and tactics with footage.We’ve chosen to take a look at a team as a case study.

Trying to be specific, we’ll track their throw-ins in a specific third of the pitch against different opponents, finding out the variations they used against different opponents and considering the strengths and weaknesses they found, as in any comprehensive, coherent analysis.

Liverpool are currently at the top of the Premier League table after 12 matches, with an eight-point difference ahead of Man City, the second. This tactical analysis discusses Liverpool’s attacking tactics for throw-ins in the final third in this 2024/25 Premier League season with their new coach, Arne Slot, and their new set-piece coach, Aaron Briggs.Fast Throw-Ins

First of all, their important role is to play as fast as they can, so any player near the throw-in position goes quickly to take it, as shown in the photo below with Luis Díaz.

The quickest pass option is frequently the back option for anyone available: the full-back, the six, or the eight near the ball.
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Playing fast isn’t just saying we should play fast; it is a group’s quick actions and some trained techniques.As shown below, Trent Alexander-Arnold fakes that he will play forward to ensure that the opponent’s players will naturally step back to ensure that the back pass to Ibrahima Konaté is safe. 
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As shown below, another aspect of technique is important.Alexander-Arnold exploits the ball’s bounce with the ground to reach Ibrahima Konaté faster.
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Although their highest priority is keeping the possession and ball retention against opponents’ pressing, This passing-back-quickly action can also lead to chances when it appears as a full-group action, as shown below.The goalkeeper clears the ball for a throw-in. On its way out, Harvey Elliott goes quickly for the throw.
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It’s not just him; two teammates (the full-back and the midfielder) appear quickly. As shown below, one receives the ball while the other runs into the space.
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It is not just about playing back. Yes, this is the most possible, free and quickest option, but any near play tries to appear to help.As shown below, one of the quick options is a wall pass between the thrower and a near player, as Díaz (the left winger) does here.
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The third option they have, regarding playing fast, is targeting the dangerous area, shown below, suddenly exploiting that there is no offside in throw-ins, as Mohamed Salah does below.
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As shown below, the striker (yellow) also carries out the same previous idea, suddenly running to the pitch line to receive the ball behind the defensive line, exploiting the fact that there is no offside.Note: Díaz was the left winger while Diogo Jota was the striker at that time, but the open-play attack ended with a switch between them, so they held that switch to behave quickly in the throw-in.Note: Remember that long throw-ins are helpful not only as direct crosses, as coach Thomas Grønnemark told us.
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Open Back-Pass Option In Throw-InsNow, we will discuss what they will do if they can’t play it quickly or can’t find a quick, good option.We divided it into two scenarios:1- If the back-pass option is open2- If the back-pass option is closed.Let’s start with the first one!As shown below, the opponent has time, so they shrink back to establish depth because of the yellow attacker’s movement behind them. They play with a 4-2-3-1 formation in a low block (box-defending) phase. The two midfielders stand zonally in the box while the right winger stands back, covering this zone and ready to press the thrower in case any wall pass is played with him.The #10 and the far winger stand with Liverpool’s two eighters while the striker marks Liverpool’s six out of the shot.Díaz (the near winger) goes out of the block to receive the back throw-in, while the near eight blocks the opponent, preventing him from reaching the targeted zone, as in the second photo below.
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They sometimes ask the six to start in the full-back position to attract the striker’s attention and then make a fake run to drag him away, emptying the path to the centre defender, as shown below.
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In the photo below, they face a tough test. The striker stands between the six and the centre-back, so the pass to the centre-back isn’t safe.The near eight fakes that he goes away and then suddenly makes a faint attempt to get into this space.
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That needs two things:1- The six moves a bit up, trying to drag the striker away2- The ball should be thrown into the space, not the league of the yellow player, while it also hits the ground to be quicker.
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Closed Backpass Option In Throw-InsWhen the back pass is closed, they are confined, so they should implement an idea (tool or tactic). As coach Thomas Grønnemark told us, sometimes you need more than one tool, like executing sequences of ideas until you succeed. In many cases, you teach your creative players the tools, and they can behave to create unlimited space creation movements.Let’s divide it into two sections: Before and aligned to the box.Throw-Ins Before The BoxAs shown below, Brentford defends in a 4-4-1-1 shape, with Yoane Wissa and the two eights man-marked by its two midfielders.The striker runs behind the full-back, trying to tell him not to follow Díaz, who targets the area evacuated by dragging the two midfielders out of position.
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As shown below, a midfielder realises that in the last second, so he decides to step back standing with Díaz. Still, this gives Liverpool’s midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai

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the opportunity to receive the ball and do a wall pass with the thrower.
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The same plan has been implemented, but Salah is waiting until the right time.
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Unlike in previous cases, they have a variation, or, say, a counter plan, to attack the area behind the line to in front of it by asking the striker to keep fixing the centre-back. As shown below, Jota fixes the left centre-back while the switch happens: Mo Salah drags the left full-back up to create a space (empty half-space) between the full-back and the centre-back for the right-sided eight, who suddenly runs into it.
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As an example of sequences, Liverpool implemented two ideas, as shown in the case below.Crystal Palace is in a man-marking defending system; the defenders are man-oriented.As you can see below, with a 5-4-1 formation, Crystal Palace defended against Liverpool’s throw-in.Trent Alexander-Arnold is the thrower, Luis Díaz (yellow) is the targeted player, and Dominik Szoboszlai (white) is next to him.
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This system prioritises man-marking over protecting specific areas, so some rotations, switches, and screens can create suitable spaces in dangerous areas.Indeed, Luis Díaz turns around Dominik Szoboszlai to get some separation from his marker while Szoboszlai tries to block it.He moves him towards Díaz’s marker and tries to slow him down, giving Díaz time.
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However, the marker could escape from this trap.Here, Liverpool uses the backward switch to help Díaz escape from his marker, running toward this dangerous, empty area.
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Díaz’s marker is forced to turn around, giving his back to the ball, and then run, which makes it challenging to catch Díaz, who can exploit this empty area.
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Throw-Ins Aligned To The BoxWhen the throw-in is aligned to the box, that means that the defence line is already stepping back, establishing enough depth, so it isn’t easy to suddenly them at their back, and the spaces between the defenders are also narrow.Switches work as in the previous case when they face a four-player backline that can be dragged. In the photo below, Salah drags the full back up while Szoboszlai (orange) fakes a close movement to drag the winger out and then runs behind him while the striker fixes the defenders inside the box.
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It leads to a dangerous opportunity, as shown below.
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The same strategy is difficult against five-player backlines, so they follow a different strategy when they face a man-oriented five-player backline.In the photo below, the five-backline is down in green while Jota and Szoboszlai overload the outer flank to drag more defenders to create this shown gap for Díaz (the striker in this case) who starts to run late.
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After that, a third-man pass is performed, as shown below.
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As an example of sequences and unlimited space creation against this kind, it is shown below that Szoboszlai (green) points to the sixer (Gravenberch) to implement a back run behind him. At the same time, he will block the opponent, as shown below.
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The taker didn’t notice that, but there was no problem; the other two players used another tool (switch), as shown below.

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Liverpool Counter Defending Ideas & WeaknessesLet’s start with the win-win situation most teams follow.As shown below, Arsenal, for example, quickly stands in a 4-4-2 low block while the winger is behind the ball. The whole team establishes enough depth, closing all the gaps to be safe defensively, leaving the back pass option open. Then, they will press, which is what Liverpool wants, too.
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They struggle when they face a team that closes the back pass option and has a free defender in the middle.As shown below, Rafael Leão closes the back-pass option while the three defenders are man-marked (green).Liverpool tries to implement the same strategy of dragging the midfielders away to create a gap for Salah while Jota runs behind the full-back, trying to fix him, but AC Milan has a free player (yellow) in the midfield who fills this gap.Note: This free player in the midfield happens because they ask the far winger (Christian Pulisic) to go inside, marking either on his side and leaving Liverpool’s left-back free.
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They also suffer when they face a team that defends with a five-player backline (or any midfielder fills the four-back line to be five), defending zonally, closing the five channels.In the photo below, RB Leipzig defends in a 5-4-1 shape while Liverpool tries to apply the same strategy they did against Crystal Palace. They try to drag the defenders near the ball to form the shown gap, but there is a ready defender to fill this gap.
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Ultimately, we don’t say they are superb, but they do something clear and good.

We also tried to explain the weaknesses.We don’t know whether it is newly trained tactics or the players still remember the old way.Remember that they don’t use long throw-ins and don’t always implement dangerous attacks, but their priority is to keep the ball and possession.ConclusionThis set-piece analysis showed how Liverpool attack throw-ins in the final third in this Premier League season.This analysis also showed how they implement many ideas to keep the possession in throw-ins while considering individual abilities.