Following a dismal start to the Premier League season, Liverpool have closed to within two points of the Champions League places thanks to a run of 10 matches without defeat.
A 3-0 loss at Manchester United on December 14, five days after elimination from the Champions League, left Liverpool 10 points below their rivals in 10th place, but they are now breathing down United's necks in the battle for a top-four finish.
Ahead of a showdown next weekend with Manchester City, the team who pipped them to last season's title, here are five ways in which manager Brendan Rodgers has engineered Liverpool's mid-season revival:
1. Tactical re-organisation
Liverpool began the season with a four-man defence, but after losing seven of their first 16 games, Rodgers rejigged his team, introducing a three-man defensive configuration in a loose-limbed 3-4-2-1 formation. It has yielded defensive stability -- Liverpool have conceded only seven times in their last 10 games -- and greater zip and dynamism in attack, where the positional fluidity has allowed Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho to thrive, plugging a void created by Daniel Sturridge's long spell on the sidelines due to injury. "We have great control of the ball and we've got the ball longer in the opponent's half, which means they don't have to defend as much," Rodgers has explained.
Source: DSG
