- Total Football Analysis
- Posts
- Replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Creative Spark At Liverpool & Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis Tactics
Replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Creative Spark At Liverpool & Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis Tactics
Today, we have a recruitment analysis piece on how Liverpool can replace Trent Alexander-Arnold's creative spark along with a tactical analysis of Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis this season.
The Home Of Tactical Analysis
Get A Free Demo of Playmaker AI & Discover Top Talent in Seconds
Top clubs, agents, and scouts worldwide are turning to Playmaker AI, the football analytics platform that’s changing the game.
Save Time: Instantly spot standout players across hundreds of leagues.
Save Money: Cut back on travel and streamline decisions with precise, data-driven insights.
Gain Tactical Edge: Access in-depth player and tactical analysis in seconds.
Ready to scout smarter?
Schedule a free demo of PlayMaker.AI today!
Today’s TFA Posts ⚽
The departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool will be a seismic shift for the club tactically.
From academy graduate to generational talent, Alexander-Arnold embodies Liverpool’s identity.
A local lad and a Scouser, he has redefined the full-back role in modern football.
His ability to dictate games from deep areas, passing range, and creative influence have been instrumental to Liverpool’s success under Jürgen Klopp and now Arne Slot.
His right foot has become synonymous with dismantling the lowest of low blocks, and he will forever be remembered for one of the greatest high football IQ moments in Champions League football.
Replacing such a unique talent will be a monumental task. Yet, evolution is both necessary and inevitable in football.
Alexander-Arnold’s role transcended traditional positional definitions.
As a “quarterback” in Klopp’s system, he orchestrated play from deep, bypassing opposition midfield and enabling Liverpool to dominate transitions.
His hybrid role as a full-back and deep-lying playmaker was central to Liverpool’s identity and reshaped perceptions of the position across the footballing world.
Pep Guardiola once remarked, “Alexander-Arnold is the best passer in world football today, not just at right-back but everywhere.”
The move to Real Madrid looks imminent, and now Liverpool faces a defining moment in their modern history.
The task at hand is not to fill a positional void but to reconstruct the team’s creative framework.
This piece will explore specific structural and stylistic adjustments that Liverpool can implement to compensate for the loss of their most creative player.
The entire season had not gone according to plan for manager Manuel Pellegrini and his squad.
In the summer of 2024, multiple cornerstones of Betis’s success over the last seasons decided to leave the club.
Juan Miranda and Guido Rodríguez, who even left for free, and other players like Ayoze, Chadi Riad, and Nabil Fékir, looked for opportunities elsewhere.
This led to a massive overhaul in the squad, especially on the defensive side, and to a relatively thin squad.
While Pellegrini and his men’s start to the season looked decent enough, as soon as the UEFA Conference League group stage began, the load of games took its toll on the team, and the results dipped.
In the winter transfer window, Assane Diao and Vitor Roque also decided to leave Betis, leaving the team with even more holes to fill in the attack now.
With the signings of Cucho and Antony, the club managed to sign two very good replacements.
With star player Isco returning from injury, the team found its form again, winning their last six matches in La Liga and advancing to the quarter-final in the Conference League.
In this tactical analysis and team report, we will examine the tactical and personal changes that Manuel Pellegrini made to get his team back into shape and how they managed their surge towards the international places in La Liga and the club’s first-ever international trophy.
TFA Archives 📆
It’s official: Kevin De Bruyne will leave Manchester City at the end of the season.
We analysed his massive impact in Pep’s system — and explored how Guardiola can replace him using data-driven insight.
Dive in below.
Marcus Rashford is on fire at his new club, Aston Villa.
Take a dive back to 2019 when we looked at him in the striker role at Manchester United as they take on Nottingham Forest today.
Can he keep his form?
Harry Kane scores his 34th goal of the season for FC Bayern, 23 in 26 Bundesliga games.
Take a look into the role he plays at Bayern Munich that we looked at when he first joined the club.
