Brighton's secret tactic that bamboozled Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp revealed

Journalist Jon Mackenzie outlined how the simple motion of either Lewis Dunk or Levi Colwill placing their studs on the ball whilst standing still had a devastating impact on the opposition.

Mackenzie identified that De Zerbi wants his Brighton side to dominate possession, but also create the sort of dangerous opportunities usually generated from winning the ball back in your defensive courters and then counter-attacking into the space provided further up the field (i.e. transitional play).

By simply having control of the ball against teams defending in a low block, Brighton would have a lot of possession in their own half, but would struggle to find space and create chances close to the goal because of their opponents compact set-up around the box.

To create chances against a low block requires high-end technical players, such as a Martin Ødegaard or Kevin De Bruyne, something which Brighton do not currently possess.

Instead De Zerbi is searching for the spaces out-wide, in-behind the defence and in-between the lines of defence and midfield, which are normally found in transitional phases once the ball has be won off the opposition.

This is the tactical underpinning of what Mackenzie calls ‘De Zerbism’ – possessing the ball but generating the conditions to transition in better ways.

By having his central defenders place their studs on the ball whilst in possession, De Zerbi is attempting to ‘bait the press’ of his opponents, whereby one of the forward players attempts to close down either Dunk or Colwill, triggering the rest of his side to press up along with him.

This will therefore generate the conditions whereby transitions are available and can be carried out successfully.

However, inviting this press minimises the amount of space around the man in possession, meaning De Zerbi is looking for his midfielder to have the ball under control in the centre of the park – in the space left by the forward players pressing Albion’s centre-backs.

Mackenzie calls this area of the pitch the ‘promised land of De Zerbism’, as from here central midfielders such as Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister can make simple passes to either the striker, the central attacking midfielder or the two forward wide players.

Furthermore, by having his CAM and his striker drop in, further space is created, as the two opposition central defenders push up to mark them, leaving gaps for Albion’s wide players to run in behind on the angle – as seen by Solly March’s second goal in Saturday’s win against the Reds.

The simplest way to enter this ‘promised land’ would of course be a straight pass from the central defender into his midfield teammate, but as expected this is normally blocked off by the opposition forward.

Thus, by standing on the ball, the central midfielder becomes ‘dis-marked’ by the forward attempting to close down the defender, allowing the pressed centre-back to create a triangle by passing the ball sideways to his central defensive partner, who can them play the ball into the un-marked midfielder.

When two forward players are sat deep on Albion’s midfield duo, Mackenzie says the aim of De Zerbi’s play then becomes to create these ‘dis-marking’ moments.

To do this, Mackenzie says the ‘De Zerbism S’ is used, a move started by one of Albion’s central midfielders, who drops in front of their marker to receive the ball to feet from the centre back on the opposite side of the system.

He can then play a first-time pass into his midfield partner, who should be free from his marker after he has been ‘baited in’ by the defender having his studs on the ball.

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From there, Caicedo or Mac Allister can drive into the space of the ‘promised land’ with the ball under control, with the option to play passes into numerous forward players.

If a dangerous situation emerges, whereby the central midfielder is marked tightly when coming in to receive the pass off the defender, he has the option to bounce a pass back to the other central defender, in order to retain possession.

After a difficult start, De Zerbi’s style of play is starting to have a positive impact on the team’s results, most recently shown Saturday’s demolition of Liverpool at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton are currently seventh in the Premier League table, having won three of their last four league games, scoring 12 goals in the process.

As Brighton continue to grow under their Italian boss, we can expect to see a lot more aspects of De Zerbism take shape on the pitch.