Possession can be such a useless stat in Soccer.
Mane-Salah- Firminho are at their most deadly when they can catch you on the counter. Letting Liverpool hold possession in the midfield but not letting them get behind you is a valid tactic.
And for the most part it limited Liverpool’s quality and Spurs generated their own. Came down to finishing in the end, Firminho finished on a set piece and Spurs flubbed three Grade A sitters.
Good example that always stands out to me is Italy-Spain at the 2012 Euros.
In the group stage Italy played a 3-5-2 and just let Spain pass it around the midfield to the tune of 65% possession. Italy in the end though had the better chances and it finished a 1-1 draw.
Italy had some success playing a 4-1-3-2 the rest of the tournament and then decided to use that tactic against Spain in the final, playing for more possession and didn’t sit back against Spain. Spain just killed them on the counter in the game and they lost 4-0.
If the other team wants to try to use their pace on the counter (which Liverpool does) sometimes just letting them control the ball in the middle third can be a good way of neutralizing that. Modern day Catenaccio.
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