Left-side bias under the microscope: Liverpool tilt, Wirtz’s drift, and the Frimpong width gap

A prominent tactical breakdown spotlighted a shared trend across the latest matches: heavy left-sided bias. Liverpool repeatedly funneled play left, with Curtis Jones naturally gravitating there and Conor Bradley offering less natural width than an orthodox right wing-back. Bayer Leverkusen felt Jeremie Frimpong’s absence in stretching the right touchline, while Florian Wirtz drifted into the left half-space to find touches. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, in their respective teams, also favored the left channels when interchanging. The debate spilled across fan bases, with some praising improved first-phase structure and others pointing to Arsenal’s full-backs as a contrasting, goal-hungry model.

The discussion emerged around a busy matchday in England and Germany. Observers highlighted Liverpool’s left-leaning buildup with Curtis Jones’ positioning, while noting Leverkusen’s struggle to maintain right-sided width without Jeremie Frimpong. Florian Wirtz’s preference for the left half-space, and forward tendencies from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike to drift left, fed a wider conversation on balance and spacing. Meanwhile, chatter about Arsenal’s full-backs and their end-product offered a contrasting benchmark for full-back contribution in the final third.

Liverpool have a strong left-sided bias. Frimpong’s injury was a blow as he holds the width better than Bradley. Wirtz is drifting too much towards the left. Isak and Ekitike also have license to interchange but they both prefer the left. Jones also prefers that side. 🤦‍♂️

@EBL2017

Impact Analysis

The left-sided bias has two immediate tactical consequences. First, predictability: opponents can cue their pressing traps and overloads to one flank, compressing space and forcing low-value crosses or turnovers. For Liverpool, repeated left-leaning patterns reduce the surprise element, even if the left is stocked with technically secure profiles like Curtis Jones. Second, destabilized rest-defense: when circulation skews to one side without mirrored weak-side threats, defensive transitions lengthen as the ball must travel farther to protect space behind the ball.

Leverkusen’s issue without Jeremie Frimpong underscores the irreplaceable value of true width. His high-and-wide occupation pins full-backs and opens interior lanes for Florian Wirtz. When that width disappears, Wirtz’s natural solution—drifting left to find touches—can crowd the zone and blunt central rotations. Similarly, forwards such as Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike preferring the left channel can overconcentrate play and narrow the pitch. In contrast, Arsenal’s current full-back productivity (with Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber stepping into goalscoring roles) illustrates how balanced width and timed underlaps create dual-sided threats that stretch blocks and diversify chance creation.

Reaction

Fan reaction split along experience and club lines. Liverpool supporters debated whether the team’s first phase had genuinely improved. One view credited a steadier base with Dominik Szoboszlai anchoring and Curtis Jones dropping to help, which smoothed circulation and limited the chaotic, everyone-forward sequences seen in prior high-profile games. Others worried that without a true right-side stretcher, the ball gravitated left, telegraphing attacks and reducing Mo Salah’s isolation moments on the far side.

From the Bundesliga angle, many pointed out how much Leverkusen rely on Jeremie Frimpong’s width; without him, Wirtz drifted left to stay involved, but that congested the channel and flattened the team’s staggering. Neutral fans latched onto a broader theme: modern forwards like Isak and Ekitike increasingly prefer the left half-space for curved runs and right-footed finishing lanes, which can make teams look lopsided if not counterbalanced.

Arsenal chatter entered the thread as a counterexample, with supporters citing the scoring impact of Calafiori and Timber and a more symmetrical structure. Some rival fans took playful shots—“sorry for Mo!”—arguing that starting build-ups on the left has more bite, while a few tactical purists insisted the problem isn’t the side itself but the lack of synchronized weak-side activation to punish shifts.

Social reactions

Aaaaand Szoboszlai has left side bias, MacAllister too etc almost all of our squad ffs

Hidajet Beqaj (@HidajetBee97)

All we need is a pacy and technical RW and you'll see them drift to the right.

Sir Israel (@SirIsraellfc)

🚨 Arne Slot: “Alexander Isak had to be subbed off due to discomfort he felt in his groin”. “Let’s hope it’s not too bad. It's such a difficult balance to find with a player that missed three months”.

Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)

Prediction

Expect coaching staffs to chase balance in three ways. First, personnel: right-sided width merchants will see minutes rise. For Liverpool, that could mean sequences designed to spring the right flank earlier—staggering the right-back higher in settled possession or rotating a right-footed winger/8 into wider positions to pin the last line. Second, role tweaks: at Leverkusen, a fit-again Frimpong restores the natural stretch, allowing Wirtz to hold the right half-space on the start and arrive left on rotations rather than camping there. That keeps central corridors live while preserving crossing threat on the weak side.

Third, pattern design: expect deliberate “escape” automations to the right—third-man switches, diagonal wall-passes, and inverted-to-overlap sequences that flip the overload late in the attack. For teams with left-drifting forwards like Isak and Ekitike, coaches should rehearse mirror patterns to the right, using back-post runs and cutbacks to equalize expected threat. If Arsenal continue to extract final-third value from full-backs, more sides will trial underlapping full-backs on the far side to arrive undetected.

In the medium term, clubs will shop for either a left-footed right-wing profile or an athletic right-back who can hold width and deliver early. That market signal—pace plus crossing on the right—will grow louder if current left heavy schemes stagnate against organized mid-blocks.

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Conclusion

Left-sided bias isn’t inherently bad; it’s a powerful identity when supported by fast switches, weak-side threats, and rest-defense behind the ball. The problem arises when preference becomes predictability. Liverpool’s left tilt suits Curtis Jones’ rhythm, but the right lane must threaten earlier to keep Salah and the back-post alive. Leverkusen’s blueprint shows how crucial Frimpong’s width is to freeing Florian Wirtz between lines; without it, the attack narrows and loses verticality. For forwards like Isak and Ekitike, the left half-space is home, but teams must engineer matching danger on the opposite side.

Arsenal’s recent full-back outputs underline a simple lesson: varied arrival points make blocks crack. If the current discourse triggers micro-adjustments—healthier staggering, quicker diagonals, restored right-side occupation—expect immediate gains in chance quality and transition security. The next step is turning these tweaks into habit, so left-leaning identities remain a strength, not a scouting report giveaway.