Rodgers tried to implement a number of tactical developments today. The formation was obviously different, a 4-4-3. Lucas and Gerrard were the holding midfielders, and Henderson played ahead of them, pushing forward, along with the full-backs, who were stationed out wide and also looked to attack whenever possible. Normally this would create a problem for the centre-backs, who would have to mark the strikers and watch the space located on the wings. Rodgers therefore moved Gerrard into the centre of defence when we attacking, where the threat from the wings could be nullified; Lucas was left as the only holding-midfielder. Sterling and Coutinho would try move into the pocket of space in front of the Southampton defence, attempting to overload their midfield and defence, as they would have to deal with 6 players (Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge, Johnson, Manquillo, and Henderson) who were all seeking to provide options, as well as pressing if we lost the ball.
It didn't work very well, however, because of Southampton's pressure and physicality. Sterling and Coutinho consistently failed to turn challenging players and resorted to backwards passes. I think Lallana will be better in this regard because he looks more powerful. Manquillo and Johnson also did little in an attacking sense, constantly running into a splurge of Southampton's players; Moreno may rectify this, I don't know yet. Creating more problems, Lucas didn't have the mobility to close down stop counter-attacks, and he didn't have the ability to play any vaguely productive balls.
In theory, this arrangement was supposed to stop us conceding so many goals, while preserving our attacking potential. Strangely, we never played this formation last season, when it would of suited us more. (There would of been clear problems with the full-backs, but we had one of the best attacking players in the world.) Rodgers probably didn't want to upset Sturridge or Suarez by moving them out wide.
We are going to play teams who set up like Southampton all season, so it's important that we fix these problems. It makes the need for a robust and creative striker more salient. I think we will struggle all season otherwise.