Jurgen Klopp has explained the tactical switch that helped Naby Keita propel Liverpool towards the Champions League knockout stages.
Keita scored the opener on his return to former club Red Bull Salzburg as the European champions topped Group E with a 2-0 win here in Austria on Tuesday night.
It was the Guinean's second goal in four days having been handed a second successive start for the first time since May.
Read Paul Gorst's match verdict from the 2-0 win over Salzburg here
And Klopp has detailed how a change in formation helped the 24-year-old prosper.
“You are educating great players here in Salzburg,” said the Reds boss.
“Naby at the beginning we used him a little bit on the wing and then we changed our system from 4-3-3 to 4-1-4-1 and we used him in the 10 position and he really played great.”
Liverpool became the first club since March to prevent Salzburg from scoring, with Erling Braut Haaland, substituted in the closing moments, failing in his attempt to score in all six group games.
And Klopp believes Virgil van Dijk provided a timely reminder of the ability that made him a Ballon d'Or runner-up to Lionel Messi.
“You need to use your opportunities you have during the game, that's what you have to do,” said the Reds boss.
“They (Salzburg) began great and were very quick and then Haaland and (Hee-Chan) Hwang saw it's not as easy as they think running against Virgil.
“Jesse and his team had a fantastic attitude. They used what they could use but we also played well in the spaces, and when we began to play more intelligently and use the spaces that we had in the second half, then we used our opportunities.
“In the second half, the way we played meant it was very difficult for Salzburg. We had 21 attempts on goal and could have had five or six times.”
