You can doubt it all you want, thats how it works.
O please. I know precisely how it works. The fact you believe gegen pressing involves mere defending space means you don't understand it as well as you think you do,
You cant just have everyone pressing, your team would all end up on the same side of the pitch with huge areas where 1 pass from the team over the top gets them in on goal. Liverpool's attackers press, their fullbacks are fulltime wingers so their midfielders need to fill the many spaces left behind when they lose the ball. You cant just have everyone in attack and on top of the ball.
That's bolded bit is the problem right there. You wrongly assume pressing is merely going where the ball is when it is anything but:
The tactic Liverpool employs works in 4 phases
1. The forward line initiates the press, pressing the defenders, keeper and dm or man directly on the ball.
2. The midfield as a compact triangular trio, press the space for passing lanes in the second phase, squeezing the area the opponent can play in and into
3. The center defence push up to the center line ready to get any attempts at a ball over the top. Further compressing the play.
4. The fullbacks lurk on the flanks to received an out ball from the balls robbed off forcing the opponents mistakes from the compressed space to play and closed off passing lanes to increase attacking pressure on the opponent
Passing strength is not remotely a requirement for Klopp's tactic to work. Its the ability for the midfield to press and harass relentless as a compact trio
That is why the moment all pool's cb's got injured. and 2 of the 3 best pressing midfielder were with drawn to defence. Liverpool became the Liverpool we have seen this season overnight....
The entire team is involved in the press. If the midfield as just defending space. The loss of the center halves would never have affected the entire team[/QUOTE]