Under Pressure: Dynamic Diaz, Klopp's Man Management & Naby's New Role
It was another double header for the Under Pressure crew, and it was a review of the Reds' domestic cup double - already - this season as they won the FA Cup final on penalties against Chelsea at Wembley.
In recent seasons it hasn't been a priority for Liverpool, mainly due to the strength of the squad available but this campaign has seen a real desire to succeed in all competitions. Phil Barter reflected on the ability of the manager …
Under Pressure: Salah's Contract & Premier League vs Champions League
It's a topic that, seemingly, will run and run into the summer and maybe even next season. On the eve of the biggest game of the season away against Manchester City, and with Salah himself saying there can be no distractions for the whole team during this crucial period, the Mo Salah contract situation won't be sorted anytime soon.
On Under Pressure, during the international break, the original 'A' Team got together to present both sides of the debate, using …
Under Pressure: Textbook Rotation, Perfect Pressing and Naby's Great Form
Liverpool may have lost to Inter Milan at Anfield, but the Under Pressure boys soon to put to bed any doubt that the Reds deserved to go through with a comprehensive run down of the key stats from the two legged tie: 3.1 xG to 0.8 coupled with FIVE big chances to the Italian side's zero. Case closed.
However, the main focus of the podcast was the victory over Brighton - including the continued impressive rotation, the controlled pressing and …
Under Pressure: Pressing Monsters & Penalty Analytics
It was a double header on the Under Pressure show this week, and although they touched on the incredibly impressive performance last week against Leeds (eight big chances and six goals) the main focus was on the first trophy of the season: Liverpool are League Cup champions.
First up was the key pressing story from the match - and more importantly the differing contrast with the fixture at the turn of the new year at Stamford Bridge.
Furthermore there was …
Klopp vs Pep - The Numbers Behind The Rivalry
Is it the greatest rivalry in the history of English football? Jurgen Klopp versus Pep Guardiola, Liverpool versus Manchester City. Records are constantly being broken: the first and only team to achieve 100 points in a league season (Man City - 2017/18); the biggest lead ever in English football at the top of the table (Liverpool, 25 points - 2019/20); most consecutive wins in all competitions (Man City - 23, 2021/22); earliest title victory in history (Liverpool, with seven games …
Under Pressure - Classical Tactical Battle & Superb Salah
It was another double header for the Under Pressure boys: the two-nil victory away at Inter Milan in the San Siro in the knockout stage of the Champions League, as well as the 3-1 win at home to Norwich in the Premier League.
While the Reds ended up winning in Italy in the first leg, it was the pressing that was a huge part of the match, with both sides vying for the chance to dominate, but no-one ever quite …
Under Pressure: Fabiago, Perfect Pressing & Aggressive Defensive Lines
After a busy week where the Reds faced Rodgers' Leicester City side at Anfield, and travelled to Burnley to face the team propping up the Premier League, it meant a double header Under Pressure podcast. Gags returned to host and was joined by Dan Kennett, Dan Rhodes and Phil Barter. In a bumper edition there was plenty of detailed statistical analysis including the performance when Thiago and Fabinho start, the brilliant pressing versus the Foxes and the number of offsides …
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Will He Break the All-Time Assist Record?
After a pinpoint free-kick led to his 15th assist of the season, Dan Kennett on the Under Pressure podcast asked the simple question: who can possibly compare with Trent Alexander-Arnold's chance creation and level of assists this season?
He also added these key stats to illustrate the level he is performing:
Trent is currently at 15 assists in all comps with potentially 28 games left this season. Players that we could find with 20+ assists and >0.55 p90 on @Fbref …
How Does Diaz Compare to Mo Salah at Roma?
In the aftermath of the Diaz transfer being confirmed, those involved on the Under Pressure podcast were investigating the stats behind the Reds' new signing.
In an effort to compare different leagues, Dan Kennett used two different academic studies (that you can read here and here).
"Arguing about domestic league strength is something that soccer fans seems to never tire of. (“Could Messi do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke?”) Many of these conversations are anecdotal, leading to …
Diamond in the Rough - Illustrating Liverpool's Pressing vs Swansea
As you may already know I collect pressing stats for every Liverpool Premier League game, I know - what a crazy thing to do - but it's popular, people enjoy the discussions resulting from the stats collection and we're learning a lot about some of the players at Liverpool Football Club. Twitter was adamant that the stats for this game shouldn't be collected, the game should be binned and that I should take the day off from doing this painful task …