Liverpool's Lallana Experiment Sets Positive Precedent
Jurgen Klopp raised a few eyebrows with his team selection for Liverpool's recent Premier League victory away to Aston Villa.
With Fabinho walking a suspension tightrope ahead of this coming weekend's top of the table clash with Manchester City, the Brazilian sat the game out.
In his stead, most assumed that Jordan Henderson -- who played the number 6 role for two and a half season's under Klopp -- would slot in.
However, in a move that surprised all Liverpool …
Indispensable but under-rotated - Liverpool's flying full-backs
If ever there was a goal to highlight how influential Liverpool's full-backs are on the team, the Reds' second goal against RB Salzburg was exactly that. From Andy Robertson stepping into midfield to the ball being transferred to the opposite side of the pitch for Trent Alexander-Arnold to find his on-running full-back partner with a delightful low cross. It was an exceptional goal from two unbelievably talented full-backs. The levels both of them have been performing at for more than …
A game-by-game mentality: How Liverpool can win the Premier League
To lay everything out on the table from the start, here, any talk of Liverpool having won the Premier League title already this season is absolutely absurd. You can certainly lose the title in the first eight games. But with only 21% of the season completed, there’s no chance you can win it in that time.
Last season, the Reds led Manchester City by seven points at the turn of the year, lost just one game all season, accumulated the …
Liverpool's Full Backs Add New Attacking Dimension
A prominent and recurring feature of Pep Guardiola's trophy-laden spell as manager of Manchester City has been the Catalan's utilisation of his expensively assembled full backs as ostensible centre midfielders.
The positioning of his full backs has provided his City side with numerous advantages.
Firstly, it allows for effective triangle shapes to be created between the full back, winger and attacking midfielders. This adds layers to the Etihad sides' attack and allows the likes of De Bruyne and the Silva's, …
Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal - Player Ratings as Reds stroll past Gunners
Liverpool made it three wins out of three to start the Premier League season, with a superb 3-1 win at Anfield, on an evening when the Reds were dominant for large parts of the game.
After a first half that Jurgen Klopp's side controlled, Joel Matip gave them the lead with a superb header off a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner. Mo Salah scored an early second-half brace to put the game beyond Arsenal, even as Lucas Torreira grabbed the Gunners a …
The lack of full back cover at Liverpool is an uncalculated risk
Liverpool Football Club currently has quite possibly the best full-back pair in the world. Last season was record-breaking for both Trent-Alexander Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Shattering the assists records, while covering the flanks of the best defence in the league. Oh, and they also won the European Cup in one of the most memorable campaigns in recent history. It doesn't get better than that. We are a week away from the first league game of 2019/2020 and to the surprise …
Liverpool's wonderkid approach will lead to success
It seems to the case every single year now but this summer transfer window had the potential to be the biggest in the clubs history. With Liverpool just needing to make subtle tweaks to a squad that amassed 97 points and a sixth European Cup, it was, on paper at least, a much easier task than in years gone by.
The Reds didn’t need a £60million-rated goalkeeper being courted by many of Europe’s elite. They didn’t need to part with …
Klopp's Full-Back Conundrum
Liverpool’s season is almost over, with only the Champions League final left. That, coupled with the fact that the Premier League transfer window is already open, means that transfer speculation and target hunting is the order of the day.
Now, most of the speculation regarding Liverpool seems to be that the Reds aren’t planning to spend lots of money this summer, but are merely planning to replace players who leave and touch up the squad. This makes sense, given that …
Liverpool's Fullback Creativity and Recruitment Targets – Part 2
In Part 1, we took a deep dive into profiling and analysing Liverpool’s fullback creativity and whether it is sustainable – you can read it here.
Here in Part 2, we’ll look at select recruitment targets who can meet our depth needs and tick boxes on the club’s philosophy, eye and analytics tests.
Tyrell Malacia (20 yo, Feyenoord, 1415 minutes, Highest valuation: £2.8 million)
Tyrell Malacia is a highly rated, Dutch, modern left-back for Feyenoord who has represented the Netherlands …
Liverpool's Fullback Creativity and Recruitment Targets – Part 1
Liverpool’s Fullback Creativity and Recruitment Targets – Part 1
An analytical deep dive to profile Liverpool's fullback creativity and answer the question - is it sustainable?
This season, Liverpool consistently lacked a midfield set-up that tasked a player to be a high performing creator and goal threat. That meant the absence of a midfielder to carry the ball past defensive lines, complete creative passes into the box and take dangerous shots from inside the box, all at a high level. …