Can Naby Keita help save Liverpool's season?
It's fair to say Naby Keita hasn't set the world alight at Liverpool.
Few players have joined with greater expectations on their shoulders than the Guinean when he arrived at Anfield in 2018, following a superb spell at RB Leipzig.
The fact that Liverpool fans had to wait a whole year to see Keita in the squad only added to the excitement surrounding him, with each month edging closer to finally watching him in a Reds shirt.
The 26-year-old is …
Tactical Breakdown: Liverpool 0-2 Everton
Carlo Ancelotti's Everton piled on more Merseyside misery for Liverpool, as they won by two goals at Anfield, their first away derby victory this century. The result displayed some of the impressive work Carlo Ancelotti has done with Everton, and drew upon aspects of the 0-0 draw following the restart, last season.
Systems
Liverpool utilised their normal 4-3-3 system in the first half. Alexander-Arnold and Robertson looked to move up into midfield and forward positions, whilst Salah, Firmino and Mané …
Heavy metal football and squad dynamics
To say Liverpool are in a rut would be an understatement. The Reds are in unchartered territory under Jurgen Klopp having lost four consecutive home games. They’re without a Premier League win in February and they’re five points off the top four with just 13 matches remaining. If Everton and Aston Villa win their games in hand, the champions will be in eighth position.
Injuries were, rightly, the focus of conversation. The debate centred around whether they were an excuse …
Injuries aside, Liverpool's lack of fight and mentality is inexcusable
Just when you thought you'd pretty much seen it all this season, the unthinkable happens.
Everton's first win at Anfield since 1999, combined with a hammer blow of an injury to Jordan Henderson and what was, at best, an abject performance saw Liverpool's season plummet to a new low.
This was a fourth straight defeat at Anfield after going almost 70 games at home without losing, and was another game in which the Reds failed to score or muster a …
Liverpool 0-2 Everton: What went wrong in first derby defeat for 11 years?
Nothing lasts forever. It had been 22 years since Everton had won at Anfield. I was less than a month old. And of course it was going to be this season, this god-forsaken, gut-punch season, that the Blues' drought came to an end.
Liverpool fans were united in their incandescence when a quite unfathomable penalty decision enabled Everton to double their lead. But that is merely a cathartic cloak for undeniable despair.
Jurgen Klopp's side remains in the Champions League. …
Liverpool's 'crisis' merits criticism but not an overreaction
So apparently football really does determine your mood.
After an awful run of results for Liverpool, they roared back on Tuesday night, making a formidable RB Leipzig side look as average as a mid-table Premier League side.
That weight was instantly lifted, whether it be for Jurgen Klopp, his players or the supporters, as the Reds produced a performance that suggests they are back.
Alisson responded well after a shocking couple of games; Trent Alexander-Arnold was influential; Ozan Kabak and …
Tactical Breakdown: RB Leipzig 0-2 Liverpool
Liverpool won 2-0 in their round of 16 away tie against RB Leipzig to make them favourites to progress to the quarter-finals.
In some ways, Julian Nagelsmann's side was a welcome opponent, with their expansive, aggressive and calculated-risk based play. Leipzig offered a very different tactical proposition to the majority of Liverpool's recent opponents, with a high press, two forwards, a single pivot and back three almost all rare in their own respects in the Premier League.
Systems
When in …
Tactical Breakdown: Leicester 3-1 Liverpool
Liverpool slumped to a third consecutive league defeat at the King Power Stadium, surrendering the lead in a flurry of goals that saw the champions lose 3-1.
Brendan Rodgers' Foxes set up in a 4-4-2 system.
When in possession, Leicester looked to avoid offering pressing opportunities for Liverpool in the middle of the pitch, and Kasper Schmeichel looked to play direct passes into the fullbacks, who would then attempt to play long passes into the channel behind the fullbacks and …
Liverpool FC and the Perfect Storm of Misfortune
There has never been a time when football fans have been more informed.
The omnipotent connectivity of the internet provides access to supporters from all over the world daily information on the happenings of their club.
Not only that, the prevalence of statistics websites -- such as FBRef -- means people are privy to a lot of data that would have been inaccessible to most people outside of the football industry.
The quality of the discourse surrounding football has doubtlessly …
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Preview - The possibility of another European adventure beckons...
THE DETAILS
Venue - Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary
Referee - Slavko Vincic (SVN)
Date & Time - Tuesday, February 16th 2021 @ 20:00
Current Odds - RB Leipzig 2/1, Draw 13/5, Liverpool 5/4
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A possible run in the Champions League is probably one of the few potential highlights remaining in what has turned out to be a very tough season for Jürgen Klopp and his Reds. While Liverpool will no doubt be fully focused on achieving a top-four finish …