Who Stole Liverpool’s Goals?
Swashbuckling. Relentless. Daring. Dazzling. Swaggering. Swazzering (that may have been Jamie Redknapp). Heavy Metal Football. All phrases that have been used to describe Liverpool’s style of play in the not-too-distant past and all words/phrases that nobody in their right mind would use to describe pedestrian performances like that against Southampton last weekend, or the meek capitulation to Crystal Palace at home two weeks’ previous.
Up until January, Liverpool had battered opponents by three or more goals six times. Any guesses for how many times they have done the same since the turn of the year?
‘Two?’ I hear a quiet voice venture from the back. Nope.
‘Surely once at least?’ Afraid not my overly-optimistic friend.
NONE.
In over 130 days and the space of 22 games, not once have those previously swashbuckling, cavalier Reds vanquished an enemy by more than two measly goals. Despite a fixture list during that time including luminaries such as Plymouth Argyle, Wolves, Europa League hopefuls Manchester United and relegation-strugglers Sunderland, Hull, Burnley, Swansea, Crystal Palace and Watford.
In fact, in the nine games against the teams above, Liverpool managed a paltry fourteen goals, with two being the most in any one of those games. The sort of goalscoring record more associated with well-renowned 6-3-1 enthusiast Jose Mourinho than Jurgen Klopp.
The 4-3 thriller against Arsenal at the start of the season; the 4-1 demolition of Leicester with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge looking unstoppable; the 5-1 swatting of Hull and a 6-1 bulldozing of Watford, all seem like distant memories now, after giving Claude Puel the ability to claim on his CV that Klopp’s mighty Liverpool couldn’t score against him in over 360 minutes of football.
So where have all the goals gone, when at one stage the Reds were scoring like a middle-aged man who has just discovered Viagra?
There seem to be several contributing factors to Liverpool’s goals drying up (along with the pitch according to Klopp). A certain ex-Manchester United physio who has an egg for a twitter avatar would no doubt point to Klopp’s famously rigorous training regimes and apparent lack of ‘periodisation’ causing fatigue at this stage of the season, and injuries too.
However, the stats really don’t bear this out. According to the ever-reliable Physioroom.com Liverpool are actually 11th on the list of Premier League injuries at the moment.
As for fatigue, taking the Southampton game as an example, it wasn’t so much the effort that was lacking but more the invention.
Last season, after the New Years’ Eve hangovers had cleared, the same sudden lack of goals didn’t happen – Liverpool put five past Norwich (albeit conceding four). Annihilated relegation-fodder Aston Villa 6-0 away from home. Swept aside moneybags Man City 3-0 and defeated Stoke 4-1 in the ‘Stevie G Dubai Suitcases Revenge Game’.
Add a couple more emphatic victories on top of that (including a 4-0 Derby game too), and you get the picture. Over-training and late-season fatigue Raymond? I’m afraid not.
Going back to injuries, who have Liverpool really been missing over the last few months?
The resurgence of Emre Can means Liverpool fans now can’t wait to see him sign his new contract, whereas not long ago they would have had numerous lewd suggestions for where he should be putting it. This renders the loss of skipper Jordan Henderson (for a worryingly extended period of time) less damaging than it might have been.
Danny Ings? You can’t miss someone who has barely played. Daniel Sturridge is sadly in a similar boat now too; when fit and firing only Sergio Aguero can touch him in terms of consistent goalscoring over several years in the Premier League, but those days are a distant memory.
Adam Lallana has had a season interrupted by several niggling injuries, and is one of those players who takes a few games to find his feet when he does come back too. He was arguably one of the key components of Liverpool’s previously free-scoring ways, but similar to his colleagues has been a different player in 2017. Seven goals and the same number of assists in the first few months of the league until the end of December, but since then? None…
Sadio Mane has been a revelation in his first season at the club. Many Liverpool fans shared concerns at splashing £30m on a player, who curiously scored or assisted nearly every game at the start and end of his last season with Southampton but did nothing for around four months in between; however Mane has put any consistency worries to bed, and fast become a fan favourite.
Losing Mane for the AFCON was a predictable blow, but to lose him to a season-ending knee injury in the crucial latter stages of this season, now looks potentially devastating to Liverpool’s top four hopes. Mane offers pace and threat from wide that almost no-one else in the current first team squad does, stretching defences and keeping them on their heels, one of Liverpool’s key deficiencies over recent months.
Barring the young and highly-promising Trent Alexander-Arnold, none of Liverpool’s other potential options come close to the threat lost in Mane’s absence. Fellow youngsters Ovie Ejaria and Sheyi Ojo have shown flashes but had injury-hit seasons (congratulations to both however on just being named in the England Under-20 World Cup squad); Firmino, Coutinho and Lallana are all far more effective centrally than out wide; and James Milner’s lack of a natural left foot constantly blunts attacks down his flank.
Nathaniel Clyne on the other side, has proven an adept and capable defender who keeps any danger down the Liverpool right to a minimum. However, he is too often found wanting in offensive terms and lacks composure, slowing down attacks, sending wayward crosses in, and seemingly lacking confidence in his ability to beat opposing defenders.
Teams facing Liverpool consequently seem to have a blueprint now – press the centre backs into errors, crowd the centre of the field, defend deep, and possibly most damning of all let their full backs have all the possession they like, knowing that neither the labouring Milner nor the cautious Clyne is likely to trouble them.
Jose Mourinho reversed a bus onto the Anfield pitch earlier this season, and ever since numerous ‘smaller’ teams have seen the videos and followed suit, in the knowledge that the current Liverpool team can be frustrated and the crowd subdued. Stop Liverpool playing down the middle, and effectively you stop them playing.
Injuries have clearly played a part in blunting Liverpool’s attack – the strength of the replacements for the likes of Lallana and Mane in particular, is a topic for another debate. Especially the latter, who offers a dimension to Liverpool’s play that as we have seen is almost non-existent in his absence.
Forget ‘Heavy Metal Football’, Liverpool have been more Water Pistols N’ Daffodils than Guns N’ Roses since we entered 2017; something that is unlikely to change over the last two games of the season, where it is more about rolling their sleeves up to ensure deserved Champions League qualification.
Only by investing in quality width and pace over the summer will we see the Reds get back to their old ways, when their ‘Appetite for Destruction’ was unmatched in the Premier League.