Naby Keita’s performance in his competitive debut for Liverpool, during the 4-0 win over West Ham, was nothing short of fantastic. The 23-year-old showed great promise which will please his manager, the fans and everybody around the club.
He exhibited comparable qualities both with and without the ball. He showed how he can drive forward with the ball, make key passes, take-on opponents and also track back to cover the space when needed.
The Guinean arrived at Liverpool this summer, although the deal was agreed twelve months ago itself. For that reason, maybe the integration of him into the playing style of Jurgen Klopp could have been a bit elementary, knowing the fact that he was certain to be a Reds player in due course of time. Furthermore, the intensity of games at RB Leipzig was quite similar to what it is at Liverpool.
Twitter: RT @BassTunedToRed: Just watching MOTD2… #Keita https://t.co/uJsRxTGwOP (@Alphataran
Performance Analysis
If we analyse Keita’s performance against West Ham, we will get an idea what to expect from him in the games and seasons to come. The 23-year-old had a pass completion rate of 88.2%, making one key pass to Andy Robertson for Liverpool’s opening goal.
As mentioned above, he comes from a breed of unique midfielders who can dribble past people in tight areas. the former Leipzig man performed that attribute twice at Anfield on Sunday.
Not only that, Keita was active and alive in terms of covering spaces and defending when the opposition had possession. He made one tackle and one interception in the game. There was an instance when he lost in a dangerous area, but he recovered to put a vital foot in. This is where his dynamism as a midfield player comes into fore.
The above image shows Keita’s heat-map vs West Ham, provided by WhoScored.com. Analysing this image, we can get the sense as to what sort of prospect he is as a left-sided midfield player. The fact that more heat is concentrated on areas in half-spaces indicates his quality of being always aware of the situation.
This means that if Sadio Mane is moving inside with Robertson taking the left-wing position, Keita can slot in between the lines on the inside channel to cause havoc and panic among defenders. In addition, he has the required eye for threading key passes, which makes him more dangerous if given space and time.
In-game Images
Let us now take a look at some of the in-game images, which will clearly depict the things we have discussed thus far:
In this instance, Keita takes a slightly wider position drawing Mark Noble out, which fashions space for Mane on the inside channel, as marked out by the rectangle shape.
As per this image, it is a perfect example of finding room on the half-space. Robertson is wide left hugging the touchline, Mane is on the shoulder of one of the centre-backs and Keita is just inside the left channel with time on the ball. This is where he is dangerous as he has the propensity to pick out through balls with accuracy.
This image shows how a dynamic midfielder, who has an eye forward-thinking runs, can break the lines on the counter-attack. West Ham were caught little higher up, which allowed Keita to splinter the midfield line and find space to run at the back-four. Now, the Hammers are in trouble because Robertson is charging in from left-back unmarked.
The above image shows the build-up of Liverpool’s first goal (sequel of the previous pic). This is an ideal example of how to draw a player into space, where he can come onto the ball and just place it where need be. Here, Keita has seen Robertson in space.
The 23-year-old knows Salah is making that far post run, so he just put the ball into space as shown, inviting the left-back to come onto the ball and pick out Salah, who has a tap-in from five yards. These are all simple things, however, effective when done with elegance and preciseness.
Conclusion
So, this was it, the analysis of a player who is destined to become something special in the years to come by. No wonder he was brave enough to take legendary Steven Gerrard’s number eight jersey, epitomising his confidence to deliver big things for the Reds.
As for his performance in the league debut, it was just a snippet of what’s to come in the future. Hence, Liverpool fans must brace for some “Keita-magic” and enjoy every bit of it.
