Liverpool have had a tough couple of weeks, grabbing a lucky win after getting utterly outplayed in Paris, needing a second-half response to beat Premier League bottom-dwellers Southampton, losing at home to PSG, and eventually getting beaten by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
Like in every case of serial problems, identifying the common denominator is the key, and when it comes to the Merseysiders’ worrying trend, it mostly comes down to repeatedly losing midfield battles.
Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai certainly boast considerable football quality, but the combination of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes has what it takes to make that quality stay quiet in a game. Writing for The Times a day before the Carabao Cup final, former Liverpool and Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez said the game would mostly depend on the way the Magpies trio would do in a the middle of the park. As it happened, the Spaniard’s words were proven true – Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes all put in a strong physical effort and overpowered their Liverpool counterparts.
The effect was there for everyone to see. Liverpool struggled to get going, to get the ball far up the pitch, and even when they did so, they still couldn’t make anything happen. Apart from one decent chance where Nick Pope denied substitute Curtis Jones, they never caused any problems for the Newcastle goalkeeper. It’s really telling when someone like Mohamed Salah, playing arguably the season of his career with 54 goal involvements in 42 matches across all competitions going into this one, fails to take a single shot.
Physicality also served Eddie Howe’s side well at the other end of the pitch, where the 6’7” Dan Burn delivered a perfectly placed header to score the opening goal, and Jacob Murphy overpowered Andy Robertson in the air to assist Alexander Isak for the second.
Liverpool have known such approaches to thwart their efforts before, going decades back, under a number of managers, including the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Jurgen Klopp.
There seem to be two possible ways to tackle this problem. One would be to sign more physical players in the upcoming transfer window and go toe-to-toe with opponents who use such tactics. The other would be to try and raise the existing, technical midfield approach to such a level where the opposition’s physicality won’t be making a difference anymore, by signing players with more creativity and flair on the ball.
Identifying players who can do both would, of course, be ideal, and until the summer of 2023, Liverpool had such a player in Fabinho. The Brazilian’s presence in the middle of the park was crucial to the 2019 Champions League triumph and the ending of the 30-year wait for the Premier League title the following year. However, such players aren’t easy to find these days – just ask Manchester City, who haven’t been able to cope without Rodri this term.
Liverpool will have to find a long-term formula to solve this puzzle in the summer, but there are more urgent challenges to get through. Their next problem will be city rivals Everton, and there’s very little doubt that the Blues, under David Moyes, will go for physical domination in the middle of the park again, just as they did when the two sides met for the Goodison Park’s final Merseyside Derby in February.
Slot’s team now have 12 points more than second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League table, and getting that race over the line as soon as possible will be the only thing on their minds at this point. The obvious silver lining from dropping out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, as well as the Carabao Cup being over, is that it should be easier for the Reds to focus on the league and get it done.
Everton will, however, see it as their greatest mission to prevent their neighbours from getting back to the right track.
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