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Isn’t it strange that a player who scores so many vital goals is criticized for not scoring more in total? Such is the fate of Roberto Firmino, the Brazilian who has a habit of getting on the scoreboard when it really counts.
Liverpool have beaten Tottenham Hotspur in six consecutive games for the first time and Firmino has scored in four of them. Two of them were winners in the true sense, while another put Liverpool 2-0 up at Wembley before a late Spurs goal cut the deficit in half. North London attire seems to bring out the best in him for some reason.
Firmino’s goal in the last meeting of the two clubs could be described simply as ‘corner, header, goal’, but there was so much more that made it worth a closer look.
The play leading to the corner also started with a set piece, albeit a much less threatening free kick in the center circle. Fabinho sent the ball to the right, before passes between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones returned it centrally to Rhys Williams. The Spurs obviously had 11 men behind the ball, as they were looking to protect the point that appeared to be heading back to London with them.
Williams made a diagonal pass to Jordan Henderson, who passed it to Andy Robertson on the left touchline. In less than 10 seconds and in five passes, the ball had been on both wide edges of the field. At this point, Tottenham’s four defenders were occupying the edge of the penalty area, covering a space the width of the six-yard box.
With no clear forward pass and Lucas Moura closing it, the Liverpool left-back returned the ball to his captain. Henderson then handed it back to Fabinho, who was just a couple of feet from where the play had started.
Once again the ball was passed to Henderson, except this time, instead of looking for a wide pass, he lunged forward. This was a theme of the match, as Tottenham’s deep defensive structure left the captain with plenty of room to run.
According to FBRef, Henderson carried the ball a cumulative 327 yards into the opponent’s goal throughout the game, which was more than any other Liverpool player and just 13 yards short of the total posted by Tottenham’s top four players for this game. metric in particular. The entire Spurs team was once again between the Reds’ number 14 and goal, so their streak of breaking the line proved crucial in what was to come.
In addition to topping the table for taking the ball forward, Henderson also led the ranking for passes completed to the penalty area, with a total of five that put Tottenham’s three in the shadows.
The captain took advantage of his last game of the match to find Sadio Mané. The Senegalese forward had Serge Aurier very close (as he had been for most of the match), but was able to turn around and create a bit of space. There were no other Liverpool players in the area at the time he did, and Tottenham’s four defenders still held a good line, 12 yards from goal, but a small crack had opened in their structure.
But while Mané was eventually approached by Aurier, it turned out to be for the best. Liverpool were still unlikely to score once they had the ball, and the Reds’ fearsome set pieces record meant that the corner gave them a chance to weave some magic.
Tim Sherwood thought otherwise, since certainly seen on social media. The former Tottenham manager pointed to his former team’s dominance in the air, however Liverpool won four of the nine aerial duels they played in the Spurs area throughout the match, which hardly implies a one-sided result.
An interesting aspect of Liverpool’s corner strategy over the years is that they have had different players as dominant takers with each passing season. Mohamed Salah claimed the majority in his first season with the club, before James Milner took center stage in 2018/19. Trent Alexander-Arnold led the way last term, and now Robertson is in charge.
The Scotsman held both arms in the air before taking the corner, just as he did when he assisted a Virgil van Dijk goal on the very end of Anfield in the season opener against Leeds. When the ball arrived, Toby Alderweireld was on Firmino’s trail, but Williams’ movement in his immediate vicinity left the Belgian with a decision to make.
Fortunately for Liverpool, their choice was the wrong one from their perspective. Alderweireld took a step towards Williams, giving Firmino the space he needed to beat the Tottenham center-back to the ball once he realized his mistake, and Bobby sent a powerful header to Hugo Lloris.
At first glance, it was a simple goal, even if it was one that could prove invaluable once May rolls around. However, it took a charging run from the captain and a good move from a 19-year-old making his first Premier League start to allow the key part of the move to occur. Goals are never as simple as you think once you look closely.
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