[ad_1]
Pep Lijnders impresses Liverpool fans every time he speaks with his clever analogies and clever turns of expression.
The latest example of that was his pre-Lincoln City press conference, but there have been plenty of other times that has been the case.
The arrival of Thiago Alcantara, whom Lijnders called an arrival that the Reds team ‘deserves’, is something he has perhaps been hinting at for a while.
In his first public interview since Thiago arrived at the club, when Lijnders anticipated the Carabao Cup clash, his verdict was straightforward.
“We don’t buy a problem, we buy a solution,” was his simple but correct statement. When asked in July what Liverpool had to do to improve, the Dutchman was quite blunt in his initial response. “Unpredictability,” Lijnders said.
“To have more solutions for the problems that opponents give us,” he added. “If you go back two years. What did we really want to improve? One was the set pieces. We really wanted to improve that. We want to create them, use them and make them decisive.
“Two, throw-ins. We really think this is an important part of the game that we can create for ourselves and prevent the opponent from believing. So we improve that, which we did.
“Three, our preparation with Alisson, with our wingers. How do we create a way that we can get the ball anywhere we want to get the ball, organized but not predictable?
“How do we find a better way to play, because teams are going to fall more? They are going to arm themselves to annoy us, to stop our way of playing.
“Four, our pressure. We wanted to stay longer in the opponent’s half, stop the counterattacks better. They were great points of improvement.”
That resonated with something else he had mentioned in April.
Listen to the full Analyzing Anfield podcast by clicking HERE
“It is true that you can only be consistent when you ask for consistency and that is only possible through repetition and clarity,” he had explained. “We want our players to be spontaneous, to use their intuition, we want to be unpredictable not only with the ball.
“This means they have to anticipate; this allows them to have a little more time to think about the details. Therefore, the order and continuity in our way of playing is enormous: it creates freedom.”
Certainly Thiago can do that, again representing the solution to that ‘problem’, not that Liverpool had too many problems to deal with, at least in the Premier League, last season.
On the Analyzing Anfield podcast, Josh Williams explained in more detail how Thiago’s role has filled the void identified by Lijnders.
He said: “At Old Trafford last year, it ended 1-1, but Trent and Robertson couldn’t get past the midline.
“It’s about finding solutions on the court and Thiago would solve that problem. He is one step ahead. When Liverpool are facing deep teams, they constantly work the defense and have the technique to execute passes through those openings.
Why should I register?
Premier League champions Liverpool are looking to dominate again next season and we will have the latest news on any moves they make in the transfer market this summer.
You will receive breaking news on transfers, analysis, rumors, live coverage and much more.
Liverpool correspondent Paul Gorst will also send out an additional weekly newsletter with the latest behind-the-scenes news at Melwood.
How do I sign up?
It is free, easy and very fast.
- First, click on this link to our newsletter subscription center.
- Once you’re there, put your email address where it says at the top, then click on the Liverpool FC newsletter. There are also others if you want them too.
- When you’ve made your choice, hit the Update Preference button at the bottom.
That’s! Your emails will arrive in your inbox from then on. It’s that easy.
“He has the key to the door, but he will not provide assists, ‘probing’ is the word. He is sharp not only with the ball, but also with the head: penetration, progression and control.”
“Thiago completes roughly the same number of passes as Wijnaldum in terms of accuracy, but the ball’s advance in yards is three times higher, about 450 yards per 90 minutes compared to Wijnaldum’s 150.
“Thiago and the answers he is going to have, in addition to the answers Liverpool already have, I can’t imagine many scenarios in which Liverpool is fighting without the key to the door.”
David Hughes added: “You can change the formation [from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1] and you have two legitimate ways Liverpool can play.
“They are both seen on paper as effective and he can be crucial to both of them. It seems they now have two plans A instead of one plan A and one plan B. It’s a game changer.”
Lijnders pressed for the signing of Diogo Jota, the man he has already labeled a ‘pressing machine’, after receiving information from his contacts in Porto, the Portuguese club where the two had previously worked.
But given his comments on refreshing the solutions Liverpool find in and out of possession, the Dutch manager was likely just as interested in Thiago.
[ad_2]
