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There was nothing to stop Liverpool last season. In fact, not even a global pandemic could prevent the Reds from claiming their first Premier League title.
This season, however, it appears that Jurgen Klopp’s team faces a tougher test. However, that test is not necessarily posed by rival teams.
Injuries have been Liverpool’s biggest hurdle so far this season, with a number of key figures spending time on the sidelines.
First, Alisson Becker and Jordan Henderson were forced into the physical therapist’s room, before Virgil van Dijk suffered an ACL injury that could rule him out for the rest of the 2020/21 season.
Then, just as the Reds seemed to have stabilized after that devastating news, Fabinho suffered a hamstring problem.
The Brazilian had been replacing Van Dijk in central defender, giving Liverpool balance in victories over Ajax and Sheffield United, thus his injury came at the worst possible time.
After adjusting after Van Dijk’s injury, Klopp must now adapt again and come up with a strategy to compensate for the absence of both the Dutchman in the center of his defense and Fabinho in the center of his midfield.
But the German coach doesn’t have time to feel sorry for himself.
Fortunately for Klopp, Thiago Alcantara is expected to be back in shape soon after sustaining an injury in the same Merseyside derby that saw Van Dijk go awry.
The Spaniard could prove a solution to both problems and help Liverpool play in a different way that masks some of their injury problems.
Thiago has already established himself as Liverpool’s most prolific passer, averaging 80.5 passes per 90 minutes so far this season (according to Who scored).
The 29-year-old is a true passing master in the mold that Klopp lacked beforehand. He is capable of controlling a game from deep inside, pushing and pulling his Liverpool teammates further up the field in any way he pleases.
It could also provide protection for Liverpool’s four defenders. Not through tackles and interceptions (although his average of 1.5 interceptions every 90 minutes is very respectable), but through his preservation of possession.
It’s a method that turned Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona into one of the strongest defensive units in the game despite his obvious defensive vulnerabilities and Thiago is the perfect figure to make it work for Liverpool.
The premise is very simple: if the opposition doesn’t have the ball, they can’t hurt you. With Van Dijk potentially out for the season, and Fabinho and Joel Matip doubtful of injuries, this strategy would protect whoever is playing central defense in his absence.
Of course, it’s been a while since ‘Tiki-Taka’ in its purest form was seen at the elite level of the European game. Guardiola established the spirit of the age throughout an entire era of the sport by professing possession at all costs, but opponents eventually found effective ways to counter such ideas.
‘Tiki-Taka’ is still alive in how technical elite football is now, but he had to adapt over time.
This would not be a long-term tactic for Liverpool. Their gegenpressing style under Klopp has worked too well in the last two or three seasons for them to drop it at this point.
But as a way of bridging the gap between the current situation Liverpool are in and the point where Van Dijk and Fabinho return to action, it is certainly an option.
Thiago’s arrival from Bayern Munich in the summer was always likely to give Liverpool several different ways to play and Klopp may now want to make use of that, even if it’s a contingency.
The Spaniard is not a defender and is far from a direct replacement for Fabinho or Van Dijk, but he could mitigate the impact of his absence.
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