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Despite all that Liverpool accomplished in their unforgettable 2020/21 campaign, they did take a small step back.
For the first time since Jurgen Klopp became their coach, the Reds scored fewer league goals than the previous season.
It was not a disastrous change and it needs to be contextualized. Liverpool’s total of 85 goals was surpassed only by the 102 that Manchester City scored in the Premier League. It was also a total that the club topped just once between the legendary 1987/88 squad and Klopp’s arrival in Merseyside, with 2013/14 Brendan Rodgers scoring 101 points.
Still, Liverpool won 14 league games by a single goal last season, at least four more than any other team and eight more than City. A greater degree of breathing room would have been appreciated, especially from the fans, and would have allowed the team to soften a touch at the end of more games if they had been won early.
And ultimately, no matter how good a team is, there is always room for improvement. With Kostas Tsimikas unlikely to score many goals – he has nine in his entire career – and other signings seem unlikely at the moment, if Liverpool want to score more goals they will have to add them from within the team.
Last season, players beyond the established forwards three did better in this regard than people might think. While certain positional descriptions may be arbitrary, according to Transfermarkt Liverpool’s defenders scored 12 league goals last season, only surpassed by 14 from Newcastle’s defense.
In fact, with five goals, Virgil van Dijk was the highest-scoring defender in the Premier League. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s four strikes placed him at the top of the full-back scoring table, while just seven players at the position improved on Andy Robertson’s two-count.
While Alexander-Arnold seems capable of improving, it is unrealistic to expect the Liverpool defense to greatly increase its contribution to goals this season.
But midfield could score more goals, right? They clearly could, but they weighed in at 20, and only City’s midfield delivered more in the top flight, at 29.
The good news is that the Reds have options among players who didn’t stand out too much during the league’s winning season. These players should be able to contribute more, either by scoring directly or by setting goals for others.
It is very early in Curtis Jones’ professional career, but he has shown signs of what he is capable of. Jones scored three first-team goals in his limited playing time last season, meaning only Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah scored more often on a prorated basis.
He also has high underlying expected goal numbers, although that’s mainly due to having an excellent shot that he converted against Aston Villa.
Nonetheless, he’s not afraid to step up and shoot – he had five in the league area last season, which was the same as James Milner, and just six behind Jordan Henderson and Divock Origi despite playing far fewer minutes.
It was also just one short of what Naby Keita managed, although the Guinean’s 2019/20 stats suggest he will be more of a threat on the creation front than scoring.
Keita averaged 0.36 expected assists per 90 minutes in last league (according to Understat), which – among players with at least 800 minutes – was only beaten in the Premier League by the City trio of Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and David Silva. He also scored 14 Bundesliga goals in two seasons with RB Leipzig, so an improvement on his four league goals to date with Liverpool also seems possible.
And Takumi Minamino looks ready to contribute more after a challenging first half season in England. He did not score for his new club in that time, but only had one decent chance to do so (against Southampton in a 4-0 win at Anfield).
Presented with clear opportunities against Arsenal and Blackpool this summer, the Japanese international was able to close shots and that should give him confidence heading into 2020/21.
While the standard is obviously higher in the Premier League, Minamino has reached double digits for goals in the Austrian Bundesliga twice before, so fans can expect him to contribute some goals this season.
Missing Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren only scored one league goal between them in 2019/20, although it was very important, so Liverpool seem well-prepared to add goals as long as their supporting players from last season advance. Their records suggest they can.
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