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Liverpool’s success in recent seasons has been based on the concept of having what is effectively a forward five. A trio of great forwards is complemented by a pair of wingers who play like wingers and create goals at a pace the Premier League has never seen from defenders before.
The main role of midfield has been to win the ball and give it to the attacking players, while ensuring that the opposing team cannot counterattack when they regain possession. As this system led the Reds to become champions of everything, no one can say that it has not worked for them.
However, it is important to evolve. The theory espoused by legendary Benfica manager Bela Guttmann was that a team could be successful for up to three years, in part because it gives other teams enough time to figure out and work around their system.
We saw this last weekend, with Leeds United looking to restrict the impact the full-backs could have. While it worked to some extent, neither Alexander-Arnold nor Robertson created an open play opportunity, which is rare, Liverpool won the match.
However, the Reds need to add a new dimension to their game, and Thiago Alcantara is being signed with that in mind.
But while Liverpool supporters might assume he’s hired to add assists from midfield, that won’t automatically be the case.
The Spaniard’s total of 20 in 150 Bundesliga appearances for a persistently dominant Bayern team isn’t huge, and most Kopitas would probably be surprised to learn that Jordan Henderson has created more league goals than Thiago in the last three. seasons.
However, the importance of Thiago cannot be measured only in assists. To see an example of what it can offer, just look back at the recent Champions League final. While he created two chances, the most useful thing for his team was the fact that he completed more passes than any other player, both in total and in the last third of the field.
Aside from mostly short passes and recycling possession with his midfield partner Leon Goretzka, Thiago’s two most frequent receivers were wingers Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich.
A beautiful cross pass from Bayern number 6 to last led to the only goal of the game, as the Bayern right-back was able to cross for Kingsley Coman to head home with the winner.
The 29-year-old’s passing range is truly a sight to behold, with few players on the entire continent able to match him in that area.
Thiago passed the ball a total of 1,754 yards for every 90 minutes he spent on the Bundesliga field last season. According to StatsBomb data on FBRef.com.
Only three men in Europe’s five major leagues, one of whom was Joe Gomez, who played at least as many minutes as Thiago had a higher total average, and the only midfielder to do so was Manchester City’s Rodri, with 1,761 yards.
It was also more ‘safety first’ on his passing. Where 388 of his passing yards for every 90 were classified as progressive – towards the rival goal, in other words – for Thiago that figure was 445.
This was also reflected in the statistics of completions to the last third. Bayern’s man average of 9.4 per 90 minutes last season, which was actually inferior to his efforts in the previous two seasons, was second only to Ever Banega among major league midfielders with a decent sample size.
So while you shouldn’t expect Thiago to set too many goals for Liverpool, you can be confident that he will play the pass before the assist pass on a regular basis.
Liverpool full-backs will lick their lips at the prospect of Thiago finding them with pinpoint precision in 2020/21.
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