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What really makes a great team is being able to draw on several different options throughout a season.
That is what has made Liverpool so successful in recent seasons. They not only have a strong starting lineup, but also a wide range of options at their disposal to allow for squad rotation and variation based on the opponent that follows.
One player who has proven to be of great value is Xherdan Shaqiri. Yes, his injury history is quite concerning, but when he is fit he has shown that he has a lot to offer Liverpool.
Last week, the Swiss international returned to full training, and was even named to the bench for Sunday’s draw with West Brom, but was not called up. In hindsight, that match was probably the perfect setting for Shaqiri.
Given the number of games they are still waiting for in the coming months, Liverpool are going to need all the players they can get. Shaqiri would likely make the starting lineup for most Premier League teams, and he’s sure to have a role to play.
Much depends on the system Jürgen Klopp uses. If he goes with his traditional 4-3-3, you don’t tend to trust Shaqiri to go to midfield, replacing one of the three forwards. But we’ve seen times where a 4-2-3-1, or a version of it, has been used and could easily fit the Reds’ number 23.
What Shaqiri brings to the table, no other Liverpool player owns. Yes, his ability to press and counter press is not the best, but his quality with the ball cannot be denied.
The best case and point is against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season. It may have been against lower league rivals, but at Sincil Bank we were able to see him in his prime, dominating a game and putting it on his terms.
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Thinking more about it, it’s really surprising that we didn’t see him against West Brom on Sunday. Playing against deep opposition suits you perfectly – there’s not much to defend and you’re tasked with unlocking a defense with skill and ingenuity.
There will be more tests like that on the horizon, possibly even against Newcastle on Wednesday night. It’s about having a variety of options available and being unpredictable so that the opposition doesn’t know what’s coming. There is no doubt that Shaqiri brings that in abundance.
What the question of casting Shaqiri does mean, however, is that at least one of the more regular starters has to drop out. This can be an easy decision if a player is injured, but when players like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino are scoring goals, taking one of them off the team even to rest is a great gamble.
But if you look back at some of the teams that have had long periods of success, they always had fringe players who could do a certain job when the time was required. Shaqiri may be that Liverpool player, as he has been since arriving from Stoke City just over two years ago.
It is a wild card option that almost every club in the Premier League would like to have. His ability to throw a free throw into the top corner from 30 yards is invaluable, not to mention his unquestionable talent of being able to pick a pass that no one else on the field can see.
Right now, Liverpool are in the midst of a hectic match schedule, and the injuries that seem to continue to occur will make the task of winning matches even more difficult. But being able to call on someone with Shaqiri’s skill, when he’s in shape, will be essential for the club to be successful this season.
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