[ad_1]
There are not many games in which the Liverpool fans have had to be questioned by Jürgen Klopp.
In fact, since the 2017/18 season, I can only think of one. Leicester City at home on January 30, 2019 had everything they didn’t want. Snow, sleet and hail on a frosty Anfield night, a very tough opponent with a coach who always did well against his German counterpart. Add in the gripping anxiety of a very real title challenge and you had all the potential for a setback.
Unfortunately, it spilled into that. The Liverpool crowd let their endless wait for a league title seep into a difficult snow-covered field as the Reds were only able to pull off a 1-1 draw. It feels like an eternity has passed and yet it wasn’t two years. Liverpool have since won the league and the Champions League, and Jordan Henderson’s cameo as a right-back (for now) has yet to be repeated.
However, there was another aspect of the game, and indeed the season, that Liverpool might have to channel once more if they want to keep this current campaign on track. Take a look at the night’s lineup:
Alisson, Henderson, Joël Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keïta, Xherdan Shaqiri, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah.
Despite the eternity that has passed, it is not unreasonable to suggest that nine of those 11 hit the field against Leicester City, should Salah consider himself free and fit after his Coronavirus attack. They will also likely adapt the same 4-2-3-1 form as well, with Wijnaldum and Keïta occupying the two midfield spaces.
And it’s Keïta’s underrated relationship and shared attribute with Matip that could help Liverpool tremendously.
During that game, Matip and Keïta encountered the ball 15 times. More interestingly, they constantly pushed Liverpool from deep inside, a quality in center-back that was considered one of Liverpool’s most effective during that campaign.
Matip averaged 5.46 deep progressions on the ball every 90 minutes in 2018/19, the Premier League midfield average was 5.85. Keïta had a staggering 9.32 per game, again highlighting one of the underrated merits of dropping him deeper.
Given that the Reds are unlikely to defend their much-maligned top line in the absence of van Dijk, something that has already been clearly visible, they will need alternative methods of getting on the field whenever Leicester feels deep.
The attributes of Keïta and Matip can be of great help in the way Liverpool attack and can lead to Klopp’s decision making in terms of team selection. If both of you line up in the game, keep an eye out for a long-forgotten, but potentially potent tool in Liverpool’s new lineup.
[ad_2]
