Liverpool needed a win today, not only in order to ensure that they would remain in firm control of punching a ticket to the Champions League, but also to build momentum and close out what has been one of the most difficult seasons in recent memory. Thanks in large part to inch-perfect finishing – more on that later – the Reds are now up to fourth in the Premier League table, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference and the owners of a 3 match win streak. Let’s take a closer look at what took place
at Anfield.
Winners
Alexander Isak
The club’s record signing has had a difficult first year on Merseyside. First, getting off to a slow which was likely owed to his own decision to sit out of Newcastle’s training program to force his move to Liverpool in the first place. And then, just as he scored his first Premier League goal and his form seemed to be coming into its own, he was forced off the pitch due to an injury. Having returned over the last few weeks and now carrying the load as Liverpool’s focus of the attack with the team leader in goals, Hugo Ekitike, now injured for the rest of the season, it’s a bit of an understatement to say that Isak needed this. But, he really did. And what a strike to help restore faith in his abilities as it showcased all of the reasons Liverpool’s top brass were hailed as heroes by everyone, including some of the same sectors of the fanbase currently grumbling about the decision makers. First, there was the sumptuous touch as he received the ball – an errant shot from Alexis Mac Allister – wherein he forced the ball to pop up before calmly swiveling and finishing on the half-volley. It was an electric moment that came at a time when the match was very much in the balance.
Florian Wirtz
It was looking like another frustrating afternoon for the other big attacking signing for Liverpool, who looked capable of putting teammates into decent spaces but had nothing to show for it. Even the scuffed effort that he put in during the first half felt rather endemic of what’s been a typical Wirtz performance in Red. But then, much like Isak, he created magic out of another play involving Mac Allister, who this time fully intended to provide the assist by cushioning a ball into the path of the oncoming offensive wunderkind. Wirtz, who’d been playing as a center forward after Isak was subbed out, made no mistake as he struck the ball at a sliced angle, hitting a swerving, flat rocket into the side netting. It came late but it was the nail in the coffin that Liverpool needed in that moment. And, if we’re being honest, with a season of late collapses I would argue that the team needed to be able to see this match out with more than just a narrow 3-1. Wirtz provided that.
Losers
The Anti-Gakpo Social Club
Ok, this could have been just me listing Cody as another winner as he put together one of the best performances I’ve seen from him in some time. But, I do feel that I need to lift this up because his work on the left was a bit of a revelation. I watched him linking up play freely and, for the first time in ages, was quite unpredictable when in possession. Yes, he always cut in but the patented shot that usually followed was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we saw a player make footballing choices that seemed to make more sense and allowed for the offense to be a little more cohesive. And given that I’ve been one of the foremost members of this unit, I have to note that we all took an L today. Which is, of course, a good thing. Would love to disband this miserable little unit to be quite honest! Please help us do that, Cody!
Talking Tactics
Liverpool once more deployed a midfielder at right-back, with Curtis Jones getting the nod again. I have a lot to say about Jones’ performance but it might be fair to note that while I’m overall quite satisfied with what he did in that position, I can’t classify his work as more than a little bit mixed. Mainly, while he certainly brought attacking thrust from that position, he was certainly caught a few times in dangerous locations and was also loafing it back a little bit when being caught upfield.
I say all of that, though, to note that the overall decision to revert to the innovation that the team had found in the last season (and change? I seem to remember Klopp unveiling this late in his last season) with Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back has brought back some of the structural integrity that’s been missing from the club this season. It wasn’t perfect, but part of the reason I’m not jumping down CuJo’s throat about his own performance in this role is that the tactical shift seemed to work really well – both Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister were tasked with covering the space vacated by the fullbacks and it generally worked really well.
It doesn’t necessarily solve the problem with teams learning how to pull apart our centerbacks, with Jean-Philippe Mateta particularly seeming to find a lot of room in the half-space between the midfield and the center of defense, allowing the striker to run into channels and cause trouble. That formula is what led to a few chances and scares throughout the match.
That being said, it worked well enough today and also lends credence to my personal belief that TAA was a much better all-around fullback than we give him credit for, not only because of his personal skills but also because the modern fullback role often is tasked with providing the width for all attacks which leaves them exposed – and carrying the blame – when these gambles get punished. Life post-Trent has been difficult. With Andrew Robertson set to depart, it could get more difficult. Milos Kerkez has, to his credit, made fair strides in improving. But without both sides locked down, I fear teams will continue to find ways to pressure our backline.
Discussing the Narrative
Liverpool won today and were, at times, quite comfortable. Of course, it wasn’t true over the entirety of the match, with big chances stonewalled by Freddie Woodman right before Robbo’s match moved the Reds into a phase of relative dominance. Which is to say that the scoreline likely still flatters the Merseysiders a hair. As noted in the prior section, Liverpool will need to look at the composition of the club as well as the tactical set-up to find fixes that have been evident essentially throughout the entirety of the campaign.
A nagging piece of the diagnostic struggle for the Reds is what to make of the club’s inability to assert any kind of offensive identity on an opponent. There was an improvement from different departments – right-back and left-wing were highlighted in this write-up – but I have a hard time accepting that the disjointed play boils down to encouraging Gakpo to shoot at every opportunity, regardless of if the place on the pitch looked like a good spot from which to take it from *and* moving away from using the inverted full-back innovation. Especially given that the team still looked a bit slow in terms of offensive tempo and were likely a little lucky to have limited Palace to only one goal.
I’m not sure what the eventual fix is. Watching all of the key Klopp figures diminish and end up on the wrong side of the athletic curve has me more willing to buy that a huge piece that I cannot account for is the regression from being top five in your position/role to being closer to the rest of the chasing pack. Margins in elite football are razor thin and the question I keep asking is if this is what Liverpool would look like had they not had prime Alisson Becker, Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah? That this is what you get if you replaced them with the tier of player just below them? Thankfully, I’m not being paid to know that answer. But it’s one if I’ve been toying with of late.
What Comes Next
Liverpool are properly in the run-in to this season with matches against Manchester United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa – their closest rivals in the chase for European qualification – still left to play. The stakes aren’t the same as being in a title race, but ensuring that we meet at least the bare minimum in terms of prompts for this season means that the matches have an elevated feel to them. Liverpool’s recent run of form also means that they have an outside chance of finishing as high as third in the table. I’ll gladly take that outcome. Bring on the challengers, then. Let’s finish this season strong.
