Liverpool haven’t lost in 12 matches, which on its surface seems a line that should inspire hope, confidence, and generally positive feelings amongst the fanbase. The manner of it, though, by way of a far more negative brand of football seeking defensive solidity first and foremost, has raised eyebrows.
Particularly when that has led to a string of draws against the bottom half of the table. After a disastrous autumn, that at least has the Reds in the top four fight. But then, these are the defending
Premier League champions and they blew £450M on transfers over the summer to try to fuel a title defence.
Negative football and too many draws against the bottom half of the table while they sit in the thick of the top four fight was never what anyone was expecting heading into the season, and it was clear by the grumbles of Anfield following a 1-1 draw against Burnley the supporters are getting restless.
“We did have a post-match meeting to talk about all the positives but also to show where we can do a little bit better,” manager Arne Slot said when asked how his side had reacted both to the Burnley draw and to those post-match unhappy noises ahead of a trip to face Marseille in the Champions League.
“You have to make sure if you have a performance like that where you have so many shots—the most by any team in the Premier League this season—it doesn’t result in a draw but ends up in a win for us. And to have Mo [Salah] back is of course helpful because in his absence we have created a lot of chances.”
On the topic of shots, plenty were quick to point to Liverpool recording nearly three expected goals worth against Burnley. On the other hand, though, that means even with a penalty in the mix each shot’s average value was around o.1, and without the penalty that dropped to around 0.07xg per shot.
Which is to say, Liverpool created chances and had so many shots but almost all were speculative efforts from distance or with the path to goal clearly blocked, and that none were individually at all likely to actually end up in the goal. Liverpool also failed to take any shots in the game’s closing minutes.
Still, as we bounce between the most optimistic reading and the most pessimistic, it’s always worth remembering where this side was at the end of November. The football since hasn’t been a lot of fun to watch, and there is a clear need for improvement, but 12 games undefeated surely isn’t nothing.
