LIVERPOOL answered a few questions and raised a few new ones at the John Smith’s stadium.
Jürgen Klopp was the manager who rotated the most last season in the Premier League, but we haven’t seen anywhere near as much of that this campaign.
That all changed today though, as we saw the full extent of the German’s experimentation around certain lads and their roles within this side.
There have been suggestions that The Reds may be saving their legs for the latter part of the season, given the extent to which they have fallen off late in the day in Klopp’s first two and just over half seasons.
The pressing stats suggest that could well be the case, but there is also an overriding feeling that the manager still doesn’t know this side’s best system with their new-found balance, which he admitted in the week leans towards more defensive stability.
So far we have seen a competence from this Liverpool side, and little more, which has seen them pick up 23 points and remain unbeaten in the league after nine games.
💥 Huddersfield 0 Liverpool 1
Up the still unbeaten Reds 👏 pic.twitter.com/IcUp1uszys
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) October 20, 2018
That possibly tells its own story, as Klopp has broadly picked the same 11 lads who he knows he can trust to get the job done prior to today.
That was justified at certain points today. Liverpool had moments where they looked like the side we’ve seen several times this season who can look in control of a one-goal lead, but you wouldn’t trust to be chasing a game. However, they also had a side of them which didn’t look in control of their lead, and that’s probably a side effect of the manager’s experimenting.
It definitely impacted on the shape, which looked lopsided and gave Huddersfield a lot of joy down The Reds’ left-hand side.
There was a massive disparity between the two full backs on occasion. Joe Gomez operated more like a third centre half when Liverpool had the ball, while Andy Robertson lurked in a left-forward area, with James Milner filling in behind.
It was also the second game in a row in which Trent Alexander-Arnold had to watch on from the bench, which raises some questions about Klopp’s intentions. It’s obvious he’s a fan of Dejan Lovren, and he has done little to let him down in the last two games, but you’d expect Trent’s qualities to give Liverpool more in games like today’s.
We saw about four or five different versions of what a Liverpool midfield can look like, though Klopp was forced into making his second half-time substitution of the season as a precaution around the fitness of Jordan Henderson.
Gini Wijnaldum came on and played the six before Fabinho joined the action for the first time in the league and the Dutchman was moved to the eight. Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana both switched between a wide 10 role and a deeper central role, and while both showed flashes, it was Shaqiri who looked like he could be an answer to a problem area for The Reds.
There are a few comparisons that can be made between the Swiss international and the injured Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has looked a big miss this season. Shaqiri’s assists for Mo Salah’s goal was an example of what Chamberlain does so well in this side and it might be that the best version of Liverpool 2018-19 features the little Swiss wizard just off the front three.
Salah answered some of his critics with a goal but looked as though he struggled with his general link-up play more than he has in games where he has come under close scrutiny this season.
The Egyptian wasn’t helped by Daniel Sturridge who never really put his stamp on the game, but we all know the contribution he can make and has made this season when he gets it right.
There are still question marks over this Liverpool side, and it may be that Klopp uses this run of games to continue experimenting in a bid to find the system that sticks. In the meantime, he may have to settle for every ugly three points he can get his hands on.
Manchester City won 5-0 at home to Burnley today, though. So we might some goals soon, eh Reds…
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“It wasn’t a vintage performance, but in previous seasons Liverpool might not have won that game.” ✊️
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— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) October 20, 2018
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
Worrying. Salah needs a month off, he was terrible, apart from the goal, which he didn’t celebrate for some reason. Everyone else needs a kick in the hole.
Swiss wizard??
I must watch a different game as that was the definition of a MOTD performance….2 or 3 very good moments but generally added nothing over the whole 90. He doesnt add anything without the ball for me and is only decent when given about 10 yards to play in.
That’s harsh. He’s contributed positively almost every time hes played. Given hes not had that much game time its quite impressive. Moments win games after all.
But would you agree his 2 or 3 moments, which included the key pass for the goal was better than Lallana’s who ran around a lot, did lots of Cruyff turns and it all came to nothing. I sooner have Shaq than Adam at present. I mentioned this in another post on another article, in all the time Lallana was missing, we weren’t missing him. Time we offload him as he is filling in a space we can give to someone who offers much more.
@KM Rubbish
Klopp needs to find an answer and soon. If slahs goal hadnt gone in it would be a very different atmosphere here. I read too many over confident liverpool comentators ssying ah thats it now all the hard games sorted time to smash a load of goals in past some shite teams now. This has beenntypical of liverpool supporters and thr liverpool team until now.there is a sense that we are just about clinging on to citys coat tails here and we are just one mistake or a bad peice of luck away from seeing us drop 2 or even 3 points. Its worrying as nobody seems capable of stopping city at thr moment and 3 point gap could very quickly turn into 5 or 6 and thrn 7 or 9 and then its all over. Weve been saying it for about 5 games now. Liverppol need to click into gear and soon. There is a sense thst we have been riding our luck slightly and we are all too familure with lady luck to know she is a fickle mistress.
I think the only reason the team looks so poor this season is because the front three, in particular Salah, are so badly out of form. Last year was a similar story: if the front three weren’t firing, we were back in the trenches scrapping for everything.
The good news is that Klopp seems completely aware of the reason for this which is the dearth of technical ability in the midfield. As hard working as Milner is and as tidy as Henderson can be, they just simply don’t have the sharp passing of Fabinho nor dribbling ability of Keira (nor even the explosiveness of Ox). It seems like it was the main reason Fabinho and Keita were bought. Aside from them, Gini seems the only fit midfield player in the squad that truly has league winning technique. I mean, he is Dutch after all.
I only see us improving if either the front three find their mojo again or if Fabinho & Keita start controlling the midfield. In a way then this run of poor form isn’t too worrying since we now have two ways out of this rut rather than the one we had last season which was just hope the front three started banging them in again.
Watching Fabinho when he came on yesterday, you can see he is very much work in progress for us. We know have Trent warming the bench, can we not give him a run out and play him similar to Ox. We tried in him a XI at Chelsea away last season when we were running on empty. I feel it wouldn’t hurt to have his energy and drive in there now. At least Trent can deliver a ball and you just know he will works his socks off.
Good call on Gini. He has impressed me the most this season.
Finally our much vaunted front 3 are all at sea at present. Salah can’t even find any sort of pass to a team mate. there was a moment in the second half, he passed it backwards 10 yards to Milner and he truly twatted it at his chest, when all it need was a gentle pass and we were away. Somehow Milner managed to control it but was then caught facing the wrong direction to launch an attack and we lost the ball and Huddersfield then went up the other end and put us under all kinds of problems. Too often this season that has been the case with Salah, as he chooses the wrong option.
I think it’s a case of tough fixtures, World Cup hangover in some cases, and some lads just not in form. The hope is that we play ourselves into form and stay tight at the back. If we’re a bit luckier with injuries (imagine Ox was back for the last 10 games) we should click. But it is mildly concerning. It used to be we had to get three ahead to be sure of winning, now we basically have to guarantee a clean sheet.
I am hoping we get to Jan and can look at brining 1 or 2 options.
I was so excited in the summer when I thought we had got Fekir. This was more exciting than Keita, Fabinho and Shaq all put together. Having watched him play (TV) I felt he was the link we needed… and unfortunately we still do need some one of his quality.
To say how bad it was yesterday, I was actually missing that little shit Coutinho… My bad on that one, but it was driven by what was being served up in front of us.
As stated we have been poor so far, lets hope we get that shit behind us, as despite being off the boil we are joint top, but it is still all a bit close up there as all the top 5 are in shouting distance, even at this stage and we can’t even discount Moanrinho and his lot, who equally despite being shite have started collecting points again.
We need to find form.
If Keita comes anywhere near the reputation he built for himself in the Bundesliga, it is not hard to see how this side clicks into place. However the six role gets sorted out amonst Wijnaldum, Henderson, and Fabinho, you see how a defensively sound Keita allows for the third midfielder to create more from the middle of the park. At the moment it looks like Shaqiri offers that bit that Oxlade-Chamberlain offered last season as a constant concern to defenses from deep.
At the moment, I’m just buzzing with the thought of the league table. With nearly a quarter of the season gone, we are still joint top without coming anywhere near our best. That’s got to worry the hell out of Guardiola and certainly the rest of the league.
PS – Josh, you’re a lovely analyst and writer, but Neil’s poetic ramblings are one of the true highlights of my week.
Positives for me:
– Josh Sexton writing a review for a change (though I do enjoy Neil’s Poetry)
– We just got back from the internationals with a list of injuries to sort out. The team are fatigued and we still played a scrappy match and came away with 3 points!
– Shaqiri played much better and adds quality to the squad. He helped create another goal.
– Gini looks better in his midfield role
– Salah scoring a goal
– Kept a clean sheet, though we had some luck this time
– Joe Gomez, Lovren doing their parts
– Good to see Lallana in the game again. We need the squad numbers for sure.
Negatives:
– We might be riding our luck here for a bit too long. Napoli already showed us why. I think someone is in for an asswhooping soon, hopefully it is Red Star or Arsenal
– Klopp unsure of his 11, might be due to Keita missing, Fabinho not up to speed, and match fitness of other players.
– International games are taking their toll on players
– Lallana, as much as I like to see him play again, offers very little now. Injury and age has not helped him, and it’s hard to see him reach the same heights he was at Southampton.
– Not playing giving other academy players a chance
– Missing the OX and his direct play