The defeat to Leicester City is Liverpool’s sixth defeat this season. Even though last season they only lost three times, two of them experienced after winning the title. Of the five teams that beat the Reds this season, only one is the traditional big six. The rest are mid-table teams playing low blocks against Liverpool. Burnley and Brighton applied low block defenses to minimize space. Aston Vill, Leicester and Southampton reduced their pressing intensity against Liverpool. In fact, Pep Guardiola also did the same thing. Man City do high pressing in certain situations, not as constant as usual.
Man City recorded PPDA (passes per defensive action) of 20.63 in the match against Liverpool. Their average PPDA this season is 10.45. The smaller the PPDA number, the more intense the pressing is applied. This very significant difference seems to conclude that low block defense is the main recipe for beating Liverpool.
Seeing what Jurgen Klopp will do to solve this problem will be more interesting if while playing fantasy sports. You are challenged to assemble an imaginary team of real players. Points are earned based on the player’s performance in real matches. You can feel the challenge of being a football manager because as an Fantasy player, you have to understand the game and be able to read football statistics
Returning to Liverpool’s problems when facing opponents who apply low blocks, this is even more visible if you take a peek at Liverpool’s records of a number of dominant teams playing in this style. In matches against Newcastle, Fulham, Burnley, West Brom, and twice against Brighton, Liverpool only got four points from a maximum of 18 points.
The narrow space makes it difficult for Liverpool players to play a combination of flat passes. Roberto Firmino looks no longer too comfortable to play in tight spaces. The goals against Tottenham and West Ham are a shining example of Liverpool’s combination play. Unfortunately, this season they failed to do that constantly.
The low block defense line also makes the space behind the last line unavailable. As a result, Liverpool had difficulty releasing a breakthrough bait into the front line trio. The absence of a center-back also affects the supply of long passes from low areas. As the coach of Liverpool, there are several things that can be concluded from this phenomenon. The team facing Liverpool will likely be reactive with a low block line. This will make Liverpool control the match and record a lot of passes.
Because of this, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara can get a lot of points from successful passes. They are the two players with the most successful passes per 90 minutes at Liverpool. Another option is Andy Robertson, this Liverpool left-back is the player with the most successful passes in the Premier League.
Whatever solution Klopp tries, it is almost impossible not to involve Mohamed Salah and Mane. The two of them are also recommended to get into Klopp’s team because Salah and Mane are constantly making shots on target at the opponent’s goal. Liverpool again have to face a team that likes to play with low blocks in the next three games. They will face Sheffield (1/3) and Fulham (6/3). It would be interesting to see whether Liverpool is able to overcome the odds for their next opponents.
ASL
