The Way Too Early Sentimental Analysis
Liverpool found renewal at their home ground, Anfield.
Great teams always go through slumps. Their ability to dig themselves out of the rut is what sets them apart from active membership among the also rans. It’s what keeps them as contenders and prevents them from becoming has beens.
Save a brief mental lapse ten minutes after Liverpool’s opening goal in their Champions League match up at home versus Ajax this afternoon, Jurgen Klopp’s men in red seemed to have regained their form. The offense looked confident. The defense was settled. The midfield trio creating chances and helping stop them in the opposite direction.
It would take a last gasp winner from Joël Matip to secure all three points. But it always felt like it that would be the end result, like Liverpool would walk away winners against the Dutch Champions. Which hasn’t been the sentiment much of the season, with exception of the match against Bournemouth.
Maybe describing Liverpool’s recent form as a slump is far too kind. It was an abyss. Fans and players alike stared into the oblivion unable to recognize the club they saw during the first weeks of the season. Performances stood in direct contrast to what everyone has expected from Anfield Road’s finest.
The players looked knackered, defeated, unmotivated, shadows of their former selves. Fingers pointed. Arms waved derisively. Snarls appearing on faces.
In a tactical sense, the early season saw the Redmen found out. The high-line no longer the potent weapon it had been over previous seasons and to be fair, we were starting to see cracks last season too. But last season it still worked. Even if teams gave the impression they were able to get in behind, attacking players were nearly always caught offside. This season, with practice, cunning, whatever, opposing teams have found the keys to unlock it. Leading to the once solid, confident back four seeming everything but solid and confident. One steps, the other stays, one doesn’t track back, one doesn’t provide cover.
Part of the problem originated from the midfield three not doing enough defensively to prevent the second ball. Instead of pressuring the opposition players making the final penetrating pass, the opposition was given enough time to make themselves a cup of tea. And in that scenario, anyone at any reasonable level of professionalism can pick apart any defense well before the water’s had time to boil.
To some extent, that’s not been because of some tactical acumen from the opposing team, though let’s not discount that. Not only has the midfield been ineffective at both pressuring the player on the ball and stopping them progressing down the field, they’ve also been poor at holding on to the ball and creating dangerous chances. In part, that’s because Liverpool has played such a high line, compressing the space in which attacking players have to do their respective jobs. And for a group of players who drool at wide open spaces in behind, the knock on effect has been obvious. Chances created, but space so tight that it was nearly impossible to finish them off.
After the abysmal performance at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Napoli, Klopp suggested the squad needed to be reinvented. But Liverpool was scheduled to play against Wolves the following Saturday. In a season like this one, especially in the compressed first half of the season, time for restoration would always be difficult.
A reprieve came with the Queen’s passing and the mourning period after meant matches were postponed last weekend. However sad the origins, the mini-break looks to have given Liverpool enough time to sort through their issues—or at least the most glaring ones. Not that Ajax will be their toughest opponent this season, but neither were any of their previous opponents.
There were clear adjustments. The high-line still useful at times wasn’t relied on so heavily. The back line choosing to drop further back, their line of constraint several yards into their defensive half. This provided more space in attack, made it more difficult for the opposing team to close them down, and created more dangerous chances.
Ajax still made it interesting, though. A good side will. Questions will necessarily be asked about the right side of Liverpool’s defense—and they should. The Amsterdam side’s goal coming from there, due in large part because of a tactical breakdown. The same sorts that fans have seen this season and in previous ones, but weren’t repeated with regularity this time around. A second opportunity came early after the restart, Ajax fullback Daly Blind left open on the back post exactly where Trent should have been. Is it Trent’s responsibility or not? Has Klopp’s tactical instructions meant that the right side will always be exposed? Is it down to effort from the talismanic right back from Merseyside? That’s for time to tell.
They’ll be off again this weekend, their match at Stamford Bridge postponed due to the ceremonies surrounding the Queen’s funeral. More adjustments will be made as the team won’t play again until October 1st, fingers cross for no injuries during the international break.
What ever it was, the club looked like a different side. The intensity was back. The unity was back. With the exception of the Bournemouth match, this was the first time fans saw the levels of effort that we’ve become accustomed to since 2016-17. The season’s not done and it’s far too soon to say we’ve sorted it. But I think it’s okay to say we’re damn near close to getting there.