Liverpool are not getting a lot of air time at the moment.
Perhaps that’s simply the inevitable consequence of staying out of the transfer rumour mill; the football industry craves change, salivates over new signings and the dawn of fresh hope, and after three years of almost exactly the same squad Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool just don’t excite people anymore.
But quietly, away from the spotlight, they are preparing for a serious title challenge, and after Manchester City’s defeat on Sunday knocked Pep Guardiola off course, there is every reason to believe Liverpool will come roaring back into contention in 2021/22.
New signings, new ideas, and new managers distract our attention. But those things do not define a Premier League title race, and Liverpool possess the tactical cohesion, motivation, and technical ability to go all the way.
After such a long and difficult 12 months for Liverpool it is easy to forget just how good they used to be, and just how small a change it took for the fine-tuned machine to fall apart. With a full-capacity crowd back at Anfield and key players back from injury, Klopp’s side has all the component parts to click into place again.
Anfield will be incredible for Saturday’s game against Burnley, the first with more than 10,000 fans since March 2020. It is easy to be cynical about the supposed uniqueness of Liverpool’s supporters but there is something special about the place and, more importantly, Klopp’s tactical blueprint was designed around its effect.
Liverpool’s high press, with those hustling narrow forwards and the overlapping full-backs bursting into space, is made to impose wave after wave of pressure on a retreating opposition defence until the noise inside Anfield becomes too much. In 2019/20, 14 of their league wins were by a single goal as teams caved under the relentless energy.
The return of crowds should help reinstate that tactical dynamic – Liverpool won 10 points from four Anfield games with fans present last season – and yet it is an improving situation regarding injuries that will truly make the difference.
Van Dijk return is vital
Liverpool’s defence collapsed without Virgil van Dijk, and his return (along with new signing Ibrahima Konate) will allow Klopp’s side to eke out 1-0 wins again. But more important is how Van Dijk’s recovery allows Fabinho to move into central midfield.
The Brazilian is the single most important player in the Liverpool team, not because he screens the defence but because he does so with a unique ability to push the ball back forward. Fabinho is always looking for a line-splitting pass, even when running towards his own goal to make an interception – a quality that allows Liverpool to grind teams into submission with territorial dominance.
The statistical proof is pretty conclusive; almost as soon as Fabinho moved back into midfield in March things improved and Liverpool ended the campaign with eight wins and two draws from their final ten league games.
That, of course, is title-winning form, and a comfortable 3-0 victory at Norwich City last weekend suggests they will carry the momentum forward (xG: NOR 1.81 - 2.03 LIV).
Burnley revenge on the cards
Liverpool should continue their fast start this weekend against Burnley, the team that ended their 68-game unbeaten Anfield run in January this year.
Sean Dyche’s side got off to a losing start at home to Brighton in a game that exposed Burnley’s overreliance on Dwight McNeil and the club’s general tactical deficiencies when forced to camp deep in their own half. They held 34% possession against Graham Potter’s side. That figure will be even lower in front of an intimidating Liverpool fan base that will, surely, provide the foundation for a simple home win.
McNeil will be pinned back by the advancing Trent Alexander-Arnold, limiting Burnley’s creative threat, while any hope of using their long-ball tactics to get the strikers into the game will be lost when they see Van Dijk on the team sheet.
To make matters worse for the visitors, both of Brighton’s goals on Saturday were built down Burnley’s left flank as Charlie Taylor struggled to cope. Mohamed Salah, who looked sharp on a goalscoring start at Norwich, should get plenty of joy on that side.
🔴🌟 Mo Salah
— Sporting Life Football & Infogol (@InfogolApp) August 14, 2021
• Scores on the opening day for the fifth successive season (no other player has done that in the #EPL)
• Registers two assists
👏 #LFC #NORLIV pic.twitter.com/jYQ2QD8Q9b
To get revenge in front of a rapturous crowd could do wonders for their momentum and assuage any fears that Liverpool’s net spend of just £40 million over the last three summers has made them stale.
It hasn’t. That is purely the fault of pandemic football mixed with a dreadful injury record; Van Dijk’s return brings freshness, as does Diogo Jota – who only managed 13 league starts last season and could be like a new signing in 2021/22, as the cliché goes.
Crowds a shot in the arm for Liverpool
We shouldn’t underestimate the psychological problems Liverpool had last year and the extent to which they will have recovered this season.
The emotional outpouring following their 2019/20 title win would be draining even in normal circumstances, but Liverpool did it in an empty stadium – and then had to keep playing in a hollow atmosphere the following year: the comedown of all comedowns. Now that crowds are back at Anfield, the likes of Sadio Mane will get the shot in the arm they need.
Better still, Klopp has the easiest of motivational team talks: two seasons ago you won it for yourselves, separated from the fans.
Now go and win it for them.
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