Liverpool’s midfielders are underperforming when compared to last season but one way in which their stats are better may actually be cause for concern
Jurgen Klopp gives instructions to Jordan Henderson during a match against Arsenal (Image: Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool’s performance level in 2022/23 is lower than it was last season, that’s clear for all to see. Having got 92 points in the previous campaign, perhaps it was inevitable. There have only been three instances of a Premier League club getting at least 90 in successive seasons. It’s incredibly difficult to achieve.
Pre-determined to some extent it may have been but the Reds have not done themselves many favours in guarding against the possibility, especially in terms of the composition of their midfield. Teams in the Premier League have had an average of 68 per cent of their midfield minutes from players aged between 22 and 28 this season; a trio of substitute appearances from Naby Keita since the World Cup are all Liverpool have had from this age range this term.
While new players should be signed next summer, as additions this month look unlikely, they won’t be able to entirely address this discrepancy. Many of the midfielders whose performances are being questioned week after week will be here next season too. Is their decline irreversible at this point?
It’s not an easy poser to answer. The various stats websites who use algorithms to assess players agree that Liverpool’s midfield is universally performing worse this season. Every single man in the centre of the team has a worse WhoScored rating than they did for 2021/22. Among Harvey Elliott, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara – the quartet who have had the bulk of the minutes this season – it’s the club captain who has seen the biggest decline by their measure.
But Twelve Football also statistically rate players and they have Thiago as the man who has dropped off most, with the aforementioned foursome all having worse scores once again. There’s probably another site who thinks Fabinho has been the worst, and so on. The ranking of the players doesn’t matter so much when the theme is this clear.
It’s worth drilling down into a few metrics as they can be quite revealing. The trend on social media is to highlight an individual who makes a mistake or has a bad game, but in midfield the combined efforts of the players is arguably of greater importance than their personal performances.
For instance, only Henderson of the four most used midfielders has seen a drop in his tackles per 90 rate on last season, and by just 0.04 at that. However, three of the quartet are blocking fewer passes per match and the same number (though different players) are intercepting them less often as well as making fewer recoveries.
Combining the figures for the quartet illustrates the issue. Tackles are up 1.3 per 90 minutes but there has been a decrease in pass blocks (by 0.9), interceptions (1.0) and ball recoveries (a very worrying 3.3).
There’s no question that an ability to tackle an opponent is a necessary skill for a midfielder to possess. However, former Red Xabi Alonso probably summed it up best when he said: “Tackling is not really a quality, it’s more something you are forced to resort to when you don’t have the ball.”
The Liverpool midfield are being forced into these last resort interventions more regularly as they are not as productive at the more anticipatory forms of regaining the ball. Add in that the main men are also being tackled more frequently themselves, to the collective tune of 1.7 times per 90 minutes, and things are clearly awry.
It’s only in this final metric that more than one player is recording worse figures than they did in 2021/22. That suggests that it’s possible for them to resume their former levels as there has not been a decline across the board at every facet of play. It’s clear that the unit isn’t performing as well, though, and they would be well advised to follow the example previously set by Alonso.
source: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/
