2024-04-19 00:54:42
We’re talking about the Reds’ big problem.
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to footballhd.ru.
Few people expected at the beginning of the season that Liverpool would seriously challenge for the championship title. Restructuring in midfield, personnel problems, attracting a large number of young people – all this cast doubt on the Reds’ championship ambitions. However, they started surprisingly well, and after the announcement of Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of the season, they performed even better. But, as often happens with the Merseysiders, at the main moment of the season they began to sag.
As soon as Klopp declared his great desire to win the Europa League, Liverpool suffered a devastating loss to Atalanta at home, conceding 3 unanswered goals in the quarter-final match. The task became more complicated before the trip to Bergamo. After this defeat, the specialist promised a reaction from the team – but there was none. In the next match, the Reds lost again at home – this time to Crystal Palace with a minimal score. It is worth considering that before that, the Merseysiders also played a draw with Manchester United (2:2), which is why in total they are now 2 points behind the leading Manchester City.
Under Klopp, attack has always been Liverpool’s main strength. It remains so even now, but the implementation is seriously letting the “Reds” down. For example, in the match against Manchester United, the Merseysiders made 28 shots at the opponent’s goal, but almost lost. They managed to escape thanks to Mohamed Salah’s accurate shot from the penalty spot in the 80th minute. At the same time, the Mancunians had 20 fewer shots. In the match against Atalanta, the Reds made 19 shots at the opponent’s goal, but instead of scoring several goals, they conceded 3 goals themselves. In the match against Crystal Palace, the Merseysiders shot at goal 21 times and did not score.
Liverpool have dismal statistics in terms of the ratio of total shots to shots on target. In the win against Brighton, the Reds needed 30 shots to score just 2 goals. Even in the match against Nottingham Forest, which is hovering near the relegation zone, the Merseysiders had only 2 shots on target out of 22 and 1 goal. At the same time, the “foresters” shot twice into the opponent’s goal from eight times. Liverpool ranks 3rd in the Premier League in terms of goals scored this season (72). Only Arsenal (75) and Manchester City (76) are ahead. Everything is the same as in the standings. But the Reds dropped to 14th place among all teams in the league in terms of shooting accuracy. This is not the indicator with which they fight for the championship.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in Liverpool’s attack is Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan demonstrates extraordinary skill, regularly tapping the bars and crossbars, but his execution leaves much to be desired. On the one hand, Darwin has 43 matches in all competitions this season, 18 goals and 13 assists. Not bad stats for a striker. But the problem is that there should be much more goals scored. To date, Nunez has only converted on 19.4% of his scoring chances this season. This is the worst result not only at Anfield, but also among all players from the top 5 leagues.
It turns out that the Reds are doing well when it comes to creation, if the Uruguayan wastes a lot of chances, but still scores 18 goals. And in general this can be seen from the statistics. Liverpool have the highest number of shots on goal in the Premier League – 650. This is much more than Manchester City (596) and Arsenal (535). However, these teams have more goals scored. The Reds are terribly let down by their execution. And it’s not just Nunes. Salah also lost important indicators. In the first half of the season, the Egyptian was the main striking force of the Mersiders. However, after the injury, the winger also experienced some decline. Overall small, but noticeable against the general background when the team needs goals.
For example, Salah began to shoot on goal much more often than in the first half of the season – an average of 8 shots against 3.4 previously per 90 minutes. At the same time, the accuracy rate of his strikes decreased significantly – from 22.3% to 8.3%. The Egyptian also began scoring fewer field goals. Previously, the winger had an average of 0.45 goals per 90 minutes, now he has 0.33. That is, Salah has the same problem as the whole team – the number of shots increases, and their accuracy decreases. At the same time, other players from the Liverpool attack group are also not very accurate. Cody Gakpo averages 0.45 goals per game, while Luis Diaz averages 0.34.
The good news, and maybe the last hope for the Reds, is the return of Diogo Jota. Unlike Salah, the Portuguese did not have a very bright first half of the season, but has improved significantly since the end of 2023. Returning to action after a muscle injury, the winger scored in six of his seven Premier League matches. In each of them he either scored or assisted. Or did both. Then Jota was injured again, which affected the performance of the Merseysiders.
During this period, the Portuguese produced the best statistics among all Liverpool players from the attack group: 117 minutes on average per goal scored, 0.77 goals per match and 25% of shots on target. The most crucial moment of the season is happening right now – and the Reds have already stumbled several times. They used to have a reserve of points, but now they don’t. There is still a month and a half left until the end of the season. On the one hand, there is enough time. On the other hand, the Merseysiders may not be saved even by winning all the remaining matches if Arsenal and Manchester City do the same.
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