will go from going through Kylian Mbappe to Erling Haaland however he had one other opponent in thoughts. Stood on the Anfield pitch, , with a equally seismic conflict in opposition to Manchester Metropolis subsequent, the captain raised the topic of title rivals.
“You may see in the meanwhile are flying, and it’s down to scrub sheets and never conceding probabilities,” he mentioned. Which didn’t appear to be Liverpool’s ethos once they had been hurtling their approach by action-packed video games, counting on late targets and brinkmanship, taking and dropping leads till they discovered
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In a six-game spell, there have been 4 when Liverpool didn’t also have a clear sheet after 1 / 4 of an hour, not to mention an hour and a half.
Liverpool’s defence, with Virgil van Dijk on the helm, is immediately strong once more (Motion Pictures by way of Reuters)
A lot and may replicate with satisfaction on how each Mbappe and Vinicius Junior had been unable to light up Anfield. “It’s troublesome to regulate them fully however I feel we did nearly the utmost you are able to do in opposition to these two people,” he mentioned.
And if probably the most memorable second of Mbappe’s evening was a shot skied into the Anfield Highway Stand, to derisory cheers from the Liverpool trustworthy, Vinicius fought a titanic battle with Conor Bradley. The Northern Irishman gained it.
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Proper-back, which for Liverpool at instances this season, immediately seemed an space of energy once more. So did left-back: if there are numerous elements in rendering this a transformational week for a workforce whose supervisor admitted their earlier outcomes had been inexcusable, however close to the highest of any checklist needs to be the recall of Andy Robertson. If Bradley’s title was sung most by the Kop – and if that was a none-too-veiled rebuke to– the following most was Robertson’s. The outdated warrior was terrific.
Andy Robertson was serenaded by the Kop and has been persistently glorious since his recall (Motion Pictures by way of Reuters)
With extra solidity on both aspect of the again 4, Liverpool immediately appeared to have a unit once more; it felt much less that their centre-backs had been uncovered, people attempting to halt a tide. Van Dijk was authoritative when pitted in opposition to first Mbappe after which, in a post-match interview,. Strikers of various generations can testify that he’s a formidable opponent.
However, for all his particular person attributes, success needed to stem from the unit. “We confirmed we had been good as a workforce defensively,” he mentioned. Actual had been restricted to their lowest xG in over a 12 months, simply 0.45. to Liverpool’s defensive gameplan. “I mentioned to the gamers that the one factor I didn’t need was a mid block, so we both press them actually excessive or sit in a low block,” he mentioned. “So by no means give them house.”
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A mid block, he felt, would play into the palms of Vinicius and Mbappe, giving the speedsters room to run into. That top press required operating energy within the ultimate third and the indefatigable Dominik Szoboszlai set the tone. “The vitality he brings on the pitch is unbelievable,” mentioned Van Dijk. The Hungarian confirmed why he’s Liverpool’s finest defensive No 10; Slot’s aspect defended from the entrance as they did final season, which indicated that Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz had an affect off the ball.
Szoboszlai had an additional affect. His free kick was headed in by Alexis Mac Allister for the lone purpose. “A constructive set-piece steadiness is the minimal that you must get a consequence 9 out of 10 instances,” mentioned Slot. It’s a mantra of his however, if Arsenal are famously set-piece specialists, their lone defeat this season got here from a Szoboszlai free-kick.
Dominik Szoboszlai is Liverpool’s finest defensive No 10 and impressed as soon as extra (Liverpool FC by way of Getty Pictures)
If 1-0 is a scoreline with an indelible affiliation with Arsenal, each previous and maybe current, Liverpool have and Xabi Alonso’s by that scoreline. And but, for the primary couple of months of the season, it felt that champions and challengers had been pursuing wildly totally different theories of tips on how to win the title: Arsenal had been aiming for 1-0 and 2-0 victories, Liverpool for 3-2 and 4-2s.
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Subsequent setbacks would counsel that technique, in contrast to Arsenal’s, was not sustainable. Liverpool all the time have the power to attain one, nevertheless it helps when they don’t want extra. “We’ve the standard to harm anybody on the break; it begins with the defending,” mentioned Van Dijk.
Now there’s an oddity to Liverpool’s defensive statistics. They’ve solely stored 4 clear sheets this season. One was in opposition to a membership who bought 100 factors within the Championship final season. The opposite three got here in opposition to 2025 quarter-finalists, two of them at the moment high of the English and Spanish leagues.
It suggests a workforce with the fourth worst anticipated targets in opposition to within the Premier League can nonetheless defend once they get it proper. Van Dijk may argue that was all the time the case. “In a world of chaos it’s important to keep calm and see perspective of issues,” he mentioned.
And whereas it had appeared chaos on the again for Liverpool for a lot of this season, now a way of order has been restored.