On Sunday afternoon in eastern standard time, Liverpool and Manchester City played to a 0-0 draw in a scoreline that perhaps few expected given the high power attacks. What exactly went down in the game? That's what I'll cover here today.
The Team Sheets:
Liverpool lined up in the standard 4-3-3 with the tweak of Joe Gomez moving to right back to make room for Dejan Lovren in the starting eleven at center back. This proved to be a bit of brilliance from Jurgen Klopp. Gomez covered himself well on the right side, but it was Lovren's crucial tackle on Gabriel Jesus that was talk of the match when it came to events to file under 'brilliant defensive work'. In midfield it was Jordan Henderson deepest with Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner alongside him. Naby Keita was available and came on for James Milner in the 29th minute as Milner suffered a hamstring injury that will hopefully keep him out for only under a month. The front three was the standard Mane-Firmino-Salah line. The main three struggled to make their standard impact, but more on that later.
Manchester City came out in a 4-2-3-1 with more of a double pivot and a bit more defensive. The back four did indeed include Benjamin Mendy on the left with Kyle Walker on the right. Walker dropped back plenty of times almost as a right center back joining the pair of John Stones and Aymeric Laporte in the defense. Mendy got forward a bit more than Walker, but the usually attacking pair combined for just four crosses all game. The pivot was Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva, both dropping deeper as defensive midfielders to aid in the slowing of Liverpool's front three. Kevin De Bruyne remained unavailable, so it was David Silva playing centrally, though drifting wide too with the attack, with the wide wingers of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez alongside him and Sergio Aguero up top.
Match Thoughts:
Liverpool actually caught City in a troubled moment for the first ten minutes or so as they pushed forward with more gegenpressing than we've seen perhaps all year. City found it difficult to push forward and string multiple passes together, but even still, Liverpool did not have an abundance of chances either. That is largely due to the strong structure of the Manchester City defense who was more willing than usual to sit back and invite the attack as opposed to an all-out blitz. Pep Guardiola said himself that Liverpool are a superior team when it comes to transition football, so his decision to slow down the pace of the match and play with his full backs a bit deeper and the wingers more present certainly seemed to be the smart one with the benefit of hindsight. The "Anfield curse" technically was not broken with only a draw, but the draw was Pep's first point away to Liverpool in the league. He proved why he's one of the best managers in the world.
Liverpool's front three continue to stall out. It's been 180 minutes without a goal. Mo Salah's tap-in against Southampton was 405 minutes ago. That was the last goal for any of the three men leading the line. Now obviously all three can affect their side in a positive manner in a variety of ways. At some point, though, the chances the lead three create need to be finished. This was a problem last season early on with Salah, but none of the three firing at the same time in an important spell for the club is disappointing. I would not say it's unfathomable, Chelsea twice, Napoli away, and Manchester City all in a week-and-a-half is a brutal spell. The international break will hopefully for the Reds serve as a time to 'get right' for their key front three. That said, if they fail to fire against Huddersfield in their first match back, perhaps we see Xherdan Shaqiri or Daniel Sturridge get a run the following week against Cardiff.
Why does it benefit teams like City, who are so adept at playing a more forward style, to slow their own pace to frustrate Liverpool? As Guardiola said in the post match interview, Liverpool are indeed perhaps the best team in the world in terms of getting forward in transition. Matching fire with fire in league matches with three points on the line so early in such a big match does not seem to make sense to me. As we saw, City got the better of the chances, even winning a penalty off a counter attack. The slowing of Liverpool especially after they were in stride for the first bit of the match really helping swing momentum away from them back to City.
The move of Joe Gomez over to right back was an interesting one as well, and one I thought was a curious idea that turned out well. Leroy Sane was left on the bench as was Trent Alexander-Arnold, so instead of a reprisal of that match-up in the Champions League we saw Gomez against Raheem Sterling on that flank. Alexander-Arnold was coming off a pair of rocky performances and Dejan Lovren moving into the team for him was a way for Jurgen Klopp to get a bit more defensive solidarity into the side. Gomez's ability to play right back efficiently as a result of time spent at the position last year allowed him to get forward well on the overlap in attack while also providing the defensive support that he has given all season. Lovren impressed plenty and with talk abound about how he may have lost his position to Gomez, it may be Alexander-Arnold who could face a bit of time on the sideline after the back line's performance.
As a side note, I have to wonder what to make of Nathaniel Clyne now. Clyne was left out of the line-up yet again and I do not think he fits the Klopp mold of a full back. Rumors circulate that Leicester are interested in the Englishman. Once England's top right back, Clyne has fallen out of favor following a serious back injury last season and Liverpool could see Clyne go for a pretty penny. He's just 27, still a solid player, and is back fit now. Also in terms of forgotten men, Adam Lallana is another player who could move away from the club. Currently injured again as a result of international break, Lallana is now 30 and sees at least four, if not more, players currently ahead of him in the pecking order. He is loved by Klopp certainly and was integral in his first season at the helm of the club, but his moving-on could open up the door for a more creative number ten or another box-to-box sort of player to move into the club.
Final Thoughts Entering Break:
As we stand, the league table is very close at the top, more so than expected even at the start of the season. City, Chelsea, and Liverpool all sit level on points at the top of the table while Arsenal and Tottenham are just two points behind all three sides. Questions also can be asked of whether or not Manchester United (seven points back) and/or a surprise side like Bournemouth (four back) or Wolves (five back) could mount a challenge for European places this season.
The 0-0 is not a bad result at all and sees Liverpool into an easier stretch of the season. Until the first of 2019, Liverpool stare down only Arsenal and United of the 'big six' though do have a good amount of trip-up games against the likes of Everton, Wolves, Watford, and Bournemouth, among others. Elsewhere, Chelsea and City still must do battle in a match that would see Liverpool gain points on at least one of those two sides if pace is kept during the season.
The question now stands of if this Liverpool team can last through a full campaign. With the dry spell the Liverpool front three have had, it is going to be key to get them firing in order to find continued success this season. Also, I think midfield play has tailed off a bit as the fixtures came in heavier and against tougher competition. We will also see James Milner miss out for likely most of the month of October hindering the depth at the position a bit more. We now live in a world where the defense in the most consistent and rock-solid part of this Liverpool side. With arguably the best left back in the country, three of the top center backs available at any given time, and a brilliant young right back (or one of those star center backs) combining with Alisson in net provides a brilliant base for this Liverpool side. Huddersfield and Cardiff are the next two matches for this Liverpool side. They have let in a combined 34 goals and both sit in the drop zone entering the international break. Good outings and the ability to get at least two of the front three back firing in this stretch would be absolutely crucial to keeping Liverpool on the straight and narrow path to league glory.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
The Team Sheets:
Liverpool lined up in the standard 4-3-3 with the tweak of Joe Gomez moving to right back to make room for Dejan Lovren in the starting eleven at center back. This proved to be a bit of brilliance from Jurgen Klopp. Gomez covered himself well on the right side, but it was Lovren's crucial tackle on Gabriel Jesus that was talk of the match when it came to events to file under 'brilliant defensive work'. In midfield it was Jordan Henderson deepest with Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner alongside him. Naby Keita was available and came on for James Milner in the 29th minute as Milner suffered a hamstring injury that will hopefully keep him out for only under a month. The front three was the standard Mane-Firmino-Salah line. The main three struggled to make their standard impact, but more on that later.
Manchester City came out in a 4-2-3-1 with more of a double pivot and a bit more defensive. The back four did indeed include Benjamin Mendy on the left with Kyle Walker on the right. Walker dropped back plenty of times almost as a right center back joining the pair of John Stones and Aymeric Laporte in the defense. Mendy got forward a bit more than Walker, but the usually attacking pair combined for just four crosses all game. The pivot was Fernandinho and Bernardo Silva, both dropping deeper as defensive midfielders to aid in the slowing of Liverpool's front three. Kevin De Bruyne remained unavailable, so it was David Silva playing centrally, though drifting wide too with the attack, with the wide wingers of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez alongside him and Sergio Aguero up top.
Match Thoughts:
Liverpool actually caught City in a troubled moment for the first ten minutes or so as they pushed forward with more gegenpressing than we've seen perhaps all year. City found it difficult to push forward and string multiple passes together, but even still, Liverpool did not have an abundance of chances either. That is largely due to the strong structure of the Manchester City defense who was more willing than usual to sit back and invite the attack as opposed to an all-out blitz. Pep Guardiola said himself that Liverpool are a superior team when it comes to transition football, so his decision to slow down the pace of the match and play with his full backs a bit deeper and the wingers more present certainly seemed to be the smart one with the benefit of hindsight. The "Anfield curse" technically was not broken with only a draw, but the draw was Pep's first point away to Liverpool in the league. He proved why he's one of the best managers in the world.
Liverpool's front three continue to stall out. It's been 180 minutes without a goal. Mo Salah's tap-in against Southampton was 405 minutes ago. That was the last goal for any of the three men leading the line. Now obviously all three can affect their side in a positive manner in a variety of ways. At some point, though, the chances the lead three create need to be finished. This was a problem last season early on with Salah, but none of the three firing at the same time in an important spell for the club is disappointing. I would not say it's unfathomable, Chelsea twice, Napoli away, and Manchester City all in a week-and-a-half is a brutal spell. The international break will hopefully for the Reds serve as a time to 'get right' for their key front three. That said, if they fail to fire against Huddersfield in their first match back, perhaps we see Xherdan Shaqiri or Daniel Sturridge get a run the following week against Cardiff.
Why does it benefit teams like City, who are so adept at playing a more forward style, to slow their own pace to frustrate Liverpool? As Guardiola said in the post match interview, Liverpool are indeed perhaps the best team in the world in terms of getting forward in transition. Matching fire with fire in league matches with three points on the line so early in such a big match does not seem to make sense to me. As we saw, City got the better of the chances, even winning a penalty off a counter attack. The slowing of Liverpool especially after they were in stride for the first bit of the match really helping swing momentum away from them back to City.
The move of Joe Gomez over to right back was an interesting one as well, and one I thought was a curious idea that turned out well. Leroy Sane was left on the bench as was Trent Alexander-Arnold, so instead of a reprisal of that match-up in the Champions League we saw Gomez against Raheem Sterling on that flank. Alexander-Arnold was coming off a pair of rocky performances and Dejan Lovren moving into the team for him was a way for Jurgen Klopp to get a bit more defensive solidarity into the side. Gomez's ability to play right back efficiently as a result of time spent at the position last year allowed him to get forward well on the overlap in attack while also providing the defensive support that he has given all season. Lovren impressed plenty and with talk abound about how he may have lost his position to Gomez, it may be Alexander-Arnold who could face a bit of time on the sideline after the back line's performance.
As a side note, I have to wonder what to make of Nathaniel Clyne now. Clyne was left out of the line-up yet again and I do not think he fits the Klopp mold of a full back. Rumors circulate that Leicester are interested in the Englishman. Once England's top right back, Clyne has fallen out of favor following a serious back injury last season and Liverpool could see Clyne go for a pretty penny. He's just 27, still a solid player, and is back fit now. Also in terms of forgotten men, Adam Lallana is another player who could move away from the club. Currently injured again as a result of international break, Lallana is now 30 and sees at least four, if not more, players currently ahead of him in the pecking order. He is loved by Klopp certainly and was integral in his first season at the helm of the club, but his moving-on could open up the door for a more creative number ten or another box-to-box sort of player to move into the club.
Final Thoughts Entering Break:
As we stand, the league table is very close at the top, more so than expected even at the start of the season. City, Chelsea, and Liverpool all sit level on points at the top of the table while Arsenal and Tottenham are just two points behind all three sides. Questions also can be asked of whether or not Manchester United (seven points back) and/or a surprise side like Bournemouth (four back) or Wolves (five back) could mount a challenge for European places this season.
The 0-0 is not a bad result at all and sees Liverpool into an easier stretch of the season. Until the first of 2019, Liverpool stare down only Arsenal and United of the 'big six' though do have a good amount of trip-up games against the likes of Everton, Wolves, Watford, and Bournemouth, among others. Elsewhere, Chelsea and City still must do battle in a match that would see Liverpool gain points on at least one of those two sides if pace is kept during the season.
The question now stands of if this Liverpool team can last through a full campaign. With the dry spell the Liverpool front three have had, it is going to be key to get them firing in order to find continued success this season. Also, I think midfield play has tailed off a bit as the fixtures came in heavier and against tougher competition. We will also see James Milner miss out for likely most of the month of October hindering the depth at the position a bit more. We now live in a world where the defense in the most consistent and rock-solid part of this Liverpool side. With arguably the best left back in the country, three of the top center backs available at any given time, and a brilliant young right back (or one of those star center backs) combining with Alisson in net provides a brilliant base for this Liverpool side. Huddersfield and Cardiff are the next two matches for this Liverpool side. They have let in a combined 34 goals and both sit in the drop zone entering the international break. Good outings and the ability to get at least two of the front three back firing in this stretch would be absolutely crucial to keeping Liverpool on the straight and narrow path to league glory.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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