Burnley, who was met by Manchester City with a minimum consumption of 5 goals, did what the other 18 teams hadn't done in the early morning of January 22 for nearly 4 years. That was to kill Liverpool at Anfield. With Barnes’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute, Burnley won 1-0 and scored valuable 3 points on the defending champion. It is worth mentioning that this is what the Red Wine Corps has won since 2021. The first victory. The Red Army coached by Klopp has swallowed the bitter fruit of five consecutive Premier League matches and failed to score a goal in four consecutive games. It seems that the previous 7-0 victory over Crystal Palace more or less defeated the character.
Of course, the problems that Liverpool are facing today are more serious than losing character. With the famous European Red Arrows Trident, they scored 37 goals in 19 Premier League rounds and ranked first in offensive power. But in the last 5 games, they only scored 1 goal in the game against West Brom, and none of the other 4 rounds. If the offense is weak, the problem on the defensive end will be infinitely magnified. In fact, even if it is not viable for 5 rounds, the Reds have lost a total of 2 goals.
In this sense, Liverpool is repeating the mistakes of Manchester City last season, of course there are still differences. Last season, Manchester City also suffered from a central defender crisis, but their offensive end was extremely sharp, and the defense line was scarce. Today, the Red Army is offensive with constipation. Without Van Dijk's defense, the performance is not bad. Of course, the result is similar. Manchester City was left behind by Liverpool by double-digit points early last season. And now Klopp's team is not only widening the gap with the Manchester City duo, but also only two points ahead of West Ham, ranked 7th, and is in danger of falling out of the European theater at any time.
What is the reason that brought the frightening Liverpool to such a situation last season? First of all, the state of center Firmino has fallen sharply. As the team’s frontcourt offensive brain, the role of the Brazilian striker is crucial. His retracement and passing organization connect the Red Army’s midfield and frontcourt into an organic whole. In addition, although Firmino is not good at scoring goals, when Salah and Mane can't score, he will often stand up to turn the tide.
But this season,Firmino scored 5 goals and 3 assists in 19 Premier League games. It seems that the numbers are good, but most of them appeared at the beginning of the season. In recent times, he has gained very little on offense. In this game, Firmino came off the bench in the 57th minute, all 3 shots were missed, the number of key passes was 0, and only 5.9 failed points after the game. In the last round of the Premier League double red club with Manchester United, Firmino scored the highest five times in the team, but only one shot. With the scoring ability still unflattering, the Brazilian striker's physical fitness has declined sharply, and the decline in athletic ability makes his frontcourt pressure and counter-grabs no longer efficient. In this way, the Red Army's frontcourt offensive system is facing collapse.
In fact, Klopp also has an alternative to Firmino's state, that is, the former Bayern general Thiago. The Spanish midfielder has no doubt about the organization and combing ability of the offense. He can greatly improve the technical content of Liverpool's muscle midfielder. In the last double match with Manchester United, Thiago was the best player in the Reds. 7 interceptions, 3 steals, 2 key passes and 83 precise passes were the highest in the team with 8.6 points. The post-match rating is well deserved.
However, the technical style of the Spanish midfielder is still very different from Liverpool's tactical play now. He likes to hold the ball under his feet and push forward, and uses his wide vision and precise passing organization to instigate attack. Before he arrived, the Liverpool midfielder with Henderson at the core played very concisely. They received the ball from the backcourt and then divided it to the wing for the first time. Robertson and Arnold were the Red Army forwards. The main force for transporting shells. This kind of tactical system of simple transition and quick side splitting in midfield also makes the insertion of the two full-backs very sudden, and they can be caught off guard in the transition from defensive to offensive. This is also the most important reason why Robertson and Arnold's assist data are so impressive.
However, with Thiago in control of the midfield, the ball could not be delivered to Robertson and Arnold in the first time. As a result, even if the two get the ball, the opponent's defenders are already ready to fight, which makes them forced to force. Break through the pass, or reluctantly pass the ball back again. In a word, Thiago slowed down the offensive rhythm of the Red Army, making the quick counterattack tactics tried and tested in the previous two seasons impossible to play. The match against Burnley,Right back Arnold managed to find his teammate only once in 21 passes, and the rest were aimless. The main reason was that his state was too sluggish, but his inability to get the pass in the first time was also an issue that should not be ignored.
In addition, Liverpool also has a major weakness, that is, the long-range shooting ability outside the penalty area is obviously insufficient, which allows the Premier League teams to be assured of double-team defense against Salah and Mane. Now almost every team knows that they can set up a bus to face Liverpool, and then use the Red Army's ineffective defense to find opportunities. This trick has been tried and tested. West Brom, Southampton, Newcastle and Burnley are all the beneficiaries of this tactic.
Therefore, if Liverpool want to truly achieve tactical transformation and greatly improve midfield control, one Thiago is not enough, and it is not realistic to expect that if the tower is back, it is not realistic. There is one person who can solve the current problems of the Red Army and that is Coutinho. The former Liverpool’s thigh has excellent organizational skills and a cloud-piercing long shot. He can team up with Thiago to form the Red Army’s offensive dual-core, and can also form a new team with Mane, Salah and Jota. The offensive quartet. Kubird's ability to take the ball, organize and cut in the frontcourt can maximize the defensive attention of the opponent, allowing Salah and others to get a more comfortable attack space. And his biggest advantage is that he is extremely familiar with Klopp's tactics and can be seamlessly integrated.
Nowadays, Cunia has become a tasteless player in Barcelona, Liverpool will not need too much transfer fee to introduce him, and Cunia once expressed his willingness to accept a salary cut. Therefore, recalling him may be the best solution to the pain of Liverpool's tactical transformation.
