Liverpool v Chelsea A Liverpool Perspective
Slot had clearly looked at Chelsea and seen that, while they score goals if the game is stretched, they struggle when teams just sit in the middle and stay compact. It is simple to just sit in and hold station, waiting for them to hit and hope from range or deliver a cross to no one in the middle and recover the loose ball. He had also clearly spotted how poor they are at the back and open due to their disorganised press, which is very similar to the one Marcelo Bielsa employed at Leeds United. It is great when it works, but any error by them defensively leaves them wide open. With it being man-to-man throughout the team, it leaves the opposition keeper with time on the ball, unless someone leaves their man to close him down, which usually gives him an easy out ball, or he can look a bit longer, as their team gets drawn high up the pitch to leave a 1-on-1 constantly. That play should have seen Tosin sent off early in the match, as he clearly hauled down Jota, who was running free.
The tactics did not lead to a vintage, attractive, attacking performance, but it was very solid and it was clear Chelsea did not really have the quality in their play to break down the defence. The emphasis on possession by Maresca leads to there being plenty of time for the defence to get back and regroup on most attacks. When they do break quickly, they lack bodies to cause problems, so balls in tend to be very easy for the defence to deal with. All in all, if it had not been for one bad mistake by van Dijk (who really is human after all), they would not have scored. There is such a major improvement in the defending this season from last season, the organisation and understanding of their roles is much better under Slot, added to the emergence of Gravenberch, that the team is defending so much better.
In fact, one thing that gives me hope for the season being a close run thing is the defending of both Liverpool and Manchester City. Liverpool, because they are tighter and give away less genuine chances. Manchester City simply because they are playing like Liverpool last season, open and loose at the back, in fact their defensive set up is very similar to the way Liverpool set up. You can only get away with conceding first so many times before it catches up to you, unless you tighten up. It is not down to Rodri being injured either, as the problems are down to the centre-backs simply not being able to cover the wide spaces behind them, with both full-backs advancing too soon and not being able to recover quickly enough. Having Rodri there shores up the centre a lot, but that is not an issue without him either, it is the flanks that are wide open and vulnerable to quick forward balls to runners down the sides of the centre-backs. It is a long season, with City having such a strong squad compared to everyone else, it does require them to slip up in order for others to capitalise and this does look like a season where they are more capable than ever of doing so.
Liverpool, while defensively solid, do have work to do in the attacking third, with there being times when it looks so disjointed, especially with Jota up top. He does not link up anything like as well as Nunez, which often sees quick attacks break down before they can really get started, leaving the team playing a slower, more possession-based style, passing around at the back to try and draw the opposition in. The difference once Nunez came in, which was not just because of his exceptional tracking back and more intelligent pressing, was also in the way he links up with Salah, in particular. Those two are a genuine threat when in tandem, always driving the team forward with quick one-twos between themselves, which are almost impossible to defend against. The problem is that, just as Nunez establishes himself in the team, there is an international break and he is back late, while Jota is back with the rest, due to the time zone differences.
One of the more pleasing aspects of this game is that it came on the back of one-such international break, leaving the team a little disrupted, but it was still able to get a result without really having to get out of first gear. It was a very controlled and low-intensity win, which will not have taken too much out of the players ahead of the Champions League game. Playing the game at a slower pace does favour Liverpool, as Chelsea are at their best when the game is more like a basketball game, as their defensive inadequacies are then cancelled out to a large degree by having space to attack at the other end. Slow it down and their youth and energy is not able to give them an edge.
I do have to mention the referee, John Brooks, who was utterly abysmal and gave some shocking decisions. He is amongst the worst of a very bad bunch of officials in the English Premier League, and he was ‘helped’ on VAR by one of the few who can be said to be on a similar level of ineptitude. It must be so difficult for a linesman of the quality of Darren Cann (probably the only decent official in the Premier League at the moment) to work with these clowns who are in the middle. The training really needs to be questioned as not one Premier League official is improving, in fact they all seem to be regressing each season. They have put the bar on the floor already, it is astonishing they can slither under it still and drop it further down for each new season, but they certainly manage it. They are extremely well-paid professionals, yet they are worse than amateurs.
Chelsea
I have seen a lot of praise for how Maresca has this team playing compared to Pochettino, but they seem to be comparing the team Pochettino took over, rather than the team he left behind, to this current Chelsea team. I do think that is a little unfair on Pochettino, even though I am not a big fan of his. Personally I think Maresca has benefitted from taking over a team, because Pochettino had gradually moulded Chelsea into one, from the numerous individual players he inherited. They are better this season, but a lot of the credit should be given to Pochettino for it. Despite the money spent, Chelsea are a long way away from the finished article. One thing Maresca, like Pochettino before him, struggles with, is grinding out wins when needed. Tactically, he has a system and he sticks to it, no matter what, similar to Vincent Kompany last season, but he has better players to use to play that way. He also seems to lack tactical acumen to a degree, though he is still learning so that may come in time, but right now it is not there.
I particularly refer to his decision at half-time to make a change to bring on Neto in place of Sancho – on the face of it a very good decision as Sancho is not as good as Neto and was having little success, but he then had the team attack down that side constantly. It was very strange because Robertson had been struggling badly against Madueke, who had been able to get past him very easily, and now Madueke barely saw the ball. It would have made more sense to continue to press the attacks down that flank but bring on Neto to look to get on the end of balls pulled across. It just made the game easier for the Liverpool defence, instead of ramping up the pressure.
Also, it does feel like there is a lack of football intelligence in the Chelsea team (partly explained by having so many young, fairly inexperienced players), particularly Palmer, who often fails to shine in the big games due to lacking the brains to figure out how to deal with the attention he gets. When he does improve this aspect of his game, then he will become the player he is often heralded to be, rather than just a very good player whose stats are padded massively against the weaker teams, a bit like Harry Kane was doing at Tottenham Hotspur. While I know Palmer is not the brightest bulb in the box away from the pitch, that should not stop him learning and developing his game as it is clear that he is a football obsessive and is willing to put the work in.
With Palmer almost anonymous, it did feel like Chelsea offered very little other than maybe the hope of a mistake from Liverpool’s defence or a good set piece, because they mostly played in front of the Reds, who were happy to just sit back and wait for them to give the ball back and hit them on the break. They really created very little in the way of good chances, even the goal came from an error by van Dijk. It just felt like they were hoping for a chance to break, rather than making one happen. Their is a lack of incisiveness to their passing that gave Liverpool time to get bodies back and deal with anything played into the box quite easily. Jackson works hard and is a willing runner but he does not get enough of the ball, though that was in part due to Liverpool’s tactics offering little space for a ball in behind for him to run onto.
I do have to say that Chelsea are always going to struggle with Sanchez in goal, he is simply not Premier League level at all. He possesses very little in the way of redeeming qualities to make up for his dodgy keeping. It was a very odd signing, one that has not made them any better than if they had just kept Kepa in goal until they found a top class keeper. It is by far and away their weakest link and you have to wonder why Maresca sticks with him, rather than giving a chance to one of the young keepers in the squad.
Liverpool
Kelleher – not a good game for him, as usual when he first gets into the team, which is why I find it strange that many consider him the best back-up keeper around. For me, the best back up will come in and be solid immediately, which he is not. He always needs a run of games to get his confidence up and play well. He needs to go somewhere to be a first choice. In this match, he was very diffident and stood rooted to his line on a couple of occasions when he should have been straight out to clear the ball. Both times ended up causing a problem with the defence, who were waiting for him to act. Also his kicking was very poor, though a large degree of that was probably due to the conditions, he never seemed to adjust to suit them, which is worrying.
Alexander-Arnold – a decent game overall, but particularly defensively, where he handled first Sancho and then Neto, despite them having a pace advantage. He never gave either an easy time to deliver the ball, so much so that neither finished the game facing him. Sancho was hooked at half-time and Neto was moved to the left to try his luck against Robertson instead. The system played did not give him the usual freedom on the ball, so he was not as effective in creating play as normal.
Konate – solid performance and decent enough on the ball. He is really settling in to the team well right now and is not making so many rash errors as he was prone to in the past. Though it must be pointed out that he and van Dijk did have an easier time of it due to Chelsea failing to commit bodies into the box when a cross was played. Usually it was just Jackson on his own trying to get on the end of it, Palmer wants to hang around the edge of the box in the hope of picking up a loose ball to hit, Caicedo sits too deep when there is Lavia and the full-backs covering the midfield and the opposite winger is usually waiting out wide, rather than trying to get on the end of the cross.
van Dijk – made a big error when he pushed out into midfield, leaving a huge hole behind him for Jackson to run into and score. Apart from that, he was very good. It felt like the error was more of a result of having spent years playing a more aggressive defensive style under Klopp and he just automatically rushed out to engage, rather than dropping off as Slot was looking for.
Robertson – struggled badly against Madueke’s pace in the first half but then had a much easier ride in the second half when Chelsea shifted the emphasis of their attack to the opposite flank. It is quite worrying how exposed he is looking defensively when left one-on-one with a forward, even when out in the full-back area, so it is not a consequence of the change in style he is being asked to play.
Gravenberch – I am not sure it even needs to be said any more this season, but he was once again very good, one of the best players on the pitch. Some of his forward runs are mesmeric and reminscent of Moussa Dembele at his peak in the Fulham/Spurs midfields, where he seems to glide around challenges, almost dancing around players. The way he changes pace with such ease also reminds me of Dembele. He is a joy to watch right now, with his hard work chasing back and making challenges as important as his quality on the ball.
Jones – for me he was the man of the match, despite still having a tendency to take a touch, or more, too many. Doing that in the penalty box nearly led to two penalties, though I do think he went down far too theatrically on the first one for my liking, but it was a penalty. The second one is usually left to the referee’s discretion, they are often given and VAR normally keeps out as it is not really a clear and obvious mistake. In fact, we have been often told that sendings off/bookings/fouls given for similar offences are because it does not matter if the player gets the ball first if they follow through by cleaning out the opponent, but the PGMOL changes its tune game by game so who can actually be sure any more? But, it is one of those that you just have to accept either way, as it seems to be very subjective and vary from game to game, team to team and individual to individual as to whether it is given or not. Despite a poor touch, he was able to score with a lovely finish and it came on the back of a performance where he was defensively excellent and showed some lovely touches to wriggle out of tight areas.
Szoboszlai – another indifferent game from the Hungarian captain. He works so hard for the team, he offers so much workrate tracking back and breaking forward, but he is not using his greatest asset to its full capability, or at all right now. Szoboszlai is one of the best strikers of the ball in the current game, but he regularly passes up the chance to shoot around the edge of the box in favour of an extra touch or three or a pass to someone not in a dangerous position. You have to think that is an instruction, as he does it so often. Perhaps it is about keeping possession, but there is nothing wrong with a dig when you have a clear sight of goal and the ball is sat up nicely for you to hit.
Jota – worked hard and the foul on him, when he was away, should have resulted in a red, but other than that, he was pretty ineffective. That could have been down to picking up a knock, which saw him coming off after half an hour.
Salah – looked extremely sharp and, of course, got on the scoresheet. His link up play was excellent, particularly with Nunez after he came on. He also added an assist, with his pass leading to Jones scoring. His numbers are just insane and he shows no sign of letting up yet.
Gakpo – not at his best, but he did provide excellent defensive cover. Unfortunately, going forward he was not quite at it and made some poor decisions at times. His shooting was off as well.
Nunez – replaced the injured Jota in the 30th minute. His arrival made the team play better, partly down to his workrate winning the ball back deep in midfield and partly because he links up much better than Jota does, allowing the team to build possession up. He also showed vision and ability to pick a pass I had no idea he had within his locker. Also showed good team spirit by seeing Salah getting manhandled by Veiga and inserting himself between. He did get caught offside a couple of times, you have to wonder though why the ball was not released earlier on one of those occasions.
Diaz – came on for Gakpo in 66th minute. A decent cameo, but the game was fizzling out by the time he came on, other than needle between players. He did get involved and did about as much as anyone in the last half hour, but it was a game that was petering out.
Mac Allister – took over from Jones in 81st minute. Managed to get a booking but not much else to show for his efforts.
Gomez – was brought on in place of Alexander-Arnold in the 81st minute. Barely able to get involved at all.
Written by Tris Burke October 23 2024 05:31:30
