Poor finishing, brilliant goalkeeping, lack of a Plan B and not being rewarded for their dominance. These are all common features of Liverpool games over the past few seasons. Liverpool's red-hot goal scoring form has come to an abrupt end over the past few weeks, seeing them score just 4 goals and win only 1 of their last 4 games since the impressive comeback victory against Spurs. This frustration continued to grow in the disappointing stalemate at the Madejski on Saturday against Rodgers' former employers.
READING: McCarthy, Gunter, Morrison, Mariappa, Kelly, McCleary, Karacan, Guthrie, McAnuff, Hunt, Pogrebnyak; Subs: Carrico, Blackman, Le Fondre
LIVERPOOL: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Henderson, Lucas, Gerrard, Sturridge, Suarez, Coutinho; Subs: Downing
Outstanding goalkeeping or poor finishing? Far too often Liverpool have been a victim of these two features in the past few years. Fortunately for Liverpool, their improvement in front of goal since January has seen them score an impressive 27 league goals since the turn of the year. However, the last two games has seen Liverpool's proficiency in front of goal return to the frustrating levels that were present prior to the acquisitions of Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho.
Luis Suarez has found himself in the centre of a 4-3-3 system, or 4-2-3-1, and his tendency to move around and search for the ball often leads a lack of presence in the box when Liverpool attack. This has been the case in the last two games, and has seen Liverpool drop four points with the two stalemates against West Ham and Reading.
When Sturridge was signed from Chelsea it appeared as though Rodgers favoured using Sturridge in the central position, with Suarez moving out to the left wing or even positioned behind the striker. Sturridge benefitted greatly from this, but his recent injuries and drop in form has seen performances become a mere shadow of his impressive first few appearances in red. The early injury to Stewart Downing against West Ham last weekend saw an early appearance for Liverpool's number 15 but was used in the right wing position, instead of in his favoured central role that he thrived on earlier in the year. He was largely ineffective in that game, and so it was surprising to see Liverpool set up in the same way as they did against Reading.
Liverpool's staggering statistics do not make great reading for Reds fans. With better finishing Liverpool could have found themselves scoring 7 or 8 looking at the clear chances that were created. The most painful thing to take from the game was that it was evident, even from an early stage, that if Liverpool scored one goal, they would have gone on to win the game with ease.
Reading only threatened on one or two occasions in the game, with Liverpool amassing a total of 28 shots, with 11 of those on target. Luis Suarez saw his free kick hit the post, had one cleared off the line and Coutinho had a goal disallowed to add to the Reds' frustration. These statistics are even more impressive as they came from the away side. Despite Liverpool being the victim of yet another outstanding performance from the opposition keeper, Liverpool were essentially playing the team at the bottom of the table, a team who had lost their previous 7 matches in a row. This was a match that Liverpool HAD to win, but another poor result has left the team's lingering hopes of European place even more distant.
The statistics make it hard to believe that Liverpool could not score even one goal. Alex McCarthy may have put in one of the best goalkeeping performances in recent years, but it still raises the question as to Liverpool's ability to score when they are on top in games and be more ruthless in front of goal. As mentioned before, one goal would have almost certainly won the game, but it just would not come to the frustration of the team and fans. Of course, many positives can still be taken from the game with another dominant and attacking performance, plus another clean sheet, but at the end of the day, Liverpool have drawn against the worst team in the league and have only scored once against them in two games this season.
This has been a major criticism of Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers, and is always brought up following a poor result. The lack of a Plan B has become even more evident in the previous two matches as the Reds have failed to score a goal against two sides in the bottom half of the table over the course of 180 minutes. Against West Ham, Liverpool were up against a strong and determined defence that was not falling for the trickery of Luis Suarez which made finding a breakthrough goal increasingly difficult to come by. The substitutes that were thrown on, Sturridge and Assaidi, offered much of the same as the players already on the pitch. The game was crying out for a target man or a 'kitchen sink' that could offer something different, and give the opposition a completely different type of player to defend against. Whether Andy Carroll is the answer is unclear, but Liverpool are in need of a different style, or different type of player, for when 'Plan A' is not working. However, as West Ham had been comfortable defending against a side that was content on passing it around and waiting for an opening to arise, the substitutions made no difference whatsoever to their game plan.
Although Reading were not as defensive-minded at West Ham had been, a different type of attacking player gives the side so many more options when the side is struggling for a goal – something Liverpool have lacked all season.
Borussia Dortmund gave the perfect example of this with their fantastic late win over Malaga in the Champions League on Tuesday. Dortmund are known for their fantastic attacking football, but they also have a Plan B for when their normal tactics are not working – as was the case on Tuesday. It is for this reason that they have won the Bundesliga title in the past two seasons, and are currently in the semi-finals of the Champions League. One dimensional teams can be easy to defend against due to the predictability of their football. This is the case for sides even as brilliant as Barcelona, a side who are leagues ahead of Liverpool in terms of quality and the application of 'total football', and yet can still struggle against ultra-defensive teams who are intent on playing for a draw.
Liverpool amassed nine corners against Reading on Saturday, but in many ways this is the same as saying 'and the opposition have regained possession.' Liverpool do not possess that aerial threat or dominance from set pieces or open play that gives the team an extra attacking asset, and instead waste such opportunities far too often.
When you look at the top two sides in the country, Manchester United and Manchester City, they both started the season with four strikers who each offer something different. This helps them mix it up for when they are struggling, or can adapt against different opponents. In Van Persie, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck, United have four very different strikers who all bring something different to the team. The same can be said of Tevez, Aguero, Dzeko and Balotelli (before leaving in January) at Manchester City. In comparison, Liverpool have Suarez, Sturridge (who arrived in January) and Borini (who has been injured for the vast majority of the season). The difference between Liverpool's strike force and the Manchester clubs is worrying, and one that needs to be addressed if Liverpool are to start picking up more points against teams at the bottom of the table.
It has been evident in recent weeks that the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Lucas and Glen Johnson have suffered from drops in form. Unfortunately for Liverpool, when Suarez isn't firing then more often than not Liverpool will not win. This has been the case in the previous few games, and the team has struggled as a result. Coutinho is probably the only one who has stepped in recent weeks, but there has to be a lot more from other members of the team.
Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher have been tremendous at the back for Liverpool in recent weeks, and have been a major reason why Liverpool have only conceded one goal in their last three matches. However, while these two have been vital in the team's defensive play, the expansive football involved in Liverpool's attacking play has been limited by the drop in form of Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique. Careless touches and poor play has seen Johnson give the ball away unnecessarily in recent games, and this is something Reading focused on.
46% of Reading's attacks came down the right, with 35% down the left and only 19% in the middle. Carragher and Agger were dominant at the back and Reading were struggling to get the better of them at any point. Reading instead got far more luck by playing ball out wide and whipping in crosses. Reading attempted more long balls and almost twice as many crosses as the Reds, despite only having 40% of the possession. With 542 passes altogether, Liverpool had almost 200 more passes than the home side (who had 357), and yet it was Reading who were prepared to mix the play up in search of a goal. This is something that needs to be rectified, and had it not been for the poor quality of the opposition, Liverpool could have gone on to lose a game that they had dominated as happened against West Brom.
Despite the poor result, Liverpool were massively unlucky not to win and on another day could have won 5-0 or 6-0. However, poor finishing and outstanding goalkeeping has cost Liverpool yet another two points that they should have won. Liverpool now go into their next three fixtures against Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton on the back of two frustrating stalemates, and will hope the luck in front of goal that has been missing over the past two weeks makes an appearance in these difficult next three matches.
Despite the negativity and frustration following the result, it is important to remember that Liverpool are in a transitional season, one that has seen vast improvements in many areas such as home form and goals scored. Regardless of poor results, such as Saturday's, Liverpool's rise back to the top of the table is a long-term process, one that cannot be achieved in just a season or two.
Brendan Rodgers recently described Jurgen Klopp's work at Borussia Dortmund as a blueprint and one that Liverpool are trying to follow and there are many comparisons that can be made which will bring optimism to Reds. Dortmund were struggling when Klopp took over, having finished 13th in the 2007-8 season. Dortmund had endured a difficult few seasons and focused on producing young national players who would improve over the next few years.
In Klopp's first season Dortmund finished 6th (Liverpool are currently 7th), followed by 5th, 1st and 1st over the next three seasons. Klopp had stepped up from managing at a weaker side (Mainz 05) and took on Dortmund as a long-term project through the use of young, talented players and an exciting brand of football. Although Liverpool are a long way away from becoming what Dortmund are today, the similarities are there and provides proof that patience and belief in Rodgers methods will bring success in the long run.
Via: [Live Football] SC Austria Lustenau - TSV Hartberg - Austrian Erste Liga
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