Ian Doyle takes a statistical look at Liverpool’s promising start to the season after eight Premier League games
book mark Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez during a Liverpool training session Andrew
Liverpool FC Reloaded may not be thriving yet, but their ammunition is already worrying their Premier League rivals.
Only the controversial, VAR-infected defeat at Tottenham Hotspur prevented Jürgen Klopp’s side from starting their season in the top flight unbeaten, having gone the final 11 matches of last season unbeaten.
Given that they have played five of their first eight away games this season and had already met four of last season’s first eight – three of them away – as well as traditional heavyweights Chelsea, it wasn’t the easiest of openings.
However, the Reds are only three off the top with 17 points. Reasons for encouragement, certainly.
But a closer look at the statistics reveals areas where Liverpool can clearly do better, along with other areas where their success might surprise. In terms of tangible values, Liverpool are in a reasonable position.
Only Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton have scored more than the 18 goals the Reds have conceded this season, while defensively only five have conceded more than the nine goals conceded by Liverpool.
Looking at expected goals, Liverpool have scored more times than you would expect – their xG of 16.8 is bettered only by Newcastle – while they have conceded fewer defensive goals than their xGA, expected goals conceded, would suggest. of 11.5. However, that figure is the 11th highest in the league, indicating that too many chances are still being given.
Although their xGD (expected goal difference) is fifth highest, it is actually negative away from home and behind neighbors Everton.
Clearly at the top of this benchmark are Manchester City and Arsenal, the two teams who should once again be most in contention for the Premier League title.
When it comes to distribution, Liverpool are sixth in terms of pass attempts and completion percentage. But there has been a clear tactical shift, driven in part by a personnel change.
In each of the last five seasons the Reds have been in the top three in terms of long passes attempted – so far this season they are only ninth.
However, Liverpool are strong in the air. Only Chelsea have a higher percentage of aerial duels won.
In terms of attacking dribbles, Liverpool’s success rate is in the bottom half and only Luton and Sheffield United players are tackled more often in such actions.Strangely, for a team that is among the top scorers, Liverpool are strangely subdued when it comes to shooting.
When it comes to goals and shots on target, they pose no problem for the top five, and when it comes to shots on target percentage, they are well below average – their figure at 28.6% is not than that of Burnley, Brentford and Luton.
Town , which is highlighted when watching this season’s matches, one suspects that the opposing goalkeepers have not been able to make many saves.
Of course, the fact that Klopp’s side finished three of their eight games without a full squad has somewhat affected their attacking instincts and skewed many of those stats, including average possession, which leaves Liverpool well behind in eighth place.
But it hasn’t helped that Klopp’s side concede more fouls per game than all others bar Brighton, Bournemouth and Wolves.
Teams also win more tackles against the Reds than anyone other than Bournemouth, suggesting a lack of dedicated defensive midfielder, with Alexis Mac Allister among the top five players committing the most fouls this season, surprisingly just an attacking in front of Luis Diaz.
However, for a team that received four red cards, only six teams received fewer warnings.
In terms of individual performances, Mohamed Salah is tied with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in terms of goal contributions – both have nine – while the leader in this metric when it comes to average per 90 minutes is actually Darwin Nunez, ahead of Newcastle’s Callum Wilson and then Salah is.
Nunez also has the most shots per 90 minutes and is eighth when it comes to putting them on goal.
The importance of Curtis Jones is underlined by the fact that with 94.3% he has the highest success rate not only in the Liverpool team, but also of all players who play neither the role of central defender nor defensive midfielder in any Premier League. team outfit.
Dominik Szoboszlai is in the league’s top seven for progressive passes and third for shot-creating actions – Diaz is in the top 10 per 90 minutes – and Salah is in the top four for goal-creating actions.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Mac Allister are in the top six for deep passes.
Mac Allister, despite his issues at number six, is among the top five players at tackling dribblers and joins Szoboszlai in the top four for most successful blocks.
In terms of successful aerial duels, Joe Gomez is third with 90%, ahead of Virgil van Dijk fourth with 88%, while, perhaps worryingly, only five goalkeepers have saved more than Alisson Becker. So there is room for improvement.
But it won’t be until they start keeping 11 players on the pitch that a true picture will emerge of Liverpool FC Reloaded’s performances this season.
