Jürgen Klopp knows one Liverpool player he needs to rely on in the chase for a top-four finish, with a surprise playmaker emerging for the German recently.
Following a run of three league wins in the previous four, Liverpool went into the game against Bournemouth in its best shape of the season so far. A 1-0 loss would ensue, causing much renewed despondency. But one detail in the Reds’ otherwise torrid display did leave some food for thought.
The performance against the Cherries clearly fell below the standard of the previous weeks, where Liverpool had genuinely looked to have turned a corner in the Premier League. Perhaps some warning signs were there in the form of the drab 0-0 display away at struggling Crystal Palace, but the record-breaking 7-0 demolition of Manchester United would have been enough to have convinced even the most pessimistic of supporters that Jürgen Klopp’s side may have been reaching the levels of previous seasons once more.
Yet against the relegation strugglers, Liverpool looked pretty toothless at points, with the midfield trio of Harvey Elliott, Fabinho and Stefan Bajčetić struggling to make a mark on the game from an offensive point of view. In what was a stark reminder of the quality of opposition in the Premier League, irrespective of a team’s current standing in the table, the midfield three was unable to create a single chance at the Vitality Stadium, a fact that probably sums up Liverpool’s lackluster performance.
There is no doubt that Klopp was unimpressed with the first half performance of Liverpool’s midfield and, having been dribbled past four times and having lost 100 per cent of his duels in the previous 45 minutes, it was probably inevitable that Elliott would be the one to make way at half time.
In what may smack of clutching at straws, however, it should be noted that captain Jordan Henderson was more of an offensive-minded outlet when he was introduced into the fray in place of Fabinho in the 70th minute. In fact, during his substitute appearance he actually completed more attacking third passes than any Liverpool player over the whole 90 minutes, with 16.
This was only one less than the total achieved by the starting midfield combined against Gary O’Neil’s side. In short, having been reduced to a role off the bench due to picking up a cold in the days prior to the game, Henderson was by far Liverpool’s most creative and forward-thinking midfielder against Bournemouth at the weekend.
Jordan Henderson drove Liverpool forward against Bournemouth in the 1-0 loss with his forward emphasis showing what the Reds had missed in the first half (Image: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
Perhaps the England international is a little overlooked when it comes to his creative abilities, with his statistics according to metrics website FBref suggesting that he is one of Europe’s most effective when it comes to progressive play. It may come as a surprise to some observers that the Sunderland-born player is actually in the 95th percentile when it comes to progressive passes on average per 90 minutes, when compared with other midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues in the past year.
Not only that but the Liverpool captain has averaged an impressive 2.7 shot-creating actions per game. In essence, Henderson remains one of the Reds’ most effective midfielders for Klopp, with his abilities as a playmaker often overlooked.
Liverpool will need Henderson’s experience in the run-in to this season, and the loss against Bournemouth showed that he will be pivotal if the Reds are to finish in the top four this season. He may may have won all there is to win in the club game, but still his influence at Anfield is sometimes criminally underrated, and Klopp will have an easy decision when it comes to utilizing him heavily for the remainder of the campaign.
Source: liverpool.com
