Liverpool won a lucky victory after being completely kicked out in Paris, beating Premier League bottom draker Southampton, losing to PSG at home and eventually beat Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
As with all cases of continuous problems, it is important to identify a common denominator, and in most cases, you will lose repeated mid-game battles when it comes to the worrying trends of the Merseysiders.
Ryan Gravenburch, Alexis Mac Alistair and Dominique Suzoboschlei certainly boast a fair amount of football quality, but the combination of Sandro Tonari, Jollington and Bruno Guimarè have what they need to quiet that quality in the game. Rafabenites, former Liverpool and Newcastle boss of Liverpool, who wrote on the 1st before the Carabao Cup final, said the game relies mostly on the way the Mappies trio plays in the middle of the park. As it happened, the Spanish words proved true – Tonari, Jollington and Guimaráes all put in strong physical efforts and overwhelmed Liverpool’s counterparts.
It had an effect for everyone to see. Liverpool struggled to move forward to get the ball up the pitch much. Apart from one decent chance Nick Pope denied alternative Curtis Jones, they didn’t cause any problems with Newcastle goalkeeper. People like Mohamed Salah will probably play a season of his career with 54 goals involved in 42 matches that will take part in this one competition, when he never managed to score a single shot.
Physicality also provided Eddie Howe’s side at the other end of the pitch. There, 6’7″ Dan Byrne delivered a fully placed header to score the opening goal, and Jacob Murphy overwhelmed Andy Robertson into the air to support Alexander Isaac in the second place.
Liverpool knows such an approach to thwarting their efforts decades ago, under many managers, including Kenny Dalglish and Jurgen Klopp.
There seem to be two ways to tackle this problem. One is to sign more physical players in the upcoming transfer window and go all the way to the toes with opponents who use such tactics. The other is to try out existing technical mid-game approaches to a level where the opposition’s physicality no longer brings about change by signing players with more creativity and talent on the ball.
Of course, it would be ideal to identify that both can be done, and until the summer of 2023 Liverpool had such a player in Fabigno. The presence of the Brazilian in the middle of the park was extremely important to the 2019 Champions League victory, waiting for the following year’s Premier League title for 30 years. However, players like this are not easily found these days. Ask Manchester City who couldn’t deal with this term without Rodri.
Liverpool will need to find a long-term formula to solve this puzzle in the summer, but there are more urgent challenges to pass. Their next issue is city rival Everton, with little doubt that the blues under David Moyes will once again go to physical control in the middle of the park.
Slot teams have scored 12 points over second place Arsenal in the Premier League table, allowing them to acquire that race on the line as quickly as possible at this point. The obvious silver lining from breaking out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup is over, that it should be easier for the Reds to focus on the league and get it done.
But Everton sees its greatest mission to ensure that his neighbors do not return to the right track.