West Brom - Post Match

[Mostar]

We decided not to appeal Agger's red card..

[McDermotX]

We decided not to appeal Agger's red card..

Club and player. On the right wavelength....as always.
Classic Liverpool.

[Mr Kipling]

I think 99.9% of LFC fans thought that - I mean on paper, player for player ours were MILES better than their's!

And that's why we lost. Plus add in the Clarke factor and they were never going to be a pushover.

And our record against West Brom isn't that great overall.

I'm just stunned that Gerrard would say something as stupid as that.

[Fredo]

IF....

[Corndog]

We decided not to appeal Agger's red card..

There wouldn't have been any point to, he was last man and so he has to be sent off, even though long obviously made thge most of minimal contact, but there was contact and thats how the panel would have seen it.

[Muddled]

Tactical Match Report

This was not the result Brendan Rodgers would have looked for in his first league match as Liverpool manager on the opening day of the league season.



Line up

Liverpool lined up with what can be considered their strongest team, bar Jose Enrique who missed out with a knock to his knee. In his place came Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson moved to left-back. Liverpool played a 4-2-1-3.

Like Liverpool, West Brom played their first league fixture under new manager Steve Clarke. Clarke lined his team up to match Liverpool with three in midfield in a 4-3-3>4-5-1

Liverpool looked to dominate with a fluid forward line to exploit the movement of Gerrard, Suarez and Borini and Downing to maintain width. Conversely, West Brom looked to soak up pressure and hit Liverpool on the counter. The out-ball of Shane Long was very effective as he tormented the central defensive pair of Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel

Early play

For the first 40 minutes of the game Liverpool dominated possession and goal scoring chances, however there were a few half-chances for West Brom, through Shane Long, to counter attack.

A common feature of Liverpool’s attacks was the use of forwards and backwards (vertical) diagonal passes to open the space for third man runners. These vertical balls were an attempt to get in between the lines of West Brom’s defence and midfield (who lined up 4-4-1-1 in defence).

Possibly the best example of this play was the passing combination culminating in Luis Suarez’s headed chance in the first half:

Here, the ball was fizzed in vertical diagonals across the pitch in order to find space in holes between the defence. The ball is played from Agger into Lucas, who plays the ball into the feet of Suarez who is dropping into a hole. Suarez plays the ball into the feet of Allen who plays a diagonal to Downing; Downing lays the ball off to Kelly (and the ball has effectively been played from left to right using 4-5 vertical diagonals). A few passes later and the ball finds Daniel Agger again.



Space has now opened up in front of Agger who is able to do one of his trademark forward runs from defence and pick a pass out to Borini. By Borini coming inside he has: a) found a pocket of space in between four West Brom defenders; and b) allowed space down the line for Johnson to overlap. Borini flicks the ball onto Johnson who beats his man and whips in a cross which Suarez heads over from 6 yards.



This was a clear example of a well worked attacking combination which didn’t result in a goal for Liverpool.

The visible tactic from West Brom was to look to cut out any vertical balls between the Liverpool midfield and attack and hit the ball between the two central defenders early for Long. This caught the Liverpool defence out two times early in the match as they were looking to transition into defence.

Another common theme from Liverpool last season, apart from not capitalising on their early chances, was to be hit with a sucker punch goal at the wrong time. Just before half-time West Brom won a corner. Liverpool defended it reasonably well with Skrtel winning a header and Johnson quick to close the player on the edge of the box. However, Zoltan Gera’s strike was world-class and unstoppable and West Brom went into the break with an undeserved 1-0 lead on the balance of play.

Second half

In the early minutes of the second half Liverpool again continued to dominate the possession. It looked as if the Reds would be able to get back into the match, even though not much changed in their game plan at half-time.

However, West Brom’s tactical plan for counter attack paid-off and Liverpool were down to ten men. In the space of 15 seconds Liverpool had gone from their familiar vertical combinations to losing the ball, losing a man and conceding a penalty.

In possession, Kelly played the ball into Downing who played it back inside to Gerrard. Gerrard had some space and tried to slide the ball in between the two holding central midfielders to Suarez, who had dropped into a space between midfield and defence. However, the pass was sloppy and the ball was won by West Brom and quickly played into the feet of Morrison.



Lucas came across to try to close down, but Morrison took a smart touch around him and was able to pick a pass between the two central defenders into the path of Shane Long. Long had been a nuisance all game for the Liverpool defence, and an untimely slip by Martin Skrtel left him seemingly 1v1 with Reina. The covering Agger leant in with his arm and Long went over inside the box – a penalty was awarded and Agger was given an early shower. Pepe Reina saved Long’s weak effort and hope was still in the air for Liverpool – who immediately brought on Carragher for Downing and switched to a 4-4-1.



Just minutes later Martin Skrtel was caught dawdling on the ball and the man-of-the-match Long nicked in-front and won another contentious penalty. This time Odemwingie had his chance from the spot and scored an unstoppable penalty past Reina who went the right way again. At 2-0 and down to ten men the result was effectively over, but Liverpool continued to push for some consolation. Some sloppy defending from a corner resulted in the third for West Brom, with Lukaku heading the ball in from close range on the back post.

Conclusion

This was not the result Brendan Rodgers would have liked in his first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool; conversely it was a dream result for Steve Clarke and his West Brom side.

Liverpool dominated possession and chances in the first half but couldn’t get the decisive goal and conceded at the other end via a great strike from Gera. Liverpool looked to continue their vertical combinations in the second half, however West Brom set up perfectly to counter this and, once Liverpool were down to ten men, continued to threaten on the counter-attack.

Link: EPL Index

[Muddled]

Statistical Analysis

Dominate match – miss clear chances. Concede one goal – push the self-destruct button. Yeah, normal service is resumed for Liverpool. The common features that led to the club’s worst run of form since 1954, last season, seem to still be lingering around the squad – even with a new manager with new ideas. When will the poor run and bad luck end for the Reds? The performance was decent but bad finishing and poor refereeing cost Brendan Rodgers his first Premier League win at the club.

The stats would suggest a different performance, though – a good one would you believe.

Rodgers has brought a new system, new ideas and a new philosophy to Liverpool – a passing one and the pass completion statistics are impressive. The lowest % rate was Pepe Reina, with 71% completed from 14 attempted – 79% of which went forward.

Three players for Liverpool stayed above 90%: Glen Johnson, Lucas Leiva and, least surprisingly, Joe Allen who completed 66 of 69 passes. He could be tagged as a player who only passes sideways or backwards but exactly a third of his passes went forward, showing what he can add to attack for the Reds. Actually, just 9% of his passes went backwards. That should prove any possible future doubters wrong.



Liverpool Attack

The biggest let-down in attack, in terms of passing, was Stewart Downing who only directed 9% of his passes forward – disappointing. The winger had a depressing first season at Anfield and has an awful lot to do to impress the fans on the Kop and he’ll need to do more than what he offered today.

His miserable total of two attempted dribbles proves this. As a winger, he must attempt more dribbles and try to take full-backs on, or even cut in and take a shot but he continues to fail in this department. He failed to create any clear-cut chances, something which many people who backed him last season used to defend him. A stick to defend Downing from criticism was his large number of clear-cut chances created. While I agree that scoring takes two aspects – the chance creator and the chance converter - he still should be involved in supplying the front men a lot more, and more effectively.

It will come as no surprise to see who was the most lively Liverpool player today. Once again, Luis Suarez took it upon himself to create and supply. He created two chances from open play and attempted 4 dribbles, completing three. What you have to take into account when assessing Suarez’s number of created chances is that he also creates for himself. In today’s match, he allowed himself three shots at goal from his own work. Liam Ridgewell, surprisingly, was the only one playing for West Brom to come anywhere near Suarez’s impact today.



Sending off costs Liverpool

Not many West Brom players stood out from each other in the chance creation aspect but they all chipped in. To compare the two sides, Steve Clarke had 9 of his players who created something, while Rodgers only had five players to count on – Suarez, Johnson, Borini, Gerrard and Lucas. Liverpool’s quintet managed to create 9 chances from open play, compared to West Brom’s 11. West Brom’s number is so high because up until Daniel Agger’s sending off, they had only created one chance – Zoltan Gera’s goal.

The red card allowed them to step up a gear and push Liverpool back, thus creating more chances. Liverpool have to increase the number of chances they make, no question about it. Chance creation needs to be high if you are to dominate effectively. It’s rare that a team creates one chance, scores it, and wins the game. Many may question this point but, personally, I feel the rarity of the occasions amps it up so its easier to recollect compared to when a team creates 10 chances and scores once.

As I strolled through the stats of the match, I stumbled upon a fantastic one. The debutant, Allen, is well-known for his tidy passing game and he brought his A-game today when in possession. As I earlier mentioned, his passing percentage was very high, but this is even more impressive: he had 79 touches throughout the match and not one was unsuccessful. It’s as if he’s immune to giving the ball away.

He also won the ball back seven times and made three interceptions.

Liverpool defence

Martin Skrtel was immense last season, a true colossus in Liverpool’s defence and proved that once again today. He made 7 headed clearances – more than the entire West Brom side put together and precisely a third of the Reds’ total number of headed clearances. Impressive.

Six Liverpool players won every tackle they entered: Martin Skrtel, Glen Johnson, Joe Allen (again near the top), Downing, Suarez and Carragher. Now I’m a bit of a sceptic when it comes to tackling percentages as they can mask the total number of tackles completed. The latter three only made 1 tackle. Fair play to them for winning it but it’s hard to praise when it was just the single tackle completed.

Seven Baggies’ players completed 100% but four of them only attempted one tackle. The overall tackle success % rate for both sides was 80 for the Reds and 79 for the victors.

So, as you can see, the stats tell a different story to the match reports you’ve likely read after the final whistle. Liverpool dominated many of the stats (and possession, 59.7% to 40.3) but managed to travel home with a demoralising loss playing on their minds.

As for my Statistical Man of the Match, I’d have to pick Joe Allen. His numbers were impressive and he will likely keep it up throughout the season.

With such a poor opening day result for Liverpool, many fans must be asking, “So, when does the season actually start?”

Link: EPL Index

[McDermotX]

Tactical Match Report

This was not the result Brendan Rodgers would have looked for in his first league match as Liverpool manager on the opening day of the league season.
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Conclusion

This was not the result Brendan Rodgers would have liked in his first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool.

[Icon]

Christ that's horrible reading...