Liverpool are not playing to Florian Wirtz's strengths. Or those of many of their summer signings, come to think of it, but let's deal with the German first.
Generally, we have played teams that have played 11 behind the ball leaving virtually no space in the middle of the park. Could that be impacting Wirtz "available behind the lines" stat? Very simplistic I know, but I guess it's not easy to find space behind the lines if their striker is marking you.
Also, maybe the team is still getting used to creativity from the middle, when previously Trent one of the main creative players. Again, guessing that the type of runs players need to make now, compared the last season are different. I guess we will get a better idea on the second half of the season.
Good points. It would be good to know how the space between the lines varies depending on who you play.
Re Trent, he wasn’t quite as influential creatively last season as he had been. But yeah, figuring out the runs the forwards make will take time. Let’s not forget, even Ekitike only came in midway through pre-season, never mind Isak. Wirtz had played barely 100 friendly minutes with Hugo prior to the Community Shield.
How do we fit Mo and Flo in the one team, the teams shape and makeup is wrong. Even last nights result won’t paper over them cracks, it feels currently too many parts being cramped into the one team and someone has to give way. I’d love to see a diamond midfield with Flo at the top behind an attacking front two - it feels to me the most logical use of our squad. Could Mo play (and flourish) as one of the strikers?
My concern with playing Salah up front now is that the players there have tended to have to press a lot, which he hasn't done for years (if ever!). Equally, if there were two up there then it mightn't need to be as intense as it was for one central striker.
And his record when playing there has been good, at least if you trust Understat. They have his Premier League record as 19 non-penalty goals from 15.6 xG when playing centrally. It might help him to score a few more goals this season but it may not be right for the team.
Great topic. Unlocking that puzzle is key. I'm wondering if those structural issues involve that newfound freedom in the midfield that Ryan spoke of so positively a few weeks ago? I think it's impossible to go back to a more structured midfield because he is being marked so closely, as you say, but I wonder if others already being in those spaces is having impact on where he's able to move (Bayer played a 3-4-3, so wingbacks would be in other places), which is why he's ending up wide on the left (or right, as was the strange case vs Palace in the first half)? And, as you've noted before, if someone on our front line could actually finish the chances that he is providing, this would be a different picture. I'd really like to see Federico starting over Mo today, just as an example...
You're probably right re the freedom in midfield impacting Wirtz. It's notable that I found a few instances of him being in the box and playing the ball out to someone to shoot... I'm in favour of midfielders crashing into the penalty area but not at the expense of the £100m man being able to play to his strengths!
Generally, we have played teams that have played 11 behind the ball leaving virtually no space in the middle of the park. Could that be impacting Wirtz "available behind the lines" stat? Very simplistic I know, but I guess it's not easy to find space behind the lines if their striker is marking you.
Also, maybe the team is still getting used to creativity from the middle, when previously Trent one of the main creative players. Again, guessing that the type of runs players need to make now, compared the last season are different. I guess we will get a better idea on the second half of the season.
Good points. It would be good to know how the space between the lines varies depending on who you play.
Re Trent, he wasn’t quite as influential creatively last season as he had been. But yeah, figuring out the runs the forwards make will take time. Let’s not forget, even Ekitike only came in midway through pre-season, never mind Isak. Wirtz had played barely 100 friendly minutes with Hugo prior to the Community Shield.
How do we fit Mo and Flo in the one team, the teams shape and makeup is wrong. Even last nights result won’t paper over them cracks, it feels currently too many parts being cramped into the one team and someone has to give way. I’d love to see a diamond midfield with Flo at the top behind an attacking front two - it feels to me the most logical use of our squad. Could Mo play (and flourish) as one of the strikers?
My concern with playing Salah up front now is that the players there have tended to have to press a lot, which he hasn't done for years (if ever!). Equally, if there were two up there then it mightn't need to be as intense as it was for one central striker.
And his record when playing there has been good, at least if you trust Understat. They have his Premier League record as 19 non-penalty goals from 15.6 xG when playing centrally. It might help him to score a few more goals this season but it may not be right for the team.
Great topic. Unlocking that puzzle is key. I'm wondering if those structural issues involve that newfound freedom in the midfield that Ryan spoke of so positively a few weeks ago? I think it's impossible to go back to a more structured midfield because he is being marked so closely, as you say, but I wonder if others already being in those spaces is having impact on where he's able to move (Bayer played a 3-4-3, so wingbacks would be in other places), which is why he's ending up wide on the left (or right, as was the strange case vs Palace in the first half)? And, as you've noted before, if someone on our front line could actually finish the chances that he is providing, this would be a different picture. I'd really like to see Federico starting over Mo today, just as an example...
You're probably right re the freedom in midfield impacting Wirtz. It's notable that I found a few instances of him being in the box and playing the ball out to someone to shoot... I'm in favour of midfielders crashing into the penalty area but not at the expense of the £100m man being able to play to his strengths!
Interested to hear if people think Slot isn't using Wirtz correctly. It's starting to look that way...
It’s either Xabi or Slot ;)