The Defensive Work Rate of Liverpool Forwards

Some forwards score and others defend. Has anyone done both consistently for Liverpool? And for what sort of balance is Arne Slot looking?

One of the pieces of advice you often see given to aspiring writers is to read as much as you can and to write as much as you can. While reading can expand your vocabulary and wider view of the world, it can also provide a good source of ideas.

Writing for the EFL site Not The Top 20 this week, Ali Maxwell devised the concept of Total Workload, by combining various defensive metrics (tackles, interceptions, recoveries) with fouls and aerial duels.

“I’ve been increasingly of the opinion that the amount of work that modern-day strikers are asked to do outside of the act of shooting leads to them being physically and mentally fatigued when it comes to the moment of truth,” Maxwell wrote, with this his attempt to explain why Championship strikers are struggling to convert chances this season.

The findings showed no real correlation. Blackburn Rovers’ Yuki Ohashi was the top man in the sample for workload and has scored 1.1 non-penalty goals more than expected from his chances. Elijah Adebayo, the biggest underachiever against xG, was third for workload but there are likely other factors which help explain his wastefulness.

Still, it’s hard not to think there must be a relationship of some kind. If you had to name a Liverpool forward who a) scores loads and b) doesn’t do that much defensively, you’d picture Mohamed Salah. Casting that net further afield brings Kylian Mbappé or Cristiano Ronaldo to mind as fitting this description.

Then there is the inverse; Roberto Firmino was the ultimate work horse, press leader and team player, who frequently sacrificed his own goal tally for the good of the team. Correlation or not, it will be interesting to see how Liverpool players shape up. A comparison with the Feyenoord of Arne Slot will be instructive too, as most of the data available inevitably covers the Jürgen Klopp era.