Welcome to The Debrief. In his Sky Sports column, Adam Bate combines data and opinion to examine the key stories from the latest Premier League matches. this week:
Liverpool also lack creativity in the slot Cucurella exploits Liverpool’s weaknesses Doc’s finishing could change the game
Liverpool also have creativity problems
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea
After Liverpool drew 1-1 with Chelsea on Saturday, Arne Slott suggested booing was inevitable as supporters would judge the match by the result. However, the crowd reaction during and after the match at Anfield was mainly due to the performance.
Fans were unsettled from the start, even when Liverpool were in the lead. They could smell the team’s momentum slipping away from them long before they scored the equalizer. The Liverpool manager was later asked whether his side had deliberately set back, and his response was tepid.
Liverpool-Chelsea draw momentum suggests an equalizer is near
“I said that after we won 1-0 and then we had a big chance to make it 2-0,” Slott said sarcastically. “Didn’t you see me on the sideline yelling, ‘Go home, go home, defend your box, defend your box’? Of course there’s no idea that we’re going to go backwards.”
He added: “I think it’s unfair for anyone to think that I’m telling the players to stand back or stand back and not press.” He later admitted that this happened. “It certainly looked like we fell, but that was never our intention.”
Liverpool regained some control in the second half against Chelsea, who had lost their previous six Premier League games. However, they still struggled to create. A lack of momentum in their play is a common and growing complaint against slot sides.
At the end of the game, Liverpool’s expected goals tally was 0.56, their lowest since a close win over Arsenal in August. You have to go back to 2021, and the last home game yielded little. And that’s why there were no fans in the stadium.
This is an inconvenient truth for Slott, considering he has frequently framed this season as a finishing issue. He is comfortable talking about expected goals, but Liverpool are actually ranked seventh in the Premier League by this metric, their worst position in a decade.
The team is averaging 321 passes per goal this season, up from 234 passes per goal last season. Fans don’t like possessions that lead nowhere. “It’s not my idea that I like possession,” Slott insists. “I like to create chances, I like to score goals and score goals.”
The best way to achieve this is the crux of the slots puzzle. As former Liverpool favorite Jamie Carragher recently told Sky Sports: “The worrying thing is not that there’s no identity. That’s the identity. So it’s on the shoulders of the manager.”
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Arne Slott defends substitute Rio Ngmoja after Liverpool fans boo him at Anfield
Apparently he will be given a chance to find a solution. “We know what it takes to accomplish that,” Slott said. “I’m 100% sure that next season’s team will be a different team than it is now. The results will be different, the way things will look different.”
The obvious adjustment is the defensive structure. We need a holding midfielder. Also a new right-back. However, there are also concerns about Liverpool’s potential. And if the boos at Anfield are any indication, Slott has work to do to convince the crowd he has the answers.
Cucurella exploits Liverpool’s weakness
Marc Cucurella’s Chelsea vs Liverpool touch map
I spoke to Chelsea’s interim head coach, Callum MacFarlane, after the game against Liverpool and had the opportunity to ask him if he was specifically targeting the opposition’s right flank as a weakness. “It was definitely something we knew,” he said.
A natural midfielder, Curtis Jones has played in a position that has been a problem for Liverpool this season. Marc Cucurella, who was traded as a left-back, was used up front ahead of Jorel Hato and was a real performer throughout the game.
Chelsea targeted the right side of Liverpool’s defense at Anfield
At Anfield, Cucurella recorded six touches inside the opposition box. There was no player on the pitch with more ability. In fact, the Spaniard’s 148th Premier League appearance was just one less than his record number of touches in all competitions.
“Cucurela is not a winger, he told me he has played there before. But his off-the-ball movement is of really high quality, even when he plays at left-back or when he rolls into midfield, he understands the timing and when to do it,” MacFarlane explained.
“We knew that with him in that position and it could have been exposed. I thought it was unlucky not to get the assist and it caused them a lot of problems.”In fact, it was only a narrow offside decision against Cucurella that prevented Chelsea from winning.
Doc’s Finishing Improves Your Game
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brentford
Also a shout out to Jeremy Dok. His late-season heroics with Manchester City may not be enough to lead the team to the Premier League title, but it could be a game-changer for his career. It’s always a thrill to watch and there are signs that he’s stepping up his game.
It was a privilege to be at Everton to see his two incredible shots (one with either foot) in that game, but the fact that the City winger was able to repeat that with his breakthrough goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Brentford is particularly encouraging.
Jeremy Doku scored two goals from almost the same position last week.
Doc has been in a good position for a long time and now he has scored goals within a week, the same as in his first two seasons in the Premier League combined. As former City striker Daniel Sturridge pointed out on Sky Sports, it signals progress.
“For him now, that’s the deciding factor. He’s doing the same thing two games in a row. The repetition in training pays off and he gets a feel for it. When he gets the ball in that area, he sees the picture he used to see and knows where he wants to put the ball.”
Doc’s main responsibility remains to provide width for Pep Guardiola’s side, run defensively and provide service to the strikers. But if he becomes a serious goal threat when cutting inside, everything will change. He could become a superstar.
