A team’s performance rests on the efforts of 11 players, plus those who contribute from the substitutes bench. When team news breaks ahead of a game, it’s natural to look at how the different sections of the starting XI are composed.
Who is in the centre-back pairing tonight? Are the first-choice full-backs playing? Have we got Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho in midfield, we normally win when they play together. These are some of the thoughts of every Liverpool fan around the world an hour before kick-off.
There was a time when the identity the players in the front three didn’t merit a moments consideration. Mohamed Salah would be on the right, Sadio Mane the left, with Roberto Firmino leading the press and creating space down the middle.
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That remarkable trio is no more. They made their final start together in February ( in a 1-0 victory at Turf Moor ) and were only in the starting line-up four times across the whole of 2021/22. Mane’s departure to Bayern Munich meant a period of evolution up front was inevitable, and the process took another step during the 2-1 win over Ajax in the Champions League.
For the visit of the Dutch champions, Jurgen Klopp selected Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz. It was the first time they had started a match together, and they hadn’t had many previous opportunities even within games either.
There were just seven prior examples of the trio being on the pitch at the same time, with the 30 minutes they were afforded in a home match against Leicester City – Diaz’ first start for the club – the longest of them. In none of these games, which also included the League Cup final and a Champions League semi-final clash with Villarreal, did any two from the three combine to assist and score a goal.
In the 2-0 Anfield win over the Spanish side, there was at least an example of the trio linking up to create a chance. Salah drove forward from the halfway line, played the ball inside to Jota and he then found Diaz. The Colombian flashed a shot across the face of the Anfield Road end goal rather than into it, but the move demonstrated a nice connection between the three forwards.
They were also heavily involved in the chaos at the conclusion of the recent Merseyside derby. In the third minute of stoppage time, Jota found Salah but his shot was blocked. Less than 120 seconds later, Diaz set up his Egyptian colleague for a goal attempt which was saved. The rebound went to Jota, whose misplaced attempt to score found Salah and he had another effort.
These near misses were put in the shade in the 17th minute of the match with Ajax. A long pass forward from Alisson Becker was headed on by Diaz. The ball went to Jota, who played it onto Salah, and he slotted home. The former Wolves man has now created four goals for the Reds’ No.11, against RB Leipzig, Manchester United home and away, and Ajax. The duo obviously dovetail well in big games.
The data from the Ajax match also suggests the trio press well as a unit, something which will greatly please Klopp. Advanced data for the Eredivisie is unavailable, but in six Champions League appearances last season, goalkeeper Remko Pasveer made a total of 25 passes while being pressured by opposing players ( per FBRef ). He made 26 in 90 minutes at Anfield on Tuesday evening.
Although Jota is known as the ‘ pressing monster’, it was Diaz who had the biggest impact here. In a match in which the Reds had 56 per cent possession, he recorded a stunning 33 pressures. Only once in each of the last two seasons did a Liverpool player press the opposition as many times while the team had the ball as often, and on fewer than 10 occasions in each campaign irrespective of the possession figure.
One game obviously doesn’t prove or decide anything. But if the combination of Diaz, Jota and Salah can continue to both press well and combine to create goals on a regular basis, then Klopp may have found his preferred front three for the immediate future.
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