No matter how the Merseyside derby ended, Liverpool played much more like their old selves. It wasn’t the best performance they’ll ever deliver but there was an intensity and enthusiasm in their play which has been absent far too regularly this season.
After the Reds had drawn 2-2 with Wolves last month, Jurgen Klopp spoke about their problems in that match. “In the whole game we didn’t win enough challenges, to be honest,” he said, but that wasn’t an issue earlier this week, with his side recording their highest duel win percentage of the league campaign.
Liverpool’s best derby player for duels (among those who attempted more than three) was Darwin Nunez, with a 67 per cent win rate. At the other end of the scale was Stefan Bajcetic, though only Mohamed Salah contested more than the youngster, in fairness. Irrespective of that minor concern, the midfielder got a nine in the post-game ratings and was named man of the match on Sky by Jamie Carragher. There was one metric which goes a long way towards explaining why.
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Before we get to that, Bajcetic’s performance needs to be put into context. His ascent has been so swift that Transfermarkt’s database only contains 46 games in which he has played. Of those matches, at both junior and senior level, the clash with Everton was the first in which he has started in what they class as central (rather than defensive) midfield.
He did get the final 11 minutes of the Reds’ 3-1 win at Aston Villa there, replacing Jordan Henderson and finding time to score the final goal. But a late cameo does not come close to the pressure cooker atmosphere of starting a Merseyside derby for a Liverpool side without a league win in four matches. Yet the 18-year-old looked comfortable and in control throughout.
Bajcetic was the Reds’ joint-top player for chances created, made the most interceptions and was their only non-forward with a shot on target. As impressive as this was, his pressing efforts went beyond this single game to be reportedly the best by a Liverpool player for 10 months.
Anfield Index Under Pressure collates pressing statistics and described Bajcetic’s display against the Blues as the “best individual pressing performance by any #LFC players since Naby Keita FA Cup semi-final.” Their data showed that the young Spaniard made 35 presses, with 33 deemed to be successful.
He targeted nine different Evertonians, paying closest attention to Alex Iwobi and Amadou Onana in the midfield battle, with just one of his 17 presses of that pair unsuccessful. Add in that three led to a shot and another three started counter attacks, and Bajcetic is starting to look like Klopp’s ideal midfielder.
Without wishing to question the fine work by AIUP, it’s encouraging the Statsbomb's data tells a very similar story (albeit from a different definition of pressing). Sean Rogers of the Anfield Wrap shared some of their graphics, which show Bajcetic made 19 pressures – with Cody Gakpo second on 15 – while he also led the rankings for gegenpressing, which is trying to regain possession within five seconds of the team having lost it. If Liverpool are to retain the mid-block structure they’ve recently employed, having midfielders with these skills will be vital.
With figures like this, it’s little wonder Salah described Bajcetic as Liverpool’s best player for the period he has been in the team. Football writer Sam McGuire has suggested the youngster’s derby performance had an air of Gini Wijnaldum about it, and it would be no bad thing if he became a similar player in the years ahead. But whatever the future holds, it’s looking very bright for Bajcetic.
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