Like any cliché, the phrase ‘no player is bigger than the club’ is overused whilst being undoubtedly true. Whether they move on to a new team or retire, they all leave in the end.
Even so, Liverpool have begun their pre-season preparations without Sadio Mane for the first time under Jurgen Klopp. The Senegalese forward left for Bayern Munich on the back of his second-best scoring season with the club. As promising as Darwin Nunez looks, it can’t be taken for granted that he will replace Mane’s goal output in its entirety in 2022/23.
Of course, the Reds have played and won matches without Sadio before, and they will do so again. A relatively insignificant match from two years ago this week was one such example and it might provide Liverpool with an effective blueprint for how to be successful next season.
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The game in question was a 3-1 victory at the Amex Stadium against Brighton and Hove Albion. It was not a match of major importance as the Reds had already secured the Premier League title. For them it was a dead rubber, and as such Klopp elected to rest Mane.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain took his spot on the left of the front three, alongside Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah. While we’re unlikely to see that trio start together up front next season, elements of all three goals which followed are certain to be repeated. Improving in two of the areas could make all the difference in the title race.
Liverpool were two goals to the good on the south coast within nine minutes of kick-off. They opened the scoring through Salah, but the credit truly belonged to Naby Keita. He pressed Davy Propper, recovered the ball in the penalty area and squared the ball across the box for his Egyptian colleague to apply a routine finish.
This was a method of attack which proved profitable for the Reds in 2021/22. They scored seven times following an Opta-defined high turnover (which means starting a possession sequence within 40 metres of the opposition goal), the joint-most in the Premier League and three more than they managed in the preceding season.
Only one of these goals was scored by Mane ( in a 6-0 win over Leeds United ) so his absence shouldn’t affect things too badly. Similarly, Keita was Liverpool’s most intense presser among players with over 350 minutes played, so he can hopefully repeat his heroics from Brighton in 2022/23.
Liverpool’s second goal on that July evening two years ago was a swerving long-range effort from Jordan Henderson. This was an area in which the Reds could have done better last season. Their total of eight goals from outside the box was seven fewer than a Manchester City side who only scored five more times than them in total.
More pertinently (and gallingly), their equaliser on the final day of the season was scored by Rodri from 20 yards out. City’s goals from distance didn’t definitively settle the title race but they obviously helped, not least as they scored home and away against Liverpool in such fashion.
Both of their goals in the clash at the Etihad came from set piece situations too. The Reds rounded off their scoring at Brighton in 2020 with a Salah effort from an Andy Robertson corner. This is another area in which they did well last season but City did better.
Liverpool scored 19 league goals from dead ball situations in 2021/22. There have only been 11 instances of a team topping that in the Premier League in the last 13 years, but the Cityzens last season, with 21, were one of them.
With the additional physical presence which Nunez will provide (and with Mane having contributed just two set play goals last season) it’s not impossible that the Reds could score more from corners and free-kicks in 2022/23. Taking inspiration from an unimportant behind closed doors win at Brighton to guide their attack may yet tilt the title race in Liverpool’s favour.
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