No Liverpool player bar Alisson Becker emerged from the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest with any credit, but the struggles of two men in particular – Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho – went some way to explaining why a team which was in genuine contention for an unprecedented quadruple only five months ago has so often looked exhausted, impotent and so easy to play through since early August.
Van Dijk’s afternoon could have worked out so differently. Having scored three league goals in 140 appearances since joining the Reds, the Dutchman could have doubled that tally at the City Ground, as he sent two efforts wide of the far post when unmarked at the back post from set pieces before Dean Henderson pushed his late header off the line in stoppage time to keep the score at 1-0.
Those were the best chances a Liverpool team seriously lacking pace and width could muster, with Mohamed Salah left totally isolated in the centre of attack and youngsters Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho and Curtis Jones full of endeavour but light on speed and strength.
But going towards their own goal Liverpool were once again opened up far too easily. Ever since the humiliating 4-1 defeat away at Napoli at the beginning of the Champions League group stage campaign, Klopp has insisted that his team needs to improve its defending. The manager did not label the defence specifically, instead demanding the whole team improves its work ethic and decision-making out of possession.
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Counter-attacking and meticulous detail - what Aston Villa fans can expect from Unai Emery25 October, 2022Van Dijk is unquestionably enduring his weakest period of form since signing from Southampton at the beginning of 2018. The 31-year-old has at times been uncharacteristically clumsy, conceding two penalties so far this season, and has generally lacked the composure and presence which made forwards seemingly give up when duelling with him over so many seasons.
The data, though, doesn’t show a drastic diminishing of performance in any particular area. In fact, the reason for Van Dijk’s individual struggles could be found in two numbers which have, technically, improved. Van Dijk is pressuring the ball 5.55 times per 90 minutes so far this Premier League season, up significantly from only 3.50, 3.41, and 3.65 in each of the past three seasons, according to Fbref. What is more, he is making two blocks per 90 on average, compared to only 0.91 in 2021-22.
What that means is that Van Dijk simply has an awful lot more to do this season than he has done before, and that naturally is likely to lead to more frequent errors, misjudgements and exposure. The lack of form of those around him, including Andy Robertson at left-back, plus the overall drop in intensity of the Liverpool system will have contributed to that.
Another major contributing factor is Liverpool’s well documented troubles in midfield this season, with the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Thiago Alcantara dropping below the standards they have previously set, and Klopp’s consistent 4-3-3 shape dropped in favour of something more akin to 4-2-3-1.
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Liverpool's lost boy is beginning to show hints of his inner Zlatan20 October, 2022As the deepest lying midfielder, Fabinho’s influence on the team and contribution to its success in every competition since joining from AS Monaco has been invaluable. But in some important regards, the Brazilian’s numbers have dropped off a cliff this season and have left the Reds’ defence more exposed than ever before.
Take tackles in the defensive third, for instance. In Liverpool’s Premier League winning campaign, Fabinho made 1.17 per 90. That has now dropped to just 0.36. Also three season ago, he made an average of 0.56 tackles per 90 in the opposition’s final third, winning the ball back high up the pitch for his team so that counter-attacks were stopped and Liverpool were able to immediately push back towards goal themselves. That number this season is just 0.12.
The 29-year-old is also pressuring the ball significantly less in Liverpool’s defensive third. Where in 2019-20 he pressured the ball 6.45 times per 90 in that area, he is now only doing so 3.45 times, by far his lowest average since joining Liverpool. That means the Reds’ opponents are able to move past him much more easily than ever before, under less pressure and with less chance of being tackled.
That, of course, then means the likes of Van Dijk are left with significantly less protection. With Fabinho having been an almost constant presence in the Liverpool line-up for almost four years, the idea that he is simply exhausted and struggling to put in the same numbers now is understandable, but Klopp needs to find a solution.
What the tandem issues of these two senior players demonstrate is that Liverpool’s poor form this season is impossible to pin down to one player, one position, or one third of the pitch.
Each player’s physical and/or mental exhaustion has a knock on effect on those around them, and when one or two start performing at a lower level due to that, everybody else is going to drop off too.
Clearly, that makes Klopp’s job extremely difficult. It will likely still be a fairly long time until Liverpool, and the senior players who have brought their supporters so much glory over the past few seasons, are able to find a consistent higher level of performance.
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