Improving midfield

We’ve looked before at the changing role of Javier Mascherano. Against West Ham he passed the ball as often as you’d expect of Xabi Alonso – but offered more defensively than he has before this season. Lucas also contributed a lot both in possession and defensively – although it was noticeable that they occupy similar areas of the pitch. Collapsing on the couch back home (slightly drunk) it was noticeable watching Barcelona how much more space there was between midfielders. The partnership between Lampard and Mikel (shown here) whilst not a like-for-like comparison, shows a much clearer separation of the defensive and attacking midfielders in their diamond formation.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Good width

Liverpool do play with more width than is commonly acknowledged. When Kuyt cuts inside, Johnson is usually available and the same with Insua providing an outlet on the left when Benayoun drifts all over the pitch. However, these do also demonstrate that Liverpool weren’t as great a threat from out wide as they had been in previous games against Burnley or Stoke.

Improving defensively

However, it will be the changes in defence which Rafa and Pellegrino will be most keen to put right. Lucas and Mascherano both provided cover for the back four. Insua and Johnson also defended well – the latter particularly successful at stopping attacks higher up the pitch. But as this graphic shows, Liverpool frequently lost tackles in the air against West Ham. Two thirds of the tackles that Liverpool lost in their own half were aerial battles. Whether zonal marking or man to man marking, Liverpool have to do better in the air.

Carragher a cause for concern

Jamie Carragher has never been far away from criticism during his career with Liverpool but the insecurity of thinking that he may lose his place has helped make him into one of the best centre backs in the English game. He will almost certainly come through this difficult start to the season. But at the moment, he is not playing well. He conceeded (harshly) the penalty and was at fault for the second goal – beaten in the air at a setpiece as he was against Spurs and Aston Villa.

This graphic shows just how little Carragher is offering his team defensively. In an equally poor defensive display against Wigan last year (won 3-2 at home) Carragher won four tackles and lost one.

by Guardian Chalkboards

Against West Ham yesterday he did not win a tackle compared to Martin Skrtel’s 6:

by Guardian Chalkboards

Related posts:

1. Bolton v Liverpool post match analysis
2. Liverpool v Hull City post match analysis
3. Liverpool v Burnley post match analysis

Using The Guardian’s chalkboard analysis software, I took two games as comparisons, after rejecting many other possibilities. After some initial analysis it was obvious that it wasn’t useful to compare Liverpool’s performances against Aston Villa, Man United or Newcastle last season with any of this year – we were just playing so much better then. However, two performances last term were particularly similar to the Bolton game: the 0-0 draw away to Aston Villa which was the 3rd game of the season and just before the international break; and the 3-2 victory away to Manchester City. As the Liverpool Way blog said: “it was just like the start of last season”.

I chose the Man City game as the comparison because:

• it was played against 10 men for the last 25 minutes (like the Bolton game),
• Liverpool passed the ball a similar amount against Bolton compared with Man City – but far less in that game against Aston Villa
• Gerrard and Torres played against Man City but Gerrard missed the Villa game and Torres limped off in the first half
• the scoreline was the same – in similar circumstances

What I found out was that there was very little difference in the team performances in the two games. The key difference for Liverpool without Alonso was the role that Mascherano plays in the team and, to a lesser extent, the contribution of Jamie Carragher.

What wasn’t different

Steven Gerrard‘s performance wasn’t that different in either game (or, as The Guardian showed, compared with the previous game against Aston Villa). Dirk Kuyt didn’t play differently, although he did offer more defensively against Man City, with two tackles in the corner of Liverpool’s right back spot against City. Albert Riera put in a similar performance although he offers a bit more defensively, and now gives the ball away a bit less. The only significant difference in his performance was that he played inside a bit more this weekend – though a fair number of his passes went outside to Insua so this probably explains why he was tucking in a bit more. Fernando Torres wasn’t much different either, though he played a bit deeper against Man City and closed down players a bit higher against Bolton.

What was a bit different

Pepe Reina saw more of the ball against Bolton Wanderers than Man City – but you’d expect that, given the aerial threat of Bolton. Fabio Aurelio played left back against Man City last year but his replacement, Mili Insua got forward more against Bolton. Arbeloa was right fullback against Man City and got forward more than I remembered – but Glen Johnson was more potent as an attacking threat against Bolton.

What was really different

I was amazed to analyse Carragher’s contribution against Bolton so checked it three times to make sure. His passes were similar, his clearances were similar, his interceptions were similar but against Bolton at the weekend, he didn’t make a single tackle. That compares with his 10 tackles against Man City.

It is clear that Lucas Leiva is not a straight swap with Xabi Alonso. He saw the ball 30-odd times against Bolton, whereas Alonso passed it over 70 times against Man City. Moreover, Alonso got around the pitch more than Lucas. Alonso even tackled more than Lucas. But the Reds don’t miss Alonso for quite the reason you’d imagine.

What’s changed is Mascherano (there’s an interesting discussion here about Mascherano is happy at the club). He’s gone from being the person who breaks up play to being the player who keeps the ball moving. He passed the ball 70 times successfully – compared with just 35 against City.

And what’s the impact of that? Tackles. His tackle count has gone down from 69 (39 won) to 3 (1 won). Ok, so it’s Bolton who play differently (the ball will be in his area less) but it’s still a significant difference.

The analysis is undoubtedly flawed – for one, it flattens 90 minutes into a single picture. But it’s not just that Liverpool are missing Alonso. The loss of Alonso is losing an important element of Javier Mascherano too.

Related posts:

1. Liverpool reserves v Bolton reserves post match analysis
2. West Ham v Liverpool post match analysis
3. Liverpool v Burnley post match analysis