BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, Nov 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Liverpool resume their
Premier League title charge at Aston Villa on Saturday with Jurgen Klopp
hoping to avoid a repeat of the defensive mayhem that nearly wrecked their
dramatic League Cup win against Arsenal.
Klopp played a reserve side for the fourth round tie on Wednesday,
featuring a number of emerging stars, and saw them advance via a penalty
shoot-out having twice overcome two-goal deficits to draw 5-5 in 90 minutes.
Liverpool conceded as many goals in one cup game as they have all season at
Anfield in the Premier League so, while it was a memorable evening, Klopp
will be banking on his regular defence returning to their miserly ways at
Villa Park.
Klopp’s system is based on defending from the front and launching a
devastating press whenever the opposition are in possession.
It is an approach that carried Liverpool to Champions League glory last
season and has put them in pole position to win the title this term.
Klopp’s high-tempo game-plan also makes the most of the abilities of
Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino.
The 28-year-old has scored just three league goals in 10 appearances this
season, below his normal productivity rate.
While Firmino’s goal record may have come under scrutiny outside Anfield,
within the club his status and reputation appears to be rising with every
passing month.
Experts have described Firmino as the best player in the world at what he
does: implementing Klopp’s complicated, but hugely successful, tactical,
pressing system.
By comparison, Xherdan Shaqiri has been with Liverpool for nearly 18 months
and is still not trusted by Klopp, in big games at least, because of his
inability to carry out precise and demanding instructions.
The Liverpool manager requires his forwards, when out of possession, to
constantly close down angles to prevent opposition defences passing the ball
forward.
– Durability –
Many strikers may not have the discipline or worth ethic to carry out those
demands, but Firmino and team mates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane fit Klopp’s
identikit striker.
The pressure on Firmino to score goals is far less given the outrageous
productivity of his two colleagues.
Salah and Mane both scored 22 goals in the Premier League last season and
have five apiece in the league to date – figures that reduce the need on
Firmino to score.
Speaking earlier this season about the durability of his three front-line
strikers, Klopp did not hold back in talking about Firmino’s worth and
durability.
“Hopefully it stays like this, him hardly missing a game,” Klopp said. “He
missed a few and that was not too cool, but Bobby – what can I say about him
that not everybody knows already?
“He’s an incredibly important player. He enjoys it so much to play in this
team, to be really there with all these super guys around him.
“That’s what helps him then, of course: if you have the speed around you,
you can be this little cheeky guy in between the lines, being there and
scoring the goals. Yeah, he’s a very valuable player for us.”
On occasions when Firmino has been unavailable, Klopp has paid him the
compliment of not putting his direct replacement into the pivotal central
position in the front three.
Sometimes, Georginio Wijnaldum midfielder has been placed at the middle of
the trio, a reflection of the defensive responsibility Firmino is usually
asked to bear.
For Villa Park, Klopp has no new injury concerns although Naby Keita limped
out of the Arsenal cup win with a calf injury.