Data Analysis / Visualization // Liverpool performance v Tottenham Hotspur — Champions League Final 2019
Since the start of the year, I have been looking into the world of data analytics within football. There are many free sources available within this area to get started such as FBREF and Understat but for this, I have used the open data source from StatsBomb which is far more in depth than other free sources I have come across.
As a start in my data analytics journey in football, I have looked at five areas from Liverpool’s performance in the 2019 Champions League final (considering they’re in another CL final this weekend); pass clusters, heatmap with regards to starting pass positions, types of shots on goal, number of touches, and also the pass network from the game.
- Pass clusters
The above pass cluster map shows the top 3 pass clusters Liverpool made along with their least common cluster. It suggests that they were fairly defensive with their passing and that Tottenham reduced them to playing it around the back first before being able to move forward. It also appears to show that Alisson and Andy Robertson were the main targets of these pass clusters with them predominantly being played in their own 18 yard box and in the left back area. The least common cluster implies that the passes made in that area were more long balls into the right side of the pitch. With Liverpool not really being known as a long ball team, this is understandable as to why this would be the least common pass cluster.
2. Passing heatmap
The heatmap somewhat backs up what the pass cluster map suggested, a large bulk of the passes originated in the defensive part of the pitch and around their own 18 yard box. A common theme in football in the modern era is to play out from the back which this heatmap implies that Liverpool do. A slight difference the heatmap shows though, is that more of the passes were to the right sided centre back rather than the left back area.
3. Shot map
Liverpool won the game 2–0 with goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi. Salah scored from the penalty spot early on with Origi adding the second late on in the game. Reviewing the shot map, it would suggest that, although Tottenham did concede 2 goals, they did frustrate the Liverpool attack and forced them to take a number of shots from outside the box. Many of those shots were either off target or blocked by the Spurs defence. Even when Liverpool managed to get into the box, those shots taken also ended up with the same result with the addition of a wayward shot too. Essentially, both shots they had on target ended up in the back of the net and secured them their sixth Champions League/European Cup title.
4. Number of touches
The above graphic shows the top 9 Liverpool players from the starting XI in terms of the amount of touches they had throughout the game with the omissions of Alisson (decision made to remove due to them predominantly being in the def pen) and Georginio Wijnaldum, who had the least amount of touches. The Liverpool back 4 occupy the top 4 for the amount of touches during the game with Robertson having the most overall. This further backs up the data seen earlier on in the article that Liverpool were fairly defensive with their passing and that they did utilise the left hand side when doing so. Robertson’s touches were spread mostly between the defensive third and middle third but he did also get forward quite often too which has been a common theme with Jürgen Klopp’s full backs since he has taken charge at Anfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold also had quite a few touches in the attacking third as well. Roberto Firmino started as the central figure in the attacking three but looking at the touch graphic, he failed to have much of an impact with a low number of touches and only touching the ball twice in the attacking penalty area. (The data for this was sourced from FBREF).
5. Pass network
Liverpool’s pass network tends to contradict the other passing related graphics from earlier on in terms of showing that Liverpool were much more attacking than first thought. Unsurprisingly, both full backs are in the opposition’s half but a standout observation is that of both Firmino and Salah. They are both well into Tottenham’s 18 yard box suggesting that on average, throughout the game, they were mainly quite far forward. The pass network also highlights, again, that Alisson and Robertson were heavily involved in the passing aspect of the game and that the left hand side was the main area of the pitch Liverpool played on. Even as a team, it can be clearly seen that they have shifted further to the left rather than centrally or to the right, with only a few passes being aimed Alexander-Arnold’s way.
Overall, after reviewing these five areas of play, Liverpool were fairly defensive despite what the passing network implies. The back 4 had the most amount of touches compared with the rest of the team and their main pass clusters were in defensive areas of the pitch, along with the starting positions of those passes. They did find it hard to break into the Spurs 18 yard box with few touches which resorted in them taking numerous shots from outside of the box but in the end, they won the game 2–0 and lifted the trophy. Ultimately, that is all that matters at the end of the day in a cup final.
Thank you for taking the time to read this brief article on Liverpool’s performance in their last Champions League final back in 2019 ahead of their next one against Real Madrid this weekend (28/05/22). If you’d like to follow me on social media, I can be found on Twitter under the username @sbsportsanalyst as well as on Instagram with the same username. Additionally, I do also have a Tableau page where some of my visualisations are kept too.
Finally, as a side note, most of these visualisations were inspired by tutorials from McKay Johns. I would highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel for great tutorials on football visualisations.
