Can Liverpool Do it?
Liverpool FC have long been a club with a strong European heritage, the ‘Allez, Allez’ chant reflects the rich history that this club that lives on the Mersey, from Paris to Istanbul. But for the last eleven years, Liverpool has not dined at Europe’s top table and have lingered in a sense of mediocrity with brief interludes in the Champions League and the Europa League. Liverpool’s last true success in Europe was in 2007 where the team led by Rafa Benitez and Steven Gerrard lost to a very good AC Milan side 2–1. That being said, eleven years and four managers later Liverpool have dragged themselves back to the height of European contention.
The team begins with attack and the three-headed spear of Salah, Firmino and Mane. Liverpool attack relentlessly and do not give the other team a chance to defend effectively or even think about trying to defend against the pacy front three. There could be serious lyrical waxed about the beautiful direct football that Liverpool play but that would ignore the strides that Liverpool has made in European competitions. Considering the fact that there were questions about Liverpool’s ability to compete in Europe at the start of the season, the team has transcended expectations by winning games and beating teams dominantly. Porto, Spartak, Man City and Roma have all now been dispatched in dominant fashion.
In terms of mentality, Liverpool have imporved hugely sicne the start of the season and the first few Champions League games such as the Sevilla games during the group stages exposed a weak mentality. The team still seemed to be in awe of the competition which is completely understandable since it is the first time Liverpool have played Champions League in a number of years. In the earlier stages, it meant that Liverpool continued with their bad habits such as switching off on defence and running the offence through just one man. However, as the competition has gone on, Liverpool has become increasingly ruthless across ties. The team will score fast and score a lot of goals to put the tie away at home in front of the thousands of Liverpool fans. In the Man City game it was winning the tie 3–0 at home which meant that Man City had to chase the tie instead of being able to play the dissecting type of football that a Guardiola side would traditionally play. Against Roma, it was a similar story except for the fact the frailities resurfaced. Liverpool had Roma dead and buried but then conceded two late goals which has brought the tie back into play even though Roma have a hill to climb.
Moreover, the midfield unit that has consisted of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been very good in Europe. The unit is hugely industrious in terms of their work ethic. Jordan Henderson operates as a №6 who constantly harries the opposition and chases every single ball. For many years, I have not been a fan of Henderson, he has always seemed to lack creativity when passing the ball but recently he seems to have another level of confidence in terms of winning the ball and setting up other team-mates to carry the ball forward. He has grown into the No6 role much more over this season and provides a challenge for other CAMs. In the Man City, he played a very good in game in the fact he continually harried De Bruyne and Silva which meant that they could not get their passing game open which would have cut Liverpool in half.
James Milner also seems to have taken another step at the grand old age of 32. For most midfielders with his constant motion style of football, their careers are beginning to tail off due to injuries and fatigue on their bodies. However, Milner has managed to play at a high level and even go to another level in his early thirties. The Leeds-born midfielder and supposedly boring footballer has managed to accomplish ridiculous goals such as leading the Champions League in assists with nine by doing the little things well. James Milner will always play hard in the centre of the park which most midfielders can’t do, they do not seemingly have the boundless amounts of energy that Milner has. He will constantly chase the ball down and then look to get forward and create goal-scoring opportunities. In attacking situations, Milner’s simplicity is perfect, he will always play the perfect pass that will lay Salah, Firmino or Mane in.
That being said the main revelation for Liverpool has been Oxlade-Chamberlain who I have already covered extensively on this publication. He has changed so much from his Arsenal, when he played under Arsene Wenger he was a dispirited full back who occasionally showed some flash of potential. That being said under Jurgen Klopp, the ‘Ox’ has become a proto-typical European midfielder who can do a bit of everything. Chamberlain will get stuck in on the defensive while also breaking the defensive lines and allowing someone like Mo Salah to get plenty of space so that he can bang the goals in. For this storied football in which Oxlade-Chamberlain supported as a child, he has grown into the ball of his favourite player, Steven Gerrard. It is a lofty statement to make especially when Oxlade-Chamberlain’s passing range is considered but his energy in driving forward and ability to score goals from midfield is something that Liverpool has missed for a number of years.
Liverpool’s team has grown in confidence and it is clear in their ability to score but it is also clear in the development of key players. Andrew Robertson started out the year as a second choice left back behind the error-prone fullback Alberto Moreno. He is now possibly one of the best left-backs in the Premier League for the fact he does not try to do too much. The fullback position has become highly important in modern football, it is hugely important for a successful European team to have a fullback who can create offence and provide another body in the last third of the pitch. However, Robertson’s game is much more traditional for a fullback, he focuses on locking up the other side’s winger before whipping balls into the box for someone like Roberto Firmino to knock into the goal. In the Manchester City, he prevented players like Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling from getting into the rhythm of the game.
The other player who has made huge strides in his play is Trent Alexander-Arnold. Trent Alexander-Arnold was literally the third choice right-back behind Clyne and Gomez but injuries to both of them have meant that Trent has gone onto to make the position his own. ‘TAA’ has learned fast, he went from struggling to contain players to constantly frustrating Leroy Sane and playing a disciplined game in the second leg against Manchester City where the sky blue storm attacked for 45 minutes. Yet, the young player did not crumble under pressure, he maintained his cool and remained highly engaged on the defensive end. He has always had a lot of promise and has been regarded by those inside Melwood as a blue-chip prospect but now he has added a sense of maturity to his game, he is not erratic in defence like a Kyle Walker. The full-back position has long been a problem at the Merseyside club but finally there seems to be stability and continuity on the defensive front.
The last component of Liverpool’s champions league has been the manager, Jurgen Klopp. Klopp has worked miracles in the three years he has been in charge of the club, he has taken Liverpool from being a team mired in mediocrity to being in Europe’s top competition, at the very highest level of European football. The German has achieved this by very good tactical planning, the blitzing type of football that Liverpool play is key to this.
Jurgen Klopp has always favoured a high-intensity style of football and for Liverpool, it has worked to perfection. In the first leg of the Roma tie, Liverpool’s quick goal scoring and constant aggression took the wind out of Roma’s sale, they did not get a breather so that they could regroup and change tactically. The manager noticed a weakness, the high Roma back-line and punished it relentlessly throughout the entire game which generated easy enough chances for a player like Salah or Mane to finish. That being said, Klopp is willing to adapt his tactics for certain teams, against Manchester City both Henderson and Milner were told to stick on KDB and David Silva and do not allow their creative players to get into the game. As a result of this, Liverpool took a comfortable 3–0 goal lead to the Etihad.
Now, Liverpool is just one game from Kiev and only two games from winning the Champions League for the sixth time, the most of any English football club and the third-most Champions league victories behind Real Madrid and AC Milan. The question now is execution, can of all these pieces who have worked admirably perform on the highest level? The statistics would indicate that Liverpool can continue to do so, they have an other-worldy goal scorer and a defence which has been shored up by Virgil Van Dijk. Liverpool are the top-scoring team in the Champions League and are being guided by a manager who knows the anguish of losing in a Champions League Final. If Liverpool make the Final, there’s no doubt that they can win it.
