Match data from WhoScored, except average position from the SofaScore app.
We are settling into a routine. And it's a routine I'm not especially fond of.
For all the "this is like the 3-0 win over Bournemouth, maybe we're okay" after housing Watford, we're back to "oh hell everything's boned," just like after 0-0 United.
The last two home matches have been basically the same. And now, the last two away matches have been as well.
And it's all about the attack.
Part of this is simply Liverpool's failings. Had Salah's touch been better when Coleman and Keane made their last man tackles, had Fabinho's been better when Digne made his, had Matip actually put his free set play header on-target.
More of this has to do with what the opposition did. Or, more appropriately, what the opposition wouldn't let Liverpool do.
In one word: press. More words will do, but that's a starting point.
Get rid, get rid quick. Dump it long, force Liverpool to restart, get men back. And if Liverpool don't turn you over when you're penned deep, Liverpool ain't gonna create much. There are damned few counter-attacks coming the length of the pitch when the opposition's able to bunker at 0-0.
It is not coincidence that Liverpool's best chance, Liverpool's only clear-cut chance, came when Fabinho won possession in the center circle and immediately found Salah on the run.
That's when Liverpool resort to long passes of their own, playing far more than usual just as Everton did, hoping that they'll find one of the front three's runs, runs which became fewer and farther between as the match when on.
That's when Liverpool resort to crosses. Which, sometimes it works (hi Watford) and sometimes doesn't (hi United), depending on both the quality of delivery and opposition defending.
That's when Liverpool hope for something from set plays. But the deliveries weren't consistent enough, van Dijk was well defended, and neither Fabinho or Matip could convert the half chances they got: Fabinho receiving van Dijk's header across the six-yard box after a short corner, unable to control, and Matip's free header wide.
Liverpool's attempted remedy, to make this different than Liverpool's last away match, was to keep the same surprising front three which started against Watford. Which is understandable; that took both Watford and us by surprise and worked to a tee. Well. On Sunday, Sadio Mané did not register a shot or a key pass as the central striker. Divock Origi had one off-target chance similar to that he scored against Watford, but also an average position on the halfway line, deeper than Wijnaldum, Henderson, Alexander-Arnold, Mané, and Salah. Salah had Liverpool's best openings, but Salah couldn't convert; which, to be fair, also happened against Watford.
Granted, away matches are harder than home. Everton and United are tougher than Watford and Bournemouth; Watford's higher in the table than Everton, but a derby's still a derby's.
On the plus side, there's one thing the last four matches all have in common. Zeroes for the opposition scoreline. That's now four consecutive league clean sheets, five in all competitions. Liverpool haven't kept five consecutive clean sheets since November-December 2006. 2006!
Liverpool's opponents haven't registered an xG total higher than 0.63 in these last four matches. Watford's, with Gray's clear-cut chance denied by Alisson, actually posted the highest total. Bournemouth's xG was 0.39, United's 0.48, and Everton's 0.24. That Gray chance and a Paul Pogba set play header are the only clear-cut chances Liverpool have allowed in these four games, and I very much quibble with classifying Pogba's chance as one.
Liverpool had a higher xG in a single match against Bournemouth or Watford than the last four opponents have had combined. That, contrary to current opinion, bodes fairly well.
This is a historically good Liverpool defense. It's a defense propelling Liverpool's title challenge. And I doubt many would've guessed that happening back in August.
At the current rate, Liverpool are on pace for 22 league clean sheets, which would be the most for a Premier League side since Manchester United in 2008-09. Liverpool already have 17, which is the most for the club since 2009-10, Rafa Benitez's final season. Liverpool are on pace for 91 or 92 points, which would have won the Premier League in all but three of 26 previous seasons, all except 2004-05, 2016-17, and 2017-18. No side's ever earned more than 90 points and failed to win the league.
Unfortunately, Liverpool are also in a title race with one of the most dominant sides that the Premier League has seen. And the margin for error is basically zero.
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