10.
Last season, the story about Karius could be divided into three episodes.
The first episode is a substitute. The second episode is to replace Mignolet. The third episode is the Champions League final, I thought this story was over. I didn’t expect Karius to be attacked many times during the World Cup. Every time Degea, Lloris, and Courtous had low-level mistakes, they would be uniformly named: Karius.
Liverpool fans have become accustomed to the ugly way of their own goalkeeper. But the problem is that Karius’s mistakes appeared in the Champions League final. This is a too big shame column – hanging once on it is enough to destroy a goalkeeper’s life.
Therefore, when the preseason game Karius re-emerged low-level mistakes and even hesitated to attack, Liverpool finally determined to transfer money to Alison. This goalkeeper’s, pre-judgment speed, secondary reaction, and the footing method are like that goalkeeper of Buffon.
9. The quality of the goalkeeper has a lot to do with the central defenders in front of him.
8.
Starting with the obvious, his physicality is a stand-out attribute. At 6ft4ins, van Dijk would immediately be the joint-tallest Liverpool player alongside Joel Matip. This season, van Dijk has won 75% of his aerial duels. Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Jan Vertonghen can match or better that success in the air of the 38 Premier League defenders to win at least 50 aerial duels.
Otherwise his positioning – more so in one-on-one situations – and reading of the game are both impressive, although Southampton’s tactics could skewer this observation a little as van Dijk isn’t required to play in a high line. Van Dijk has averaged a 55% success rate in the tackle this season and ranks well for interceptions having made 56, a number far higher than any of Liverpool’s centre-backs.
The 25-year-old is calm and composed, picking up just three yellow cards this season and just two last term, and he’s not made a single error leading to a goal this season.
Despite his long list of strengths, van Dijk has some drawbacks in his game. His biggest issue is that he can be prone to lapses in concentration and awareness, sometimes allowing his opponent to find space in the area. Also, while not necessarily weaknesses of his, there are areas of his game that can be improved. He is sometimes caught on the ball and so his passing, or decision-making on the ball, can be harnessed.
Although he is particularly strong in individual battles, sometimes van Dijk’s positioning within the back-line as a whole can be below-par.
7.
Jordan Henderson, the former Sunderland man could be more incisive and progressive with his passing but he does keep things ticking over and he does have it in his locker to play a pass into the feet of the attackers which takes the opposition out of the game.
You’ve started to see it more since the arrival of Salah. Henderson will try those balls over the top if there’s a high line to exploit.
They don’t always come off and because of this his pass accuracy numbers have suffered, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
On another day he finishes the match against the Russians with three assists. He played the early ball through to Salah after 15 or so minutes which forced a save from the goalkeeper.
He whipped in a ball for Firmino that the Brazilian just didn’t anticipate and he played the lofted ball to Sturridge which was fired over the bar.
So while in deeper areas of the pitch he could improve his pass selection, in the opposition’s half he does well when in possession the majority of the time.
6.
Liverpool fans have already seen glimpses of what Naby Keita has to offer in pre-season, but the midfielder could turn out to be even better than some realise.
Keita stole the show with a second-half masterclass as Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 in July.
He created a hatful of clear-cut chances with his ability to win the ball back in dangerous positions and play incisive, accurate through balls into the path of the forward players.
His understanding with Daniel Sturridge, in particular, has caught the eye; Sturridge’s clever runs are a perfect match for Keita’s creativity and passing vision—something the rest of Liverpool’s main front three will surely relish this season.
The true test will, of course, be when Keita plays for Liverpool in the Premier League and the Champions League, but it’s clear already that Liverpool have signed a very special player.
Indeed, he’s one who might even exceed fans’ expectations in the months and years to come.
5.
Keita’s transfer was an unusual one, given that the deal with RB Leipzig was confirmed last summer and eventually led to Liverpool activating his release clause one year in advance, with an extra premium taking the deal up to £53 million in total.
Despite still playing for Leipzig last season, it has almost felt as though Keita was effectively on loan for the past year, with fans counting down the days until he would be officially revealed as a Liverpool player.
In a strange way, the delayed manner of his arrival on Merseyside has perhaps lessened the hype somewhat, as Keita doesn’t quite feel like a marquee signing this summer.
The initial outburst of excitement took place when the agreement was announced back in 2017, meaning there hasn’t been quite the same novelty factor with Keita as there might have been had he only been signed this summer.
That isn’t to say that seeing Keita line up in a Liverpool shirt hasn’t been hotly anticipated.
4.
Mo Salah was among the paciest players in the Premier League the first time he landed in London from Basel, and that hasn’t changed one bit.
At 25 years old, he’s approaching his prime, and may have even gotten faster since adding a bit of muscle to his frame over the past three years.
In Italy, he improved tactically as a player as well, and his off-the-ball movement became even better with the three years he spent on the peninsula.
Fantastic timing, paired with much-improved finishing and a better final ball, means he’s perfectly suited for Jurgen Klopp’s 100 km/h counter-attack.
Salah is well able to play on either wing, meaning he and Sadio Mane will likely regularly interchange during matches, causing constant problems for opponents who will already struggle to contain their pace, trickery and direct styles.
Salah has also turned a previous weakness into strength, having improved markedly in front of goal since arriving in Italy.
Salah hit nine goals in his first season at Fiorentina, then improved to tallies of 15 and 19, respectively.
He became much more efficient and composed in front of goal, and Liverpool will benefit from that improved goalscoring ability.
3.
From watching him most weeks it’s clear to see that Shaqiri is still a highly talented winger. In spite of being only 5”6 tall Shaqiri has an incredibly muscular figure. Infamous online for his unbelievably large calves, he often uses his strength to hold off fullbacks and shield the ball.
As well as his physicality Shaqiri has incredible technical ability including close dribbling, precision passing and powerful long shots. But one ability that makes him stand out in the stoke team are his tricks. Often employing the ‘flip-flap’ Shaqiri can be a nightmare for defenders to try and stop.
Shaqiri very has also become known as a scorer of only beautiful goals. And with a collection ranging from his magnificent chip against Everton, to his unbelievable bicycle kick at the Euros, you can’t say he’s not entertaining to watch. With all these attributes, it’s hard to figure out why he isn’t still playing for a European giant such as Bayern.
2.
The new season, Liverpool’s tactical essence is still: running.
He is good at sprinting African wings, Henderson, Milner, who is good at running, Keita, Lallana, who is good at shifting, Robertson and Arnold who are good at running back, and Sturidge and Shaqiri who are good at running. And the core of turning all of this into a goal is…
Philmino smiled slightly, revealing a big white tooth.
What did Fermino contribute to this Liverpool?
Last season, he scored 27 goals and sent 16 assists; he gave the team the most threatening ball with the center’s hat; his 1.74 steals per game did not bear the name of the shield; he was more willing to pass the robber The ball, because then you can see the poor imitation show in the horse; even if no one is with him, he may play the game at any time, and he can play a set of goals.
Three years ago, he came with a hat of parallel imports. Three years later he became a walking bag. During his time in Russia, he was really bored on the bench, so he concentrated on Alesund and then offered a new skill: MLM.
1.
Looking back at the three years that Slag was in Liverpool, the Red Army really changed.
Three years ago, what Liverpool could buy was basically to get into the front line, but wanted to prove his lottery. In the past ten years, Liverpool players will automatically stand in two columns: one to Real Madrid, one to Barcelona, to complete a bad team to deliver players to the vocation. Now, Uncle Zhuang is turning Anfield into a large pyramid.
Chamberlain said: Joining Liverpool is because of Klopp;
Van Dyck said: Joining Liverpool is because of Klopp;
Keita said: Joining Liverpool is because of Klopp;
Shaqili said: Joining Liverpool is because of Klopp.
It is precisely because in the past two years, Klopp’s MLM performance is so good, so we heard that Coutinho said that “When you left Liverpool because you don’t agree with Klopp,” the first reaction was… well, rolling the dice.