Liverpool ended their four-game losing streak in the Premier League with victory over Aston Villa.
The Reds had suffered a bit of a mini crisis after winning their opening six league games. It had seen them drop as low as 10th by the time they kicked off against Villa.
To try to stop the rot, Arne Slot made a few familiar changes to his starting XI. Dominik Szoboszlai started in the No.10 with Florian Wirtz dropping down to the bench, while Andrew Robertson replaced Milos Kerkez at left-back.
Goals in either half from Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch did the trick for Liverpool, who are back up to third in the Premier League.
In this article, we’ll cover
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Liverpool’s familiar full-backs
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool utilised the full-back pairing of Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to much success. It was a duo that continued to prove its importance under Slot last season — even though Robertson showed signs of regression.
His struggles saw Liverpool sign Kerkez, but the Hungarian has started life at Anfield slowly. And Slot’s patience has run out for now, with Robertson coming back in to partner Conor Bradley. It was a decision that fully paid off.
Robertson was the more pressing of the two full-backs in terms of average positions, spending more time in the opposition half than Bradley. And it showed in where the pair were winning possession most. Robertson was possession three times in the middle third, while Bradley won it three times in the defensive third.
It’s this kind of solidity that Liverpool haven’t had on the left with Kerkez. Robertson was also on the ball a lot, with only Virgil van Dijk (90) and Szoboszlai (70) having more touches than his 68. He put in four crosses and had 11 final third entries, both more than any other Liverpool player.
Dominik Szoboszlai opens up the midfield
As mentioned, Szoboszlai was back at the No.10 on Saturday. It’s a position he has spent 37% of his Premier League minutes this season, despite being his best role. The Hungarian has also split 37% of his time at right-back, with 26% in the deeper midfield role.
While Szoboszlai’s time at right-back was to deal with injuries, he’s been wasted as part of the double pivot. Szoboszlai’s positioning as a No.10 was crucial to Liverpool’s success against Aston Villa.
Szoboszlai was very involved in the game, having 72 touches. He ranked second among Liverpool players for passes attempted (58) and passes completed (54). That’s a passing accuracy of 93.1%. Szoboszlai also made 24 passes into the final third, more than any other player, and created three chances.
The Hungarian’s defensive strength played its part in the win, helping to pressure when Villa had the ball. Szoboszlai made two tackles, the second-most among Liverpool players, and won three of his six duels. His position also allowed Gravenberch to push forward a bit more, something Liverpool had been missing.
Mo Salah’s bit of fortune
Mo Salah scored a wonderful goal against Brentford last week, even if it only proved to be a late consolation. He scored again this week, but there was a lot more luck about this goal. Not that it matters.
Salah was passed the ball by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, leaving him a free opportunity to give Liverpool the lead. There was a muted celebration from Salah who perhaps recognised the fortune of the goal.
But it was a big moment for Salah, who netted his 250th goal for Liverpool — just the third player to achieve that feat. He also tied Wayne Rooney’s record for the most direct goal involvements for a single Premier League club, with his 276th (188 goals, 88 assists).
And it gave Salah the world of confidence. There was a spring in his step, another yard of pace, and the Egyptian was making runs we hadn’t seen for a while.
He ended the game with four completed take-ons, more than the rest of his Liverpool teammates (three) combined. And he was joint-top for duels won on seven. Salah also had three shots, five touches in the opopsition box and created one chance.