Despite having less possession than Man City, Liverpool’s win over Pep Guardiola’s team was a perfect example of how the Reds are controlling games under Arne Slot.
Generally, the team that finishes the match with more possession is the side to have been in control of proceedings.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth, though, on Sunday, as Liverpool won comfortably against Man City despite having just 44 percent of the ball, according to FotMob.
The visiting team also had more possession when Liverpool beat Chelsea, Brighton and Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield this season.
There is a pattern emerging of the Reds being able to pick and choose their moments to really put pressure on the opposition, a reason perhaps for Liverpool’s second-half brilliance this season.
Against Man City, the above momentum graphic suggests Man City had the better of proceedings for large parts of the second half, but this wasn’t the reality.
With their possession, Guardiola’s side created just 0.84 expected goals (xG) compared to Liverpool’s 3.57.
FotMob tells us the Reds also had 18 shots to Man City‘s eight, and seven on target to the opposition’s two. They also created five big chances, whereas the visitors had just one.
Their one big opportunity was born from Virgil van Dijk‘s near-calamitous error in the 83rd minute, when he lost the ball to Kevin De Bruyne who was thwarted by Caoimhin Kelleher keeping his sixth club clean sheet of the season.
Liverpool have scored 12 goals at Anfield since they last conceded, a month ago against Brighton.
On Sunday, the away team’s best period came immediately after Jeremy Doku entered the pitch in the 57th minute.
Playing on the left wing, the Belgian was a much bigger threat to Trent Alexander-Arnold than Matheus Nunes, but Liverpool’s right-back dealt with him relatively well.
As demonstrated by the defensive actions graphic below from Stats Zone, Liverpool’s No. 66 was targeted but completed more tackles (4/4) than anyone else on the pitch and made six recoveries.
He also created two chances, completed five passes into the final third and made three accurate long balls of five attempted.
Despite the stats saying he was dribbled past six times, there was only one occasion on which you felt Doku really got the better of Liverpool’s right-back.
Alexander-Arnold also had Dominik Szoboszlai and Mo Salah running in front, helping protect the right-back.
Sunday’s win was arguably Szoboszlai’s best game of the season in a Liverpool shirt, as he created more chances (4) and had more touches (72) than any of his teammates bar Joe Gomez.
The performance and resultant 2-0 scoreline was a brilliant example of why Liverpool have been so good under Slot.
They were adaptable to the in-game problems caused by the opposition, but they picked their moments to take risks themselves, pressing in a Jurgen Klopp-like style while keeping their full-backs slightly deeper to deal with counter-attacks.
Liverpool are striking a perfect balance at the moment and that is thanks to the new coach and his staff.
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