Thierry Henry has noticed something about Liverpool which, in his view, sets them apart from other teams in the Premier League.
The Reds remain top of the table despite drawing their last two matches and seeing Chelsea cut their lead to two points, but Saturday’s result against Fulham was viewed in a more positive context considering that we were a player short for most of the game, as well as Arsenal being held to a draw at home to Everton.
Despite being down to 10 men for all but the first 17 minutes, Arne Slot’s team actually had more shots than the Cottagers at the weekend (16 to 12) and posted a far superior xG (2.13 to 1.22), as per Sofascore.
Speaking on Monday Night Football for Sky Sports, Henry praised Liverpool for having the mindset of seeking to win every game rather than ensuring that they don’t lose, particularly in light of the adversity that they faced on Saturday.
The Arsenal legend said: “When I see Liverpool play, it looks like they’re trying to win it. I see other teams play and they look like ‘let’s not lose it’.
“When I see Liverpool play against Fulham with 10 men, how can you send five bodies in between lines and have a way of trying to create goals or opportunities? If you go and win the league, you have to go and grab it and win it.”
Damaged limitation definitely wasn’t on Slot’s mind when Robertson was sent off with Liverpool 1-0 down on Saturday, and the Reds boss made astute tactical tweaks rather than cautiously substituting a striker for a defender as he sought a way for his team to get back into the match.
The formula worked as the league leaders not only came away with a result but looked the far likelier of the two teams to win it in the final few minutes, despite being at a one-man disadvantage.
It’s an approach which should serve us well in the title race this season, but the head coach might prefer a return to the more measured build-up play which characterised the first two months of his reign.
Liverpool have conceded more goals in their last four league games (seven) than in the previous 11 (six) and, having kept five clean sheets in our first seven top-flight matches under Slot, we’ve managed only two in the subsequent eight (Transfermarkt).
The loss of Ibrahima Konate to injury in late November has undoubtedly had an impact, with the Frenchman having forged an imperious centre-back partnership with Virgil van Dijk. Still, even the wins over Brighton and Southampton last month felt more like a throwback to the cavalier days of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, rather than the control we’d seen from the Reds prior to Halloween.
Henry has won the Premier League twice with Arsenal (including one season in which they went unbeaten), so he knows what it takes to lift the title. LFC’s positive mindset should serve them better than a safety-first approach, but hopefully we can rediscover the perfect balance of potency and solidity that we appeared to have in the earlier weeks of the campaign.
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