Fixing the Final Third
How to platform your best players.
So Liverpool’s attack hasn’t been great this term. Every supporter on the scene is concerned about the defensive side of Arne Slot’s game, but right now, you could argue the offensive end is an even bigger problem.
There are 96 teams in Europe’s big five leagues. The Reds rank 32nd for goals per match as it stands, 12th for shots and 19th for non-penalty xG. For perspective, Real Betis rank higher in all three departments. Not cool.
Slot has touched on the concern in a few press conferences of late. The Dutchman has been keen to couple his praise towards Liverpool’s new-found level of control with criticism aimed at their lack of chance creation.
What’s up?
So the idea for this piece emerged while I was watching Liverpool against Barnsley in the FA Cup. I found myself frustrated watching Rio Ngumoha, who is excellent, but simply wasn’t being helped by those around him.
The Reds wonderkid is a master when presented with one-on-one situations, but he isn’t actually as quick as he looks. His feet are rapid when he’s in possession of the ball, but we aren’t quite talking about Sadio Mané or Mohamed Salah here. Players who eat space for breakfast.
Ngumoha is superb at creating separation from his marker. He knows how to buy himself a yard of space, and a second to think. And he kept doing exactly that every five minutes against Barnsley.
The moment Ngumoha escapes from pressure is the moment he wants to release the ball. He wants to find a teammate making a penetrative run. But nobody really bothered.
Let’s use a few examples to showcase what I’m talking about. In all of the below clips, Ngumoha kinda did his job. But he failed to punish the opposition because the next part of each move was missing.
In all three examples, there’s a single moment in which Ngumoha creates separation from his marker. A second of space. A second of time. Watch the clips again.
Those moments are when he wants to release the ball. He wants to break the game. But aside from Andy Robertson’s half-interested overlap and cross, nothing emerged for him to use, forcing him to play safe.
Ngumoha was begging to be underlapped. But with Milos Kerkez sat on the bench and Slot’s midfielders focused on staying behind the ball, it just didn’t happen.
That sort of thing is rife within the squad at present. It’s what I’ve been banging on about throughout the season. The idea of players complementing each other without even needing to speak the same language.
