The Jurgen Klopp era is still yet to take off as Liverpool recorded a fifth consecutive draw against Southampton at Anfield on Sunday.
The Reds looked set to claim all three points after half time substitute Christian Benteke scored a wonderful header, however it was further defensive frailty that allowed the Saints’ Sadio Mane to bundle the ball past Simon Mignolet at the death.
Formations
Liverpool lined up in the German’s favoured 4-2-3-1 which started out with Divock Origi up front until half time. In behind the Belgian was a trio that consisted of Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and the tireless James Milner, though they failed to create too much for the Reds. Lucas Leiva and Emre Can held down the midfield, while the back line was unchanged from the four that took on Tottenham last weekend.
Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Mignolet (GK); Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno; Lucas, Can; Milner, Coutinho, Lallana; Origi.
Southampton played the conventional 4-3-3 with Graziano Pelle leading the line. Dusan Tadic and Mane flanked the Italian while Jordan Clasie returned to the first team alongside Steven Davis and Victor Wanyama in midfield. Maarten Stekelenburg was in between the sticks behind a back line of Ryan Bertrand, Virgil van Dijk, Jose Fonte and Cedric Soares.
Southampton XI (4-3-3): Stekelenburg (GK); Soares, Fonte, van Dijk, Betrand; Clasie, Wanyama, Davis; Mane, Tadic, Pelle.
Klopp’s theories still yet to stick
It is coming,but Liverpool are still adjusting to Klopp’s new philosophies and it certainly impacted some of their fluency against Southampton. It is a case of the Reds’ squad thinking about where they should be running or who they should be passing to, which is subsequently slowing down their output and making them fairly predictable.
It was a slam dunk for Liverpool in terms of possession, as they recorded a total of 61% and that yielded 588 passes. However, too much of that distribution was slow and either sideways or backwards. It lacked urgency. That cautious passing had an affect on Liverpool’s shooting as they only managed to get two on target from 15 attempts including Benteke’s header.
There were some instances in which Lallana or Milner got into dangerous positions, but hesitated rather than acting off their first instinct, which ultimately killed the chance and led to a back pass and a reset for Southampton. Klopp’s style is shining through, but it has not sunk into the entire dressing room as of yet.
The Saints’ high line
Ronald Koeman employed a high line for his Saints versus the Reds and it worked effectively, especially in the opening half. Both Fonte and van Dijk had strong individual performances and pushed Southampton out of their own end continuously, which limited the space Liverpool could operate in and cut their thinking time in half.
This was one of the reasons why the Merseysiders’ passing was slow and lacked opportunities at goal. Alberto Moreno and Lallana both had good chances but were caught out by the flag. Southampton held this line from their own goal all the way up to the halfway line.
Liverpool played to Benteke’s strengths
Under Brendan Rodgers it was difficult to understand how he wanted Liverpool to play with Benteke present. Sometimes the Reds would throw the ball into the box continuously or they would try and play through the middle and bounce passes off the Belgian. Klopp got to utilise the former Aston Villa striker for the first time in the English Premier League on Sunday, and it seemed the German will play to his strengths.
The green and yellow lines indicate the crosses and passes pushed into the area that were successful, whereas the red ones were failed. The blue line represents Benteke’s goal.
Liverpool had 21 crosses in open play and a further 10 corners, and were more accurate with them. It found the head of Reds players more consistently or dropped into a dangerous area more times than not, rather than just rolling the dice and whipping a ball into the vicinity. Whether or not that is the plan in the long-run is unknown, as Daniel Sturridge still has to fit into this jigsaw somewhere, but early signs were good for Benteke under Klopp.
Liverpool Conclusion
The Reds again failed to pick up all three points, making it five in a row. However, they can take positives from the match, none more so than Chriatian Benteke’s bullet header which opened the scoring. Klopp’s men face a trip to Stamford Bridge next Saturday and will fancy their chances against an unimpressive Chelsea outfit.
Southampton Conclusion
Like Liverpool, Ronald Koeman and his Saints will find positives from their performance and will have no complaints with a point. However, some displeasure will lie in the sending off of goalscorer Sadio Mane ahead of next week’s all-South Coast battle against AFC Bournemouth.
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