Stats and Analysis: Gerrard and Suarez pulling strings

LIVERPOOL put the disappointing defeat to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal behind them and moved up to second place in the league by comfortably beating Fulham 4-0 at Anfield on Saturday afternoon, putting pressure on Martin Jol and leaving Fulham in a precarious position in the table.

Philippe Coutinho returned to the starting lineup having made his return from injury off the subs bench against Arsenal last week.

Glen Johnson also returns to the starting lineup after missing the same match, while Jose Enrique was deemed fit enough for the bench. Daniel Agger also returned to partner Skrtel in defence. Kolo Toure was not in the match day squad.

As for Fulham, enigmatic duo Adel Taarabt and Bryan Ruiz were left on the bench alongside Darren Bent, leaving Berbatov up front on his own.

Liverpool came out the blocks quickly and created a few chances in the first 20 minutes it was only a matter of time before the first goal would be scored.

Amorebieta own goal opens scoring for the Reds

The Reds were awarded a free-kick and Steven Gerrard whipped a quality ball into the box. Luis Suarez tried to head the ball however the ball went in off Fulham defender Fernando Amorebieta

Skrtel makes it 2-0

Martin Skrtel has a knack of scoring goals in this fixture, whether it be an own goal or headers in the right net. And he made no mistake  on 26 minutes as Gerrard again produced a fine delivery from the corner in towards the same area. Skrtel found a yard on Amorebieta before powering his header into the bottom corner.

Luis finally gets his goal

After being denied the opening goal Suarez got his reward on 36 minutes when Henderson cut inside before threading a perfect pass through to Suarez inside the box. The Uruguayan took his shot first time, beating Stekelenburg with a clinical finish from a tight angle.

Suarez at the double

Henderson and Gerrard hounded Richardson into giving the ball away and the latter played it into the path of Suarez, who took a touch before firing it past the keeper at the near post. El Pistolero just can’t stop scoring at the moment and was unlucky not to get another hat-trick.

Final Thoughts

Much has been said of the performances of captain Steven Gerrard not being up to his normal high standards. Of course all players have dips in their form – after all they are human – however you should not write off Gerrard as sometimes it can come back to haunt you, as was the case on Saturday.  He was immense in setting up three of the four goals and I am going on record when I say this: There is no one better to cross the ball than Steven Gerrard – quality of the highest order.

If you remember in my previous column I mentioned that it is vital Liverpool keep hold of Luis Suarez for the long term and Saturday afternoon proved how important he is to the future of Liverpool FC. He had a whopping 10 shots in the match; three of which were on target and he scored from two of them. The diagram below shows his shot placements.

The return of Coutinho was just what the team had been lacking in terms of creativity, his free role on Saturday show us how much he can influence games in terms of his passing and forward thinking. His link-up play with Suarez and Sturridge was a joy to watch, he was even unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. Coutinho passed the ball 54 times 41 of them were successful in the final third.

A few readers were calling for Henderson and Lucas to be sold but if I am honest they again proved on Saturday that their place is warranted in the first team. Henderson was fantastic, he has an engine and works tirelessly in moving around the pitch and his pass for Suarez’s first goal was brilliant.

The return of both Agger and Johnson was important in the team getting the win they so needed to keep the pressure on Arsenal. Johnson put two quality crosses in to the box in the second half however no-one anticipated them. Glen offered the quality going forward and also defended when he needed to.

Stat Attack

– LFC’s top pass combo in 2013/14 before Saturday had exchanged 36 passes. Johnson and Henderson exchanged 60 (SIXTY!)

– According to www.whoscored.com Glen Johnson is currently the best performing right back in Europe’s big five leagues.

– As mentioned, Suarez had the most shots with 10, but not far behind was Coutinho with 9, then Sturridge on 4, Henderson 3, Skrtel 2, and Allen, Agger, Johnson & Gerrard all had 1 shot during the game. In total the Reds had 32 shots – more than any game in the league so far this season.

– The following statistics provided by @anfieldindex.com give a more an in depth look at Johnson, Henderson and Lucas ‘contributions during the 90 minutes.

Glen Johnson

Touches: 136
Passes: 82/89 92%
Creativity: 3
Shots: 1
Tackles: 4/4 100%
Possession Wins: 8
Crosses: 1/7 14%

Jordan Henderson

Touches: 106
Shots: 3
Chances Created: 6 (1 assist)
Tackles Won: 4/4: 100%
Duels Won: 5/8: 63%
Pass: 76/87: 87%

Lucas

Passes: 87/90: 97%
Tackles won: 8/10: 80%
Ground Duels: 10/15: 67%
Aerial Duels: 4/6: 67%
Possession Wins: 8

The result could have been a cricket score as we played some fantastic football and created numerous chances. The introduction of Allen did slow the tempo of the game down but at 4-0 the points were already in the bag.

Fulham did not offer anything in attack. In fact Dimitar Berbatov only plays when he can set his mind to it; his lazy attitude was on show at Anfield. Just before the second half started he just walked on to the pitch waiting for the whistle, if I was the captain of Fulham I would want to rally the team and get them focused and give them a kick up the behind to get them in to gear.

Next up for Liverpool is the first Derby of the season against rivals Everton at Goodison Park. Derbies never go to form and I am sure it will be a tasty affair. Hope it will be an entertaining game for both sides.

Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG

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