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Squandering chances mattered as Reds crash out of FA Cup

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The Reds boss probably couldn't believe what he was seeing as the team conceded a very late goal

The Reds boss probably couldn’t believe what he was seeing as the team conceded a very late goal

Angelo Ogbonna’s last gasp header earned West Ham a 2-1 victory over Liverpool and sent the Reds out of the FA Cup.

Jurgen Klopp was surprisingly back on the bench just two days after his surgery. He made several changes to the lineup as he has been doing in all cup games, giving youngsters and academy players a chance to show their mettle.

It was a 4-2-3-1 formation with centre-back pairing of Ilori and Lucas; Smith and Flanagan were the full-backs, whilst Stewart and Chirivella were given the responsibility to hold up the midfiel. Teixiera, Coutinho and Ibe played behind the striker Benteke.

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Liverpool looked more sharp on the ball to start with and seemed a side determined to put one over on the Hammers. Teixeira and Coutinho combined well down that left hand side along with left back Brad Smith,. The key was exploiting the space that is sometimes left by Payet because of his inward runs.

Ibe was quite monotonous on the ball, trying to take on players but got past very few times.

Stewart and Chirivella had a good game in the midfield, having the toughest job in holding the midfield and knitting moves together. They had to deal with the inward runs of Payet and Antonio from wide areas.

It was Chirivella who was deeper of the two sitting in front of the back four, and Stewart moved forward whenever the opportunity came and tried to help the attack. It has to be said that both of them still need loads of time to get better.

The eye-brows were again raised for Benteke. I mean, okay he looked more sharp and hungry but his primary moves are not great which deprives him of good opportunities. Though it has to be said that with the arrival of Sturridge and Origi, he looked a different player and made more runs into the box, only to miss three glorious opportunities that in the end have cost the Reds.

Let’s take a look at the shape at the arrival of Sturridge and Origi and we’ll also ponder a few points about correct striker positions in the box:

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It was more of a 4-3-3 with Sturridge and Origi occupying opposition full-backs and trying to create the gap between a centre-back and a full-back. Sturridge came central more than few times with Ibe supporting from that right hand side, while Origi remained wider on the left. Sometimes it looked like a 4-4-2, and the key with Sturridge is his ability to take defenders with him and create gaps for his partner or other runners to pounce upon.

On more than a few occasions he got himself surrounded by three defenders but managed to find a pass which opened up West Ham quite a bit.

Now we’ll switch our focus back to Benteke and compare his movements in the opposition six-yard box with Sturridge:

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There was one instance when the right-back, Flanagan, got into a good position on the overlap. Now, as we see the positions of Sturridge and Benteke, we can easily realise whose position was more striker-like. If the ball is coming via the full-back from inside the box, it will be a low cross between the last defender and the goalkeeper; how on earth can you station yourself on the far post and expect a cross from there, that far post is the position of a midfield runner or left back to be in and not a striker.

Sturridge showed his striker’s mentality to be nearer the crosser and in the process tried to position himself between the last defender and goalkeeper. There has been many instances where Benteke’s primary movement doesn’t allow him to be on the end of things.

All in all it was a positive performance from the Reds’ makeshift eleven, with the arrival of Sturridge obviously adding more thought into the attack, which was refreshing to see as far as Klopp and Liverpool supporters are concerned. Fans will be hoping to see more of Sturridge in this final part of the season.

Klopp however, will be a frustrated man as his team succumbed once again to West Ham, and that last minute header again reminded the Reds that their set-piece defending is still an issue.

If the lop-sidedness remains then the season might well be over very early for the team from the Merseyside.

By Mizgan Ahmed on 10th February, 2016

Twitter – @mizgans

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