Liverpool went top of the Premier League again yesterday, digging out a 2-1 win against Brighton after being 1-0 down and despite a relatively lacklustre first half performance.
This was joined by the fellow pre-season title contenders Manchester City losing 2-1 to Bournemouth and Arsenal losing 1-0 to Newcastle.
Liverpool now sit two points ahead of City and a seismic seven ahead of Arsenal. Whilst no side has been perfect, City and Arsenal’s performances have had a noticeable drop in quality from previous seasons.
City had to rely on last minute goals to beat Wolves and draw to Arsenal themselves, as well as only beating newly-promoted Southampton 1-0 and a 1-1 draw with Newcastle all within their previous five league games.
Arsenal, meanwhile, haven’t won a league game in a month.
An interesting reason as to why Liverpool have comparatively hit the ground running comes from @nufcpb on Twitter, who writes, “I’m a big fan of Manchester City and Arsenal struggling with 6’2 centre backs playing full back and Liverpool are going clear with real full backs.”
The proposition itself is intriguing. City’s primary starting XI involves the 6-foot-1 Josko Gvardiol at left back. Separately, Arsenal signed the 6-foot-2 Riccardo Calafiori to play at left back and are currently putting 6-foot-1 Thomas Partey at right-back to accommodate for Calafiori’s injury (moving starting right back Jurrien Timber over to the left).
As a result, both teams are sacrificing any sort of significant attacking output from these positions. Liverpool, however, still rely on the ingenuity of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson – alongside Kostas Tsimikas – to drive their teams forward
How do attacking full-backs help Liverpool?
This is evident in the underlying statistics of the teams. Trent has Liverpool’s second-most expected assists (xA) so far this season at 2.2, with Robertson third at 1.5.
Gvardiol, meanwhile, holds 0.8 xA whilst Calafiori and Partey barely register any xA at all.
This also reflects in overall xG creation. Whilst Manchester City will always be good at creating chances, averaging 2.03 xG per-90 to Liverpool’s 1.83, Arsenal have fallen behind at 1.6.
And whilst the stats still evidence that the sides are creating chances, it is the type of play style that has allowed Liverpool to remain consistent in performance whilst City and Arsenal fluctuate.
The reliance on both Alexander-Arnold and Robertson/Tsimikas means that there is more space for Liverpool’s wide players and central players. Yesterday was the perfect example of this.
Because of the threat that the full-backs pose, winger Cody Gakpo was able to isolate Brighton’s Ferdi Kadioglu and cross the ball, with a bit of luck guiding it into the back of the net.
Arsenal had no threat of overlap of creation from those sides, meaning Newcastle’s young-yet-capable full backs were able to meet the threat of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli without fear of any space they vacate being exploited.
This was similarly seen with Manchester City. Their dedication to guide the ball into central areas to, understandably, use Erling Haaland’s skill means that they also place their taller full backs into the box. This was rewarding yesterday, with Gvardiol scoring, but meant that the overall tactic allowed Bournemouth to double up on wingers to stem the flow of crosses into the box.
It’s only one aspect of the reasons Liverpool have been performing consistently this season but is a significant one. Arsenal have failed to truly challenge Manchester City by imitating them. It seems like Liverpool will have more success by going in opposite directions.
