“We had for 60 minutes not one counter-pressing situation, we were far away from everything and wide in possession. The midfield is not connected, these are the football things and they are obvious.”
These were Jurgen Klopp’s words after Liverpool were badly beaten in their Champions League opener against Napoli last month. As much as that performance was the nadir of the campaign so far, the general themes have persisted throughout.
It’s interesting to consider the opening sentence with regards to Mohamed Salah. His position on the field is drawing lots of attention yet his involvement in the counter press is also worth evaluating.
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The Egyptian was almost entirely on the periphery during his 69 minutes in the 3-2 loss to Arsenal last weekend. He played a nice through ball to create a chance for Darwin Nunez, but only had one shot of his own. Per Squawka, the goal attempt was Salah’s solitary touch within the Gunners’ penalty box.
This from a player who has averaged 10.66 touches per 90 minutes in opposition boxes over the last 365 days ( per FBRef ), the most of any attacking midfielder or winger in Europe’s big five leagues in this period. Granted, Arsenal away is a tougher than average fixture, particularly at the moment, but that’s an enormous drop off.
The prevailing narrative regarding Salah would explain this easily. There is a widespread belief that the Reds’ number 11 is staying wider than in previous years. Yet Opta’s Michael Reid recently noted that the 30-year-old is only having one touch more per game on the flanks than he did in 2021/22. His rate of touches in the box is perfectly in line with his average for his Liverpool career too. If Liverpool are too wide in possession, as Klopp mentioned post-Napoli, it isn’t overly affecting his right forward this term.
And when Salah emerged from the bench to score a stunning six-minute hat-trick in the 7-1 victory at Rangers in midweek playing in what was a more central position than usual, but Jurgen Klopp wouldn't be drawn on whether he will continue to play in such a position for the clash with Man City at the weekend.
He said: "In this game, it was a change we made because Mo came on, Harvey stayed on the pitch and we didn't change system. He can play the position, no doubt about that, but he can play a wider role as well.
"In the moments he finished, he was more central. But it was still his space. Especially for two goals. When he set up the goal for Harvey, he was more flexible and that's the flexibility we need in our offensive moments. But it's not so different.
"Whichever system we play, for finishing you need to be in and around the box. There he was there. I don't think it has too much to do with the position. There were situations when we were in possession and he went to the right side. It's completely normal.
"You need to be flexible, fill up the spaces and force the defenders to react to different scenarios. It's quite comfortable when you are always in the same space."
While his hat-trick from a central role will fuel a belief that Salah's issues this season have come from a wider role, the stats speak for themselves. Meanwhile, there is perhaps another issue regarding the forward which should be more of a concern for Klopp.
What is clear is that the issue of poor counter-pressing does appear to have enveloped the Egyptian. The question is how much is down to him and how much is tactical instruction.
At the Emirates, Liverpool recorded just four high turnovers (which is starting an open play possession sequence within 40m of the opposition goal). Only once since the start of last season have they recorded so few in a league game, but in that instance – at Burnley in February – the Reds had 11 per cent more possession than they enjoyed against Arsenal.
While none of Klopp’s squad performed overly well on this front, Salah made just three pressures on Sunday, none of which were successful (though this relies on the team regaining possession within five seconds of the press being applied, so isn’t on any one player alone). As low as both figures are, we have seen them before from the former Roma man, they aren’t extreme outliers.
The far greater concern is his body of work for 2022/23 overall. Salah’s pressures per 90 minutes rose in his first three seasons with Liverpool, has dropped down a little since but fallen off a cliff this term. In 2017/18, he averaged 13.3 per 90, then improved to 13.7 in his sophomore season. His rate rocketed to 17.3 in the campaign in which Liverpool secured the Premier League title, and though it eased off thereafter, figures of 16.2 and 14.6 in the following two seasons were still above what he offered in his early time with the club.
But this season, Salah is making just 8.2 pressures per 90, fewer than he made in the final third alone in each of the last three campaigns. It is important to note Liverpool’s pressing frequency as a team is down 13 per cent, as they are spending far more time trying to get back into games in 2022/23, which leads to them having more possession.
But the drop has not been as sharp for all of Salah’s peers. Indeed, Diogo Jota’s pressures per 90 rate has risen this season, albeit he hasn’t played much yet. Luis Diaz is down 12 per cent, Roberto Firmino 20 per cent but Salah has seen a 44 per cent decline in his press rate. If that is not down to instruction or game state circumstance, then Liverpool might have a much bigger problem than Salah having a little more possession in wide areas of the final third.
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