Although Liverpool’s tactics have remained broadly similar throughout Jurgen Klopp’s (almost) seven years at the helm, it’s important that there have been subtle tweaks along the way to keep opposing teams on their toes.
In the early years the bulk of the responsibility for creating chances lay with the midfielders, with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and James Milner topping the club’s key pass chart. The club then evolved into effectively having a front five, where the full-backs provided opportunities for three forwards while the midfield remained solid and provided cover.
The signing of Thiago Alcantara in 2020 added a little sparkle back to the centre of the pitch but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson remain key components in how the Reds attack. The Scot has been given added impetus to perform thanks to the decent form of FA Cup shootout hero Kostas Tsimikas this season. For Trent, a tactical tweak has aided him in 2021/22 and the end-of-season stats show it worked better than anyone might have hoped.
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It was clear almost immediately in this campaign that Alexander-Arnold had been encouraged to play centrally more often than in the past. Where once he would have gone outside Mohamed Salah and whoever was the right-sided midfielder, he was now being given licence to go inside and wreak havoc from there.
An excellent example of this occurred in the opening home match of 2021/22, a 2-0 win over Burnley. For the second goal, Harvey Elliott received a trademark long pass from Virgil van Dijk out near the touchline. The young midfielder gave it inside to Liverpool’s number 66, and he in turn played a through ball to Sadio Mane who scored at the Anfield Road end. Alexander-Arnold had already made a similar pass to the former Southampton man in the first half, but Mane was unable to steer his shot on target on that occasion.
While it was only the second game of the season and so part of a small sample, this had the potential to be significant. Trent had created two chances with through balls across the preceding two league campaigns in total yet had equalled that tally after playing 159 minutes in 2021/22.
Even though he obviously didn’t maintain that absurd rate, Alexander-Arnold set up six through ball chances in the league this season, a total only topped by any Liverpool player seven times in the last 13 campaigns.
He didn’t pick up any further assists via this method unfortunately, though the responsibility for that obviously lies with the players who tried to convert the chances. What’s more important is that the process was working and the overall numbers prove that to have been the case. Per FBRef, Alexander-Arnold completed 20 through ball passes in 2021/22, the most of any player in the Premier League.
Add in the top divisions in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, and the only man who topped his tally was Lionel Messi. Trent’s efforts this season were rarely bettered across the previous four years in England too.
Aside from Kevin De Bruyne, who is always near the top of the standings, only Riyad Mahrez has completed more than 20 through ball passes in any of the last five seasons. Even Manchester City’s Belgian wizard has only bettered 21 once in that period, illustrating that Trent was at the upper echelon of what is normally feasible, and doing so from a positional disadvantage when compared to De Bruyne.
Irrespective of Alexander-Arnold’s sublime crossing ability, it makes sense to turn his passing skills to through balls whenever possible. Only 11 percent of chances created with crosses are converted when that figure is 24 for shots set up thanks to a pass through the defensive back line.
And Liverpool’s main right-back only completed three fewer of these passes in 2021/22 than he had in the previous four seasons combined. It’s exciting to see where he can go next with this ability – a few more assists obviously wouldn’t go amiss – but it’s clear the tactical adjustment by Klopp has already paid off.
