ליברפול 2018/19

ווינאלדום בהתקפה? מחריד. בדקות שאחרי שפירמינו ירד קייטה לחץ ושיחק יותר מקדימה, ממש ליד סלאח ומאנה. אני חושב שקלופ משתעשע ברעיון של יהלום עם השניים כחלוצים וקייטה מאחוריהם. גם עניין של זמן לדעתי עד שנראה את סלאח כ9 עם שאקירי באגף.

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כתבה מעניינת בטיימס על החשיבות והאפקטיביות של מילנר בהמהלכים ההתקפיים, וליכולת המעבר מהגנה להתקפה וההפך.

בשורה התחתונה מבחנתי ההבחנה פה היא מילנר לעומת ויינאלדום והנדרסון וזה לא סוד. לגבי קייטה אני בטוח (ואני מניח שגם פאבינו) ישפרו אותנו מאוד בדיוק באספקט הזה של מסירות עומק והוצאה מהירה של התקפות. כמו גם היכולת שלהם להחזיק בכדור עוד שניה ולהשתחרר מלחץ כדי לאפשר תנועה של השלישיה הקדמית, יכולת שקיימת אצל מילנר ונעדרת כמעט לחלוטין אצל הנדרסון לדוגמא.

מעתיק אותה לפה לכל מאותגרי הגישה לאתרים בתשלום (אפשר פשוט להירשם ולקרוא שתי כתבות בשבוע בחינם בחלק מהאתרים אפילו יותר, זה די סוגר את כל התוכן המעניין שנוגע לליברפול)

Watching Liverpool this season there are many recurring themes in their five Premier League victories. Virgil van Dijk’s composed and commanding presence at the back, Alisson impressing in goal and, of course, that deadly front three. But one other consistent feature vital to Liverpool’s success is James Milner.

This week’s Game Dissected looks at a 32-year-old who has played on the wing and at left back but is finding his best form in Jürgen Klopp’s energetic midfield.

Passing with a purpose
Forty-two seconds. That is how much time was on the clock in Liverpool’s game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday before Milner made his first telling contribution. He flicked a ball on to Roberto Firmino, bombed on down the wing, collected a return pass and fired in a cross which was turned in by Firmino but disallowed for offside against Sadio Mané.

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The chance is shown above. The speed of Liverpool’s move has dragged Tottenham players out of position. Jan Vertonghen, the centre back, has been been forced out wide to close down Milner. Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé have been unable to get back in time to cover the space at the near post meaning Firmino can dart in to try and connect with the cross.

The key is speed. We know Klopp’s side press and attack with pace and Milner’s passing is key to that style working across the pitch. More specifically it is the way Milner passes the ball.

Watch any Liverpool game so far this campaign and you will often see Milner receive the ball, take a touch and open his body in one movement before fizzing a sharp pass forward to a team-mate, as shown in the image below from their opening weekend win against West Ham.

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According to statisticians Opta, Milner made 46 passes against Tottenham — only the left back Andrew Robertson made more with 47. From my own close watching of the game Milner made 33 of those passes either first time or having only taken one touch of the ball before moving it on.

This quick passing allows Liverpool to hurt opponents while they are dragged out of position as in the example from the opening minute. It also allows for the blistering counterattacks for which Salah, Firmino and Mané are becoming famous, as shown in the image below.

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Tottenham have been on the attack but Lucas Moura has lost the ball which is passed to Milner. He takes a touch, turns and immediately plays a perfect pass forward to Salah. The result of Milner’s quick thinking is shown in the image below, a two-on-two situation which sees Salah and Firmino running at the Tottenham centre backs Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, with the full backs Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose caught upfield. Firmino just fails to convert the chance after Salah’s pass.

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The image below shows another example. A mishit pass from Alderweireld goes straight to Salah who lays the ball off to Milner. The Egyptian knows he can give the ball to Milner because, firstly, it allows him to charge forward at full pace and, secondly, he knows either he or one of his forwards will get the ball straightaway. Milner takes a touch and fires a accurate pass into Firmino, he finds Mané who wins a free-kick on the edge of the box.

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It has been interesting to note that Milner is often the midfielder playing closest to Liverpool’s front three, not only because of his energetic pressing but because if he gets the ball he will hit a quick forward pass to try to release them. The image below shows Milner joining Liverpool’s front three to press Dembélé as he receives the ball. The Tottenham midfielder, aware of Liverpool’s counterattacking threat, plays a safe ball back to his defender but had he turned he would have found Milner ready to pinch the ball and spring the counterattack.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F681d7cac-ba8e-11e8-8048-68900eb6c6ec.Xxx?crop=3000%2C2000%2C0%2C0&resize=996
Given the arrival of Naby Keïta and Fabinho and the fact Jordan Henderson is club captain, Milner’s place is not guaranteed but he has been in excellent form. The charts below show him among the best performers for assists and chances created by midfielders in the league this season.

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It is interesting to note that he managed only three assists in the league last season so will surely surpass that tally and created 34 chances for team-mates last campaign in 32 games so his ten in five this term is impressive.

Like his team, Milner’s best performances often came in the Champions League last campaign, where Liverpool reached the final and the graphic below shows how important he is in big games, with the most assists of any midfielder in the competition — no doubt in part because of the situations described above where he would pick up the ball and release one of Liverpool’s three deadly forwards.

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So the speed of Milner’s play is vital to Liverpool but his bravery on the ball is key too. Looking at the graphic below we see an example of why it is important to add context to statistics. Milner is fourth on the list of most passes in the Premier League this season with an impressive 354 in total. But for passing accuracy, Milner is nowhere near the top five, and the other four players with the most passes, are also out of the top five for accuracy (Jorginho is sixth for accuracy with an impressive 91.55 per cent of his 509 passes finding a team-mate).

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fd40bbc9e-ba8e-11e8-8048-68900eb6c6ec.Xxx?crop=3000%2C2000%2C0%2C0&resize=996
So Milner is in the top five for number of passes but team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum is in the top five for accuracy. The graphic below might explain why. The arrows below show Milner and Wijnaldum’s passes against Tottenham. Note how many of Milner’s passes are in a forward direction, towards the Tottenham goal (two of his backwards passes are on the edge of the Tottenham box). Wijnaldum, by comparison, is making passes sideways across the pitch.

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It is far easier to find a team-mate if you are passing left and right to your full backs, as holding midfielders like Wijnaldum (and Morgan Schneiderlin and Nampalys Mendy) often do. If you are trying to break through defences and find attackers with forward passes, as Milner does, every now and again you will lose the ball.

Tireless work and setting an example
Milner ran eight miles in Saturday’s match, more than any other player on the pitch. Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen was next best for distance covered with 7.6 miles, while Wijnaldum’s 6.9 miles was the next best by one of Milner’s team-mates.

In last season’s Champions League Milner covered the most ground per match — 142.6 metres per minute according to Uefa, which is 7.98 miles over 90 minutes.

In a previous Game Dissected column I discussed how Firmino sets the tone for Liverpool’s pressing and fast-paced style. If Firmino leads from the front, Milner is at the front of the supporting charge. As Oliver Kay noted in his report from Saturday’s match, Milner was still scrapping and making vital tackles in the final minutes of the game as Liverpool looked nervous for the first time.

It is this kind of work which means Milner often captains the team in Jordan Henderson’s absence and he was still leading by example even with Henderson on the pitch.

Just before Liverpool conceded the stoppage-time Érik Lamela goal which briefly put the result in doubt, Milner was trying to ensure his Liverpool team-mates didn’t allow complacency to creep in. The image below is from the 92nd minute. Henderson has just closed down Victor Wanyama, who passes to Eriksen. Milner dashes out to close down the Tottenham playmaker.

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That forces Eriksen to pass backwards to Alderweireld but Milner runs on, pressing the Tottenham centre back as the image below shows.

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Alderweireld passes wide to Trippier and again Milner presses the ball, as shown below, forcing the right back to return the ball to his centre back.

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Milner’s pressing is forcing Tottenham to retreat but, as the image below shows, Milner is then furious that Mané hasn’t moved up the pitch with him and can be seen screaming and pointing at Trippier (who had just got the ball back from Alderweireld) telling Mané that is where he should be.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fb282a60e-ba8f-11e8-8048-68900eb6c6ec.Xxx?crop=3000%2C2000%2C0%2C0&resize=996
Klopp’s Liverpool tenure began with a 0-0 draw at Tottenham in 2015. Of the 18 players in his squad that day only Milner played a part on Saturday. But he isn’t clinging on to his place, instead improving and allowing those around him to shine. Klopp has added quality in midfield since joining the club but the likes of Keïta, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (when he is fit) will do well to displace a 32-year-old former makeshift left back.​

 

יש לי תחושה שמילנר יהיה מאמן מעולה אם וכאשר, כשיפרוש. סופר אינטליגנט.

 

או לפחות פרשן כמו קראגר. מאד מזכיר לי אותו בקטע של המנהיגות.

 

אני חושב שזה שמדברים על העניין הזה של חוסר הפרגון, בין אם הוא קיים באמת ובין אם לא, יכול לעשות רק טוב לקבוצה. במקרה הרע זה רק משמר את המצב הקיים, במקרה הטוב (אני נוטה לשם) זה יגרום להם לרצות להוכיח שזה שטויות ואולי ישפר את החדות המנטאלית מול השער.

יאללה שיגיע כבר!

 

סלאח בראיון לעיתונות הצרפתית מדבר על החברים לחוד ההתקפה, קלופ, האוהדים, לג"א והמטרות הקבוצתיות.

סלאח על פירמינו ומאנה: "אנחנו חברים, באופן כללי אנחנו מדברים הרבה, בד"כ אחרי משחקים שלושתנו יושבים ביחד בחדר ההלבשה, יש סולידריות אמיתית בינינו, לא אכפת לנו מי מבקיע ראשון או הכי הרבה."

על קלופ: "מהיום הראשון שלי בליברפול הוא התייחס אלי כחבר, דיברנו ביחד והיה בינינו משהו חזק מאוד מהרגע הראשון, זה נמשך עד עכשיו."

על אוהדי ליברפול: "בתוך חודש או חודשיים היה לי שיר משלי, זה כ"כ מיוחד, מאז שהגעתי הרגשתי את התשוקה הזאת ואת האהבה, הם פשוט הכי טובים."

על המפגש מול פ.ס.ז: "יש להם שחקנים יוצאי דופן וסגל נהדר, אני לא יכול לחכות לשחק נגדם ומצפה למשחק אינטנסיבי ומהנה."

על ליגת האלופות: "כמובן שאנחנו יכולים להגיע שוב לגמר, אני בטוח שאנחנו יכולים לזכות בטורניר, אני חושב שאנחנו יכולים לזכות בשני תארים, ליגת האלופות והפרמייר ליג, אני לא רוצה להוסיף לחץ אבל הכל אפשרי!"

à lire dans FF - A lire cette semaine dans France Football, l'interview de Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) : «Bien sûr qu'on peut le refaire !» - France Football

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Raheem Sterling and Manchester City hit impasse in contract talks | Football | The Guardian

לא שאני חושב שהוא יעזוב אותם בסוף, אבל תמיד כיף לקרוא.

בנוגע למשחק היום, זה לא מסוג המשחקים שאתה עושה בהם רוטציה כשהקבוצה רצה טוב. משחק באנפילד מול הקבוצה החזקה בבית על הנייר, שחקנים נואשים להשתתף במשחקים שכאלה. יפתיע אותי מאוד לראות עוד שינוי בהרכב חוץ מפירמינו.
רשמתי שאני חושב שסאלח ומאנה יחזרו לעניינים במשחקים הקרובים ויש לי תחושה שזה יתחיל כבר היום.

 

מי זה מקום 1 במסירות ב18-19? לא מכיר.

 

ג׳ורג׳יניו וינאלדום. 500 מסירות הצידה ואחורה זה בהחלט מרשים, הקשר הטוב בליגה.

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סטיבן דארבי נאלץ לפרוש בגיל 29 כי אובחן שחולה בALS...איזה חדשות מזעזעות עבורו. חבל.

 

כן הוא גם נראה בסדר גמור בתמונות מבחינת העין.

 

הנוער ניצחו 5-2 את פריז. צמד של קמאצ'ו, וגולים של וויליאמס, אדקנייה וג'ונס.

 

הנדרסון וסטארידג׳ על חשבון קייטה ופירמיניו בהרכב.
היה שקוף, הנדרסון בגלל היריבה וסטארידג׳ בעקבות הפציעה, מקווה שייקח את ההזדמנות.