Midfield Goal Threat Takes Liverpool To New Level

And why shooting from Distance Makes Sense Again

The main issues (amongst many) with the midfield last season seemed to be the energy and the tackling.

Go back further, and in Jürgen Klopp's Imperial Phase, the Reds' midfield was there to harry and recycle. Maybe Gini Wijnaldum would pop up with a vital goal, but often only if pushed forward in desperation. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was encouraged to shoot on sight, but his midfield power waned with his ACL injury at the end of his first season, and he mostly ended up as a stand-in winger.

The front three did the goalscoring business, and the full-backs whipped in the assists.

If anything, Liverpool now have five strong goalscoring striking options, compared to maybe three and half in the title-winning squad.

By last season, the midfield was ageing and goal-shy, with players ruined by time and injuries.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could get goals, but later on it was as a stand-in in the front three. Naby Keïta had the ability to get goals, just not to stay fit, and by the end, could barely strike a ball.

Harvey Elliott showed he could get goals in the cups, but sometimes playing in the front three; as he had when on loan at Blackburn. (He's now prolific for England U21s, and from midfield; and he’s still only 20, with goalscoring tallies tending to start really spiking around the age of 22.)

With Mo Salah doing less dribbling, and dropping deeper and wider, and at times playing as the creative lynchpin, you could argue that a solid midfield is still all that's required, if Trent Alexander-Arnold also joins them in that area of the pitch.

But while the midfield is doing enough protection to mean that Liverpool have the 2nd-best defensive record (despite going to Man City, Spurs, Newcastle, Brighton and Chelsea, and playing two of those games with 10 or nine men), it's still a fairly open “two no.8s” formation, and a no.6 who likes to play as a 10 if possible, as well as a full-back-cum-midfielder who is now scoring goals. The game itself has seen a big rise in goals, and Liverpool are defending better, in general, than the Fulham game suggests.

The record-breaking front-line has scored 39 goals already. But the midfield can be more than a bonus, as part of a very different way that Liverpool attack now compared to three or four years ago.

The long-range shot, going out of fashion due to the nature of xG and looking for the best chance possible, but back in vogue at Liverpool, is just one aspect of the Reds' game that I will assess. I can also think of at least half a dozen secondary benefits of long-range shooting that rarely get discussed.

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