Back in the 2019-2020 Premier League season, Liverpool F.C. was dominating the world of European football. Although it was their first league win in 30 years, they won big, accumulating a total of 99 points and losing only three games all season. They finished 18 points ahead of the second place contender. However, only 23 games into this year’s season, this same team is 10 points behind Manchester City, dropping them down to fourth place. Why is this happening?
A key factor contributing to Liverpool F.C.’s decrease in performance is undeniably all of the injuries they’ve taken to their defense line, including players such as Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, and the infamous Virgil Van Dijk, who has unarguably transformed Liverpool F.C. with his skills that qualify him for the world title of the best center-half.
Due to their injuries, Liverpool F.C. has put both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho into defensive positions instead of their usual midfield positions. While they have been performing moderately well in defense, losing them from their midfield positions has put a strain on the strikers and other players further up on the field. Without their driving forces and power passes to the frontline, there appears to be a slower build-up to the strikes, ultimately, giving the opposing team time to set-up a sturdy defense line with ease.
Another possible reason for Liverpool F.C.’s decline in performance could be related to the amount of games that all teams in the league are required to play within such a short time due to the pandemic. This is an issue affecting all teams, just as all teams are suffering injuries — in fact, two of Manchester City’s best players, Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne, are temporarily out because of injuries.
While Liverpool F.C. does seem to suffer just as much as any team due to the fact that substitute players are not of the same quality as their main lineup, Liverpool F.C. can’t freely rotate and rest their star players like other teams in the league. Teams such as Manchester United and Chelsea F.C. definitely have a better quality squad and roster in general, and can safely deploy substitutes with nearly identical quality to the players of their starting lineup.
In recent games, it is noticeable that the legendary front-three, consisting of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah, need rest. However, whenever they’ve taken time off in the past, the substitutes were never able to meet the high standards that came with each of their positions. Also, tying back into their midfielders (who have been required to play out of their usual positions), the midfield options have been severely reduced, resulting in minimal rotations of the starting 11. This could be detrimental to the physical and mental well-being of these players, seeing that they never have time to rest.
I believe that once Liverpool F.C.’s world-class players, Mane, Salah, Van Dijk, Henderson, Alisson, Andy Roberston, Trent Alexander-Arnold and others, return from injury, the club will be well on their way to the top again. Once the harsh itineraries become less intense, the return of those players, along with the possible addition of a few new players and tactical strategies, will make them a strong contender for the Premier League trophy.
