Three weeks ago, Georginio Wijnaldum scored a delicate, delightful lob against Bournemouth.
If it was an early contender for Liverpool's Goal of 2019 award, it is the only candidate for one title: it is the only goal their midfielders have scored in this calendar year.
Over the season, the six - Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Wijnaldum - have only eight in all competitions, and three of those were Milner's penalties.
The Manchester City quartet of Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva and Bernardo Silva have 25 among them.
Manchester United midielder Paul Pogba, with 14, has almost twice as many goals as the whole Liverpool midfield.
All of which exacerbates the importance of the Reds' front three. When the forwards are firing, it matters not if their supporting cast are drawing blanks.
Yet when Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are subdued, as they were when none recorded a shot on target against United last week, no one else compensates.
Virgil van Dijk's brace against Watford on Wednesday were the defence's first goals of 2019.
Liverpool's midfielders have a combination of attributes, with one notable exception: goalscoring.
The indispensable Wijnaldum was more potent for Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven. Now he does everything except find the net regularly.
Fabinho has excelled after a slow start. Milner began the season well. Henderson, as his man-of-the-match display against Bayern Munich indicates, is under-rated.
Only the injury-hit Lallana and Keita feel like disappointments, but even then, the summer signing has shown more promise of late.
While Xherdan Shaqiri had an excellent autumn, he was really a forward - Liverpool have never really replaced Philippe Coutinho, who contributed 12 goals in his final half-season alone.
The Brazilian's capacity to produce something from nothing, often with long-range shots, added another dimension and would have been useful on the days when the forward three were blunted.
Coutinho was disproportionately prolific in bigger games, too, and it is no coincidence that he scored three times against Everton.
Last summer, Liverpool almost signed Nabil Fekir to be the most attacking of the three midfielders. The move broke down and the Frenchman instead has 11 goals for Lyon this season.
Liverpool may have hoped for a similar impact from Keita, whose explosiveness helped him register eight for RB Leipzig last season.
Instead, as they look for end-of-season impetus, it may come from a 2017 arrival.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in training. He will not feature yet but, if he can recapture the form he showed 12 months ago, including two fine goals against City, he might help render the midfield less barren.
Because, while Jurgen Klopp's workhorses form the supply line to Salah and company, they also leave them with too much of the responsibility for finishing.
EVERTON V LIVERPOOL
Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, Monday, 12.15am
Football: Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh
MILAN: European football governing body UEFA said Friday that the correct anti-racism protocol had not been followed during the Italian league game between Inter Milan and Napoli midweek amid repeated abuse of Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Maurizio Sarri issues public APOLOGY to Chelsea fans days after heated dressing room row CHELSEA boss Maurizio Sarri has issued an apology to the club's fans after the humiliating 4-0 defeat by
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 25, 2019, with the headline ''No issue' with faith in youth'. Print Edition | Subscribe. Topics:
Youth Groups Driving Christian Teens to Abandon Faith
Top Premier League footballers are backing a 24-hour boycott of social media as they demand platforms do more to stop racist abuse. After several high-profile incidents this season, the
Premier League players boycott social media for 24 hours
Spurs need to 'believe', Football News & Top Stories - The
(L-R) Barcelona's French defender Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona's Spanish defender Gerard Pique and Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrate after their team won the Spanish league football match against Deportivo Coruna and claimed their 25th La Liga at the Riazor stadium in Coruna on April 29, 2018.
Barcelona more solid at the back now since start of season
Zidane leads first session since return to Real Madrid Wednesday March 13 2019 Real Madrid´s newly appointed French coach Zinedine Zidane arrives to give a press conference on March 11, 2019 in
Zidane leads first session since return to Real Madrid
WOLFSBURG (Germany): Germany's new-look team made a promising return to the international stage with a 1-1 draw against Serbia in a friendly on Wednesday, showing signs of improvement following a
New-look Germany make promising start with Serbia draw
Manchester's homeless in good Kompany LONDON • Vincent Kompany believes that he has a duty to tackle the issue of homelessness in Manchester, which he has called home for the past 10 years. The 32-year-old Manchester City captain earlier this year set up a combined initiative called Tackle4Mcr with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in a
Vincent Kompany To Donate All Profits From His Testimonial To
A Hurri-Kane will hit Singapore shores in July as English Premier League membership Tottenham Hotspur introduced yesterday that their first group, headlined by England captain Harry Kane, will go to the Republic as a part of their pre-season tour.
Confirmed: Dates and venues for Spurs' 2019 International
Football: Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (AFP) - Memphis Depay dazzled for the Netherlands with a brace and two assists as they cruised past Belarus 4-0 in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday (March 21) despite having to play the final 20 minutes with 10 men.
Depay fires Dutch past Belarus in Euro 2020 qualifying opener
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen