Liverpool FC came back swinging after the world cup break with a convincing 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day. After a disappointing first half of the season, leaving the club in 6th place of the Premier League with only 25 points after 15 games, the reds looked to return to their old ways of exciting Klopp-crafted ‘heavy metal football’.
Despite some players still missing due to the World Cup, including Villa’s Golden Glove winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (30), Villa Park was home to some exciting gameplay on Monday night which showcased multiple reasons for Liverpool fans to be hopeful for the second half of the season.
Attacking
While Liverpool only maintained 52% possession throughout the game, it certainly did feel like they were on the front foot more often than not, with Thiago Alcantara and Trent Alexander-Arnold being able to open up play from midfield. The reds created 16 chances, of over half of which were on target. Virgil Van Dijk also continues to showcase his offensive utility for set pieces, scoring a scrappy goal off of a corner.
Darwin and Gakpo
While Darwin Núñez has received criticism for his woeful finishing this season, he remains a powerful player for Jurgen Klopp. Comparable to Timo Werner at Chelsea, his problems with finding the back of the net are relieved, at least in part, due to his ability to make aggressive runs, chase, and persevere on contested balls. A back-footed Aston Villa defense struggled to keep up with the chaos he brought on Monday night. There is hope that Núñez will find his goal scoring ways we saw at Benfica last year, which would certainly prove very positive for Liverpool, who, while struggling with winning games, are still a force to be reckoned with offensively.
Furthermore, the sporting directors at the club have brought in an extra attacking option in Cody Gakpo (23) from Dutch Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven. It’s not yet clear where the Dutch international will slot in with the rest of Klopp’s rotation, but judging by his recent performances at PSV and at the FIFA World Cup he could be a player that brings even more of that competitive spirit that Liverpool have been slowly building up in the last couple of weeks.
Youngsters
Harvey Elliot (19), Ben Doak (17), and Stefan Bajčetić (18) all came on as substitutes and showed themselves to be competent football players at the top level. Bajčetić even scored his first goal for Liverpool as he thrashed a loose ball won by Núñez through Tyrone Mings’ legs to seal the game. These promising young players will bolster the depth of the squad in season as packed as this one.
Defense
The Reds defense was still shaky at times. Virgil Van Dijk has yet to recover his form after his ACL injury in late 2020 and Trent Alexander Arnold, while brilliant in attacking, remains an enormous defensive liability.
It remains to be seen how the rest of the season will go, but it isn’t all doom and gloom for this team yet. If Klopp can rally his team to tighten up their defensive line and continue to flourish through scrappy and aggressive attacking play, we might see a very competitive Liverpool side in the next couple of months.
(Photo Credit: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)