Well, we made it past Tuesday. Our Reds did it again, besting the Saints despite rotating NINE players from the team that started the FA Cup Final on Saturday. Giving up the first goal? No problem. Sure, we had to sweat. But the Reds dominated that match, even if our nerves wouldn’t let us acknowledge it as the drama was unfolding. Some post-match observations and notes:
- According to the fivethirtyeight.com shot-based xG model, Southampton had 0.1 xG, and LFC had 1.3. More tellingly, the non-shots-based model showed Southampton at 0.3, and LFC at a dominating 2.5.
- Thank goodness that Joe Gomez does not appear to be seriously injured. Perhaps the worst moment of the match was seeing Joe go down with what looked to me like a terrible twist on his leg. That man has had far more than enough bad luck with injuries. He is an amazing footballer who should have an extremely bright future, as a starting center back and fill-in right back for Liverpool Football Club. Big sigh of relief on that one.
- While I expected 36-year-old James Milner to start yesterday, I was quite surprised that he lined up as the lone defensive midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation. Klopp’s 4-3-3 probably demands that the defensive midfielder cover more space and make more sprints than any other player. Millie regularly tests out as one of the fittest players in the squad, in spite of his age. Nonetheless, based on the eye test, Milner has lost a step when sprinting, and he can often be late when covering on defense. Despite Millie’s nous and experience, I thought the defensive mid role in the 4-3-3 was just a bridge too far for him. I was wrong. He wasn’t perfect, but he did the job, with a little help from his friends. It worked. I’m not sure I want to see it again, but it worked.
- Many in the LFC Twitterverse were dismayed that Klopp heavily rotated the lineup for Southampton. I was delighted, but not at all surprised. After most of the preferred starters played close to 120 minutes in a physically and emotionally draining FA Cup Final on Saturday, the Southampton came too quickly for those players to recover sufficiently. Sports science dictated that Klopp needed to change the lineup. A lot. What’s more, Klopp has carefully nurtured a squad full of peripheral players who are both talented and maintain an excellent attitude despite not playing regular minutes. Players like James Milner, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Taki Minamino, and Divock Origi have stepped in beautifully when called upon throughout this season. Klopp trusted them to do it again, and they did. We should all Trust in Klopp.
- On the subject of sports science, LFC’s backroom team of physios, doctors, and fitness/rehabilitation experts has performed spectacularly this season, as I discuss more fully in the Hidden Genius article.
- One news item to report on the sports science front: last week LFC rehired Christopher Rohrbeck, a physiotherapist who had worked with the club from 2017 to 2020. According to David Ornstein at The Athletic, Klopp made this move now to try to ensure that Fabinho, Salah, and Van Dijk will all recover from their various strains in time to be fully fit for the Champions League Final against Real Madrid on May 28. So, as great as the sports science team have been this season, Klopp believed they could still become greater by bringing Rohrbeck back into the mix. To this I say: Trust in Klopp.
Tune in tomorrow for the last Premier League Preview of the season.
