That shot seemed to defy what I thought I knew about physics. The ball appeared to go down toward the ground, then started to rise — all without ever actually TOUCHING the ground. And, it turns out that I wasn’t the only one wondering/debating whether that ball ever hit the ground. After reading all of these comments, I don’t feel any closer to an answer. But I understand a few of the arguments both ways better.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/r1flbw/thiagos_shot_trajectory/
Obsessed as I am with Thiago’s strike, it got me thinking about our midfielders more generally, and their ability to score from outside the box.
Over the last several seasons, one criticism of this team has been that we are too dependent on our forwards for goals. For example, last season we only had 11 goals from our midfielders in all competitions (out of 95 total goals). And, the way our system is set up, we are looking to create chances primarily for the forwards. Set pieces are an exception, as Trent sometimes shoots directly for goal, and many of the crosses from corners and free kicks are aimed toward the heads of big center backs.
Moreover, unlike when Coutinho was constantly cutting in from the left and shooting from distance, we now try to create much more potent scoring chances. We want to shoot from the middle of the box, preferably without defenders in the way. Our offense, in general, is quite good at generating high xG shots.
Last season, we scored only six Premier League goals from outside the box, and we had only five in 2018-19. The title-winning season of 2019-20 was a huge outlier on this front, as we scored 14 from outside the box that year (though that still trailed City by a big margin, as they had 18).
Although shots from outside the box have a very low xG, they can serve an important tactical purpose.
Just as in the NBA, if you have the THREAT of scoring from distance, then the defense has to be a bit more honest in coming out to cover you. This is why the Warriors score a lot of layups.
This season we already have five Premier League goals from outside the box, and at least one in the Champions League. Like Thiago’s strike last night, several of them have come about as the result of “second balls” bouncing toward a player outside the box during a set piece. Naby Keïta has scored a couple of screamers, and Henderson has one.
But almost all of our central mids are well capable of hitting them. Curtis Jones, Fabinho, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all swatted some really good ones. Indeed, in my judgment AOC is our best outside shooter, and Jones is probably right behind him. Harvey Elliott has never actually scored one for LFC, but he’s come close on several. Elliott’s technical ability is beyond question — indeed, I actually think he’s got better technique than Keïta, and is behind only Thiago in our squad in this regard (i.e., overall technical ability).
I doubt that any of this makes a massive difference in LFC’s overall fortunes. As with any other aspect of the game, how many goals we score from outside the box in a given season will be largely down to luck (i.e., subject to great statistical variance). Our tactics will continue to feed the forwards and focus on creation of high xG chances, so we aren’t likely to be shooting from distance significantly more often.
But, it’s fun to realize how much ability we’ve got to do it, and it’s REALLY fun to see it happen.
Happy Thanksgiving!
