The Fulham match also takes on extra significance because it was opening day. Opening day matches magnify our normal recency bias. A lot. At this point in the season, we\u2019ve seen our Reds play one \u201creal\u201d match, and they were awful for most of it. It\u2019s therefore natural for us to feel like the team is bound to have an awful season.<\/span><\/p>\n That feeling\u2019s natural, but it is also wrong. Read on, and I hope you\u2019ll agree.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start by talking about the players on this team. Many of them played badly on Saturday. But that performance does not define them.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m going to do this by position, starting with the goalkeepers and moving up the pitch until we get to the forwards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #1 – Alisson Becker (Brazil) (DOB: 10\/2\/92 – age 29) (joined LFC in July 2018) You\u2019re going to start rolling your eyes at how often I say something like this about these players, but it\u2019s not going to stop me: Alisson is one of the top five goalkeepers in the world. He\u2019s so good he gets to go by one name.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the obvious \u2013 Alisson is a BIG man. He\u2019s 6\u20193\u201d, which is tall, but still just the average height for a Premier League keeper. However, Alisson is wider (thicker, if you prefer) than most keepers, who often tend toward the skinny side. His combination of height, broad shoulders, and wide chest make him appear bigger than the average goalkeeper \u2013 and he is. I couldn\u2019t quickly find the average weight of PL goalies, but at the 2018 World Cup the average was 184 lbs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And, at least in this job, looks matter. His physical presence alone is enough to make attackers think twice before striking the ball.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite Alisson\u2019s size, he is also quite quick. Because Liverpool play a very high defensive line, the opposition will often try to pass the ball to an attacker who has run behind the defense, using a \u201cthrough pass,\u201d <\/span>as discussed here<\/span><\/a> (in the section called \u201cGegenpressing \u2013 the Liverpool Way\u201d). Alisson uses his quickness to nullify this threat in two ways. First, he often gets to the ball before the attacker who is the intended receiver. Second, when the through pass reaches its target and the attacker is one-on-one against Alisson, Liverpool\u2019s big keeper usually charges out toward the attacker, \u201cmaking himself big\u201d by stretching out his arms and legs, and cutting off the attacker\u2019s shooting angles.\u00a0 Alisson is probably the best keeper in the Premier League (and perhaps the world) when <\/span>facing an attacker one-on-one<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Broadly speaking, in modern football goalkeepers have two jobs. First, they must stop shots. Second, they must use their feet to distribute the ball to their teammates, start attacks, and be available as a \u201csafety valve\u201d who can receive a back pass from a teammate who is being pressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alisson excels at both jobs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Measuring the best shot-stopping keepers by stats can be a bit tricky. The keepers who make the most saves are the ones who face the most shots \u2013 therefore they play for the worst teams. Thus, many folks look to the keeper\u2019s \u201csave percentage\u201d \u2013 which is the percentage of shots \u201con target\u201d (<\/span>i.e.<\/span><\/i>, shots that would go in the goal if not saved) that a goalkeeper saves. Last season Alisson was third in the Premier League in save percentage (behind Jos\u00e9 S\u00e1 of Wolves and David Raya of Brentford). Alisson saved 75.3% of the shots on target that he faced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, stats nerds have come up with a more \u201cadvanced\u201d statistic for measuring shot-stopping abilities \u2013 it goes by the catchy title of \u201cPost-Shot Expected Goals Minus Goals Allowed.\u201d This \u201cpost-shot xG\u201d is different from the xG that I\u2019m typically talking about on this blog, which instead assesses the \u201cpre-shot\u201d likelihood that a shot from a particular position will result in a goal. For example, when I say that Liverpool had 2.6 xG against Fulham on Saturday (and they did, according to <\/span>fivethirtyeight.com<\/span><\/a>\u2019s algorithm), that xG number is based on the \u201cpre-shot\u201d likelihood that the chances Liverpool created in that game would result in goals. In other words, that \u201cregular\u201d xG number does <\/span>not<\/b> take into account where the attacker actually kicked the ball when they took a shot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By contrast, with <\/span>\u201cpost-shot xG,\u201d<\/span><\/a> the statisticians take into account exactly where the shot went \u2013 whether it\u2019s straight down the middle at the keeper\u2019s chest height, in the low-right corner, or in the postage stamp in the upper-left corner of the goal. Thus, with \u201cpost-shot xG,\u201d statisticians are calculating the percentage likelihood that a Premier League keeper would save that shot, now that we know where that shot went. Thus, when we take a keeper\u2019s total \u201cpost-shot xG\u201d and then subtract the number of goals that keeper actually allowed, then we have a good sense of how good that keeper is at stopping shots, relative to his\/her peers. A really good keeper will have a high positive number \u2013 showing the number of goals they saved above the number an average keeper would be expected to save. A bad shotstopper will have a negative number.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This advanced goalkeeping metric shows that last season Alisson was fourth in the Premier League last year (again Jos\u00e9 S\u00e1 of Wolves was first \u2013 he was without doubt the best shot stopper in the league last season). Alisson was similarly third in the league in this \u201cpost-shot xG – Goals allowed\u201d in 2020-21. Curiously, in Liverpool\u2019s title-winning season of 2019-20, Alisson was only 15th in the league in this stat (which makes LFC\u2019s runaway title win that year seem even more impressive). That season was an anomaly \u2013 Alisson was also third in this stat in his first season at Liverpool, in 2018-19. All of these stats, by the way, are coming from <\/span>https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/<\/span><\/a>, which is a terrific site for the football stat nerds (or wannabe football stat nerds) among you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a distributor of the ball to teammates, Alisson is excellent. He made the second-highest number of passes of any keeper in the league last season, and he also made the <\/span>fewest <\/b>number of \u201claunches.\u201d\u00a0 That is, Alisson kicked the ball long as a \u201cget this thing out of here\u201d clearance less often than any keeper in the league.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alisson oozes self-confidence. This is critical for keepers, who have to forget about their last mistake immediately after making it (at least until training the following week, when coaches will probably force them to relive that mistake a few times). Alisson\u2019s self-confidence sometimes demonstrates itself through tricky dribbling moves around pressing opponents. On at least one occasion, such showboating <\/span>got him in trouble<\/span><\/a>. But, the vast majority of the time he pulls it off and it just <\/span>looks damned cool<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 However, clearly the coaching staff has discouraged this behavior \u2013 Alisson attempts such dribbling tricks far less often now than he did upon first arriving at LFC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #62 – Caoimhin Kelleher (Ireland) (DOB: 11\/23\/98 – age 23) (joined LFC Academy in 2015) This is the man who generated my favorite football miracle moment for last season \u2013 <\/span>the winning penalty kick in the League Cup (a\/k\/a Carabao Cup) Final against Chelsea<\/span><\/a>. That\u2019s a priceless moment. He\u2019s a talented backup keeper, who has filled in nicely for Alisson when called upon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For those who don\u2019t know their Irish Gaelic pronunciations, you pronounce this young man\u2019s name <\/span>[KWEE-vehn]<\/span><\/a> – it\u2019s the Irish equivalent of Kevin. Kelleher is a product of Liverpool\u2019s youth academy, which he joined at age 16 from Ireland.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kelleher is recovering from a groin injury which kept him out throughout the preseason, but should be available for full training soon (if he\u2019s not already).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #13 – Adri\u00e1n (Spain) (DOB: 1\/3\/87 – age 35) (joined LFC in August 2019) <\/b> Adri\u00e1n is Liverpool\u2019s third-string keeper, and, for multiple reasons, you never want your third-string keeper to be playing. Having said that, I recently watched the Paramount Plus documentary, <\/span>The End of the Storm<\/span><\/a>, about LFC\u2019s 2019-20, league-winning season. I really enjoyed the movie, and I recommend it. The movie reminded me of the fantastic job that Adri\u00e1n did filling in for Alisson at the beginning of that season, beginning less than one week after Adri\u00e1n joined the club as the second-string goalie. Since then, of course, Kelleher has passed Adri\u00e1n on the depth chart. Nonetheless, just two weeks ago, Adri\u00e1n again did a nice job filling in for Alisson and Kelleher in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City. Adri\u00e1n played throughout this preseason due to injuries to both the first- and second-string keepers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But, Adri\u00e1n has also had a few difficult moments as a Liverpool keeper. Most notably, he made a <\/span>huge mistake (look at time stamp 7:09 in the video link)<\/span><\/a> leading to a decisive goal late in the match against Atletico Madrid on March 11, 2020. This was the second leg in the Champions League Round of 16 at Anfield. I was there that night, with Eric, my good friend and fellow LFC devotee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Adri\u00e1n appears to be a very well-loved teammate who acts as one of many \u201cglue guys\u201d in the tight-knit Liverpool locker room. For that reason alone, I love having him on the team.<\/span><\/p>\n In Liverpool\u2019s tactical system, both fullbacks play a huge role. Like all fullbacks, they make up half of the defensive back line, and must defend well. But Liverpool\u2019s fullbacks play a more featured, critical role in Liverpool\u2019s attack, compared with almost any other team in the world (both Bayern Munich and Manchester City arguably use their fullbacks in equally-critical attacking roles, but the list is not much longer than that). As I told you in <\/span>Primer Part III \u2013 Basic Tactics<\/span><\/a>, both of Liverpool\u2019s starting fullbacks \u2013 Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold \u2013 are among the Premier League\u2019s leaders in assists every season.<\/span><\/p>\n Knowing the critical role played by both fullback positions, let\u2019s start by talking about the left backs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #26 – Andy Robertson (Scotland) (DOB: 3\/11\/94 – age 28) (joined LFC in July 2017) The feistiest man on the pitch in nearly every match in which he plays, Scotland\u2019s Andy Robertson quickly endeared himself to the feisty Liverpool fanbase after he joined the club in 2017. There are many, many moments that one could use to illustrate this Robertson trait. My two favorites are these: 1) <\/span>his press against Manchester City<\/span><\/a> in his first season at LFC.\u00a0 Robertson started by pressing a player at the midfield line, and then kept charging forward and pressing as City passed the ball backward three times, until Robertson ended up pressing the City goalkeeper from the right wide forward position on the pitch; 2) <\/span>shoving Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of all time, on the back of the head during a Champions League semifinal match<\/span><\/a>, just to piss him off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But Andy Robertson is far more than just piss and vinegar on the football pitch. He is also enormously skilled. His partnership with Sadio Man\u00e9 on the left side of Liverpool\u2019s attack generated dozens of great scoring opportunities for Liverpool across many seasons. Now, Robertson is building a similar partnership with new left winger Luis D\u00edaz, but that\u2019s still a work in progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Robertson\u2019s skill <\/span>crossing the ball from the left wing<\/span><\/a> is phenomenal. He is an outstanding presser, and his speed, determination, and grit make him a very good defender even when pushed back toward his own goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Robertson is among the top 10 left backs in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #21 – Kostas Tsimikas (Greece) (DOB: 5\/12\/96 – age 26) (joined LFC in August 2020) Tsimikas may be the second-feistiest player in Liverpool\u2019s squad, just behind the Scotsman who he backs up. Affectionately known as the \u201cGreek scouser,\u201d Tsimikas constantly displays passion and aggression on the pitch. Tsimikas\u2019s biggest moment as a Liverpool player came last season in the FA Cup Final penalty shootout, when he scored the <\/span>winning penalty kick (see video at time stamp 4:19)<\/span><\/a>. He\u2019s a very able backup to Robertson. Like Robbo, Tsimikas crosses well, though he is less adept than Robertson at interchanging short passes with other attackers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #66 – Trent Alexander-Arnold (England) (DOB: 10\/7\/98 – age 23) (joined LFC Academy in 2004 (age 6)) Trent Alexander-Arnold is the best attacking right back in the world. Football pundits and opposing fans often criticize Alexander-Arnold as being a weak defender, but I strongly disagree. To be sure, there\u2019s no doubt that Trent is better as an attacker than as a defender. But, because LFC\u2019s tactical approach requires Trent to spend most of his time far up the pitch in an attacking position, he is often out of position when the opponent counter-attacks. Many times, this means that Trent must first sprint to get back to defend. If he gets there, he then often finds himself one-on-one in an isolated position against the attacker. Sometimes Alexander-Arnold gets burned, as happens to all defenders occasionally when they are isolated. Despite his mistakes, in my opinion, Trent is well above average as a defender, compared with his peers in the Premier League.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As an attacker, he simply has no peer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last season, Trent led the Premier League in <\/span>expected assists<\/span><\/a> (this is just like expected goals, but the stat goes to the passer rather than the shooter). He finished second in <\/span>actual<\/span> assists, behind only teammate Mo Salah (who was just behind Trent in the xA department).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trent finished fifth in the league in xA in 2020-21, when Liverpool\u2019s center back injury crisis left the team badly out of balance. He was second in 2019-20 (although Kevin DeBruyne almost doubled his numbers that season).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To put all of this in context, at the start of the 2019-20 season, Trent was 20 years old. To put it in even better context, Trent is supposedly a <\/span>defensive<\/span> player, and I\u2019m telling you how he ranked in assists against everyone else, including all midfielders and attackers. Naturally, in most teams, it\u2019s the midfielders and attackers who generate nearly all of the assists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But this is Liverpool. And now we\u2019re talking about Trent. As I mentioned in Part III on tactics, Trent already stands in fourth place all-time among Premier League defenders in assists. Barring a serious injury for one or both fullbacks, Trent and his teammate Andy Robertson are a lock to be first and second on that all-time PL assists list within a couple of seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trent\u2019s passing skills run the gamut. He often lifts long diagonal passes in the air from his defensive position at right back toward the attacking left quadrant. He can also fire lengthy, curling through passes from that same position toward attackers attempting to run behind a defense. He routinely exchanges quick, short, one-touch passes (frequently including \u201cone-twos,\u201d a\/k\/a \u201cgive-and-gos\u201d) with Mo Salah and the right-sided central midfielder (often Henderson), as Liverpool attacks on the opponents\u2019 doorstep in and around the right side of the penalty area. And, of course, he is one of the best crossers in the world, curling in balls from the right side to attackers in the box waiting to pounce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Alexander-Arnold\u2019s vision and touch match his passing. He is elegant, strong, fast, and lethal. He strikes fear in defenders and attracts almost as much defensive attention as Mo Salah himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trent Alexander-Arnold is the scouser in the team. And he is a badass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #22 – Calvin Ramsay (Scotland) (DOB: 7\/31\/2003 – age 19) Calvin Ramsay is one of the three new kids on the block this season. When Ramsay\u2019s transfer was completed in June 2022, most expected that he would be Trent\u2019s back up at right back this season, because Neco Williams has moved on to Nottingham Forest. That still may be true at some point, but an injury has kept him out of preseason. That injury means Ramsay will probably need to wait several months, if not longer, before settling in as the second-string right back. I haven\u2019t yet seen him play, so Ramsay remains mostly a mystery. His YouTube clips from the Scottish Premier League look good, but great YouTube clips \u2013 especially from leagues in smaller countries \u2013 often don\u2019t translate into good players.<\/span><\/p>\n Until Ramsay is ready, I expect James Milner to serve as LFC\u2019s backup right back. But I\u2019ll talk about Milner in the midfielder section, since that is his preferred position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Liverpool has four immensely talented center backs who would all start for almost any other team in the Premier League. Given the injury crisis to LFC\u2019s center backs that occurred just two seasons ago, this should feel like luxurious comfort. However, because one of LFC\u2019s four brilliant CBs has wend down in the last preseason match with a knee injury that will sideline him for an unknown period, the PTSD won\u2019t allow us to get comfortable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #4 – Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands) (DOB: 7\/8\/91 – age 31) (joined LFC in December 2017) If you Google \u201cbest center back in the world,\u201d a matrix of names and photos appears at the top of the page, under the heading \u201cSoccer defenders from sources across the web.\u201d The first name and photo listed? Virgil van Dijk. You don\u2019t need to take my word for it on this one. VVD is the best of the best.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I wrote a lot of words about van Dijk in <\/span>last season\u2019s preview<\/span><\/a>, and they still apply now:<\/span><\/p>\n Virgil van Dijk is one of the 10 best players in the world.\u00a0 His presence dramatically changes the way that we play \u2014 not for any one reason, but for a whole slew of them. Let\u2019s start at the beginning. The foundation. The primary job of every center back is to defend, and the fundamental prerequisite to defending well is positioning. Virgil\u2019s reading of the game, anticipation, positioning, and tackling are unsurpassed. Indeed, he is so good that teams actively avoid attacking down his half of the field. He is so good that, for almost a full one-and-a-half seasons, no one, including Lionel Messi himself, was able to dribble past him.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, in fairness, there are lots of other defenders in the world, and in the Premier League, who also have amazing skills in this particular area. Strikingly, some of those defenders play for teams in the bottom half of the Premier League. In this specific area, as fantastic as VVD is, his positioning and game-reading skills stand only inches above those of top rival defenders \u2014 not miles. Most of the gap between VVD and his nearest rivals is spanned by other skills and talents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Physically, van Dijk is a Hercules among mortals. As Watford striker Troy Deeney once mused about VVD, when asked who is the toughest defender he has faced: “He’s too big, too strong, too quick, too good on the ball, loves fighting, a good head of hair. One of those guys that sprays on his top as well, so it smells lovely!\u201d VVD is bigger than most center backs, and faster than almost all of them. He wins a ridiculously high percentage of aerial duels, because his timing and leaping abilities exceed everyone else\u2019s.\u00a0 This aerial dominance translates directly to points. Quite simply, we will concede fewer aerial goals with VVD on the pitch, and we will score more of them on the other end.<\/span><\/p>\n And then there\u2019s van Dijk’s speed. It\u2019s critical, especially in the context of our high defensive line. When LFC loses the ball and the counterattack leaves open canyons of space behind the midfield, VVD\u2019s speed, strength, positioning, timing, and calm quash most of those counters before they can fully unfold. Indeed, knowing that Van Dijk is behind him gives Andy Robertson (or, soon, Kostas Tsimikas) the peace of mind to commit fully to the attack, allowing Robbo can stand out as one of the most prodigious playmakers in the Premier League.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And that brings us to Virgil\u2019s next exceptional trait: his mindset. \ud83c\udfb6\u201cHe\u2019ll pass the ball, calm as you like, he\u2019s Virgil van Dijk, he\u2019s Virgil Van Dijk.\u201d\ud83c\udfb6<\/span><\/p>\n Henderson is the skipper, and the heart of the club. Hendo’s graft and passion lift his mates, as well as his determination to persevere while walking through storms. But if Hendo is the heart, then VVD is both body and brain. He sees the whole field, and knows exactly what is happening. He conducts his defensive line, while also directing the midfield and urging the attackers forward. His mere presence envelops the team in a tranquil cloud of contagious calmness.\u00a0 He can and does make mistakes (including one this past Saturday for Fulham\u2019s penalty, as fans of our rivals will gleefully remind you) \u2014 not quite as often as most defenders, but still with some semi-regularity. But the apparent ease with which he recovers from those mistakes is anything but regular. His mentality is, if anything, more colossal than his physique. van Dijk’s leadership is just as critical to LFC\u2019s success as is Henderson\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The other critically-transformative aspect of van Dijk\u2019s game is his passing. I\u2019m a sucker for any center back who passes well. This center back passes better than any other. The outlet ball in transition can make all the difference between a dull, stodgy possession and a thunderous counterattack. VVD\u2019s skimmed passes into the feet of his midfielders, or all the way through to forwards, are sharp, timely, accurate missiles. And his cross-field diagonal aerial balls are majestic things of beauty, typically landing on the toes of a wide attacking forward or fullback, in perfect stride. Opposing teams often are forced to adjust their tactics simply to defend against this specific skill \u2014 the VVD diagonal pass.\u00a0 And any time you force the opposition to change the way they normally prefer to play, you substantially alter the overall dynamic of the match.\u00a0 As much as VVD\u2019s presence helps our defense, his passing elevates our offense.<\/span><\/p>\n Indeed, no other player is as critical to LFC\u2019s overall team balance as Virgil Van Dijk. When he is absent, everything changes. Without him, we are forced into adjustments all over the pitch. We have a lot of other extremely talented players, and they understand how to adjust.\u00a0 But those adjustments, especially over long stretches of the season, can never patch over the gaping hole that VVD\u2019s absence creates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #32 – Jo\u00ebl Matip (Germany) (DOB: 8\/8\/91 – age 31) (joined LFC in February 2016) Among LFC\u2019s four top center backs, VVD is the world superstar, Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 is the young up-and-comer, and Joe Gomez is the unlucky but heroic fighter who has come back from repeated major injuries. Jo\u00ebl Matip? He\u2019s the Steady Eddie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Matip exudes calm on the pitch, never appearing to panic, despite his somewhat awkward, gangly, 6\u20195\u201d frame. He may be all knees and elbows, but those are <\/span>tranquil<\/b> knees and elbows, thank-you-very-much.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Through most of his Liverpool career, Matip has struggled with nagging injuries that have prevented him from sustaining a long run as a starting center back. Then in 2020-21, like Gomez and van Dijk, Matip eventually suffered a season-ending injury that required surgery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last season, with the help of Liverpool\u2019s <\/span>top-notch sports science team<\/span><\/a>, Matip bucked that injury trend and featured as a starter in 42 matches across all competitions, including 31 Premier League starts. And, as van Dijk worked himself back into top playing form gradually over the course of last season, Matip returned from his surgery immediately as the best version of himself. Matip is not nearly so critical to Liverpool\u2019s overall team balance as van Dijk, because Matip plays a much smaller role in transitioning the team into attack and directing his teammates across the back line. Nonetheless, at least for the first half of last season, I thought Matip was a more reliable and overall better <\/span>defender <\/b>than the great VVD himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s not fast, and nothing he does is flashy or elegant. But he\u2019s smart, he\u2019s calm, he\u2019s in the right place, and he\u2019s effective. He wins a lot of aerial duels, and he\u2019s good when defending one-on-one. Like VVD, Matip also made a major mistake last Saturday against Fulham \u2013 and on the very same play (giving away the ball in a dangerous area that led directly to van Dijk giving up the penalty). But, also like van Dijk, Matip quickly moves on from his mistakes and gets back to work. As my second-favorite manager, <\/span>Ted Lasso<\/span><\/a>, likes to say: \u201cBe a goldfish [because they have a 10-second memory].\u201d <\/span> #5 – Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 (France) (DOB: 5\/25\/99 – age 23) (joined LFC in July 2021) Not unlike his teammate Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 has the full physical package of traits and skills. He\u2019s big, strong, powerful, and fast. He anticipates well, recovers <\/span>extremely<\/b> quickly when an attacker gets past him, often uses his wide body to muscle attackers off the ball and\/or toward a less-dangerous position, and he is fantastic in the air.\u00a0 Like nearly all young defenders, Konat\u00e9 is probably more prone to mistakes than his three Reds counterparts. But, his physical gifts and skills are so magnificent that he usually gets away with those mistakes by recovering right away.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last season, Klopp showed great faith in young Konat\u00e9 by making him VVD\u2019s starting center back partner in eight of LFC\u2019s 12 Champions League matches, including the final. Konat\u00e9 also started all of LFC\u2019s FA Cup matches, plus 11 Premier League matches. He got a lot of playing time for someone new to the team and the league. That\u2019s because he\u2019s a badass.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #2 – Joe Gomez (England) (5\/23\/97 – age 25) (joined LFC in June 2015) Joe Gomez is a brilliant center back. Strong, fast, smart, and great with the ball, he checks nearly all the boxes. He\u2019s not as strong in the air as his fellow Liverpool CBs, but his only major problem has been fitness. This man has been snake-bitten by injuries harder and more often than any Liverpool player during the 11 years I\u2019ve followed the club \u2013 and that includes Daniel Sturridge, who fell apart physically at the height of his short but brilliant career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It started from the very beginning of Gomez\u2019s career at Liverpool. Signed by Brendan Rodgers in June 2015, the 18-year-old immediately started for Liverpool at left back \u2013 playing 90 minutes in that out-of-position slot for each of LFC\u2019s first five league matches in 2015-16. Rodgers finally took the teenager out of the lineup in the sixth league match. A month later, LFC fired Rodgers and hired Klopp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, during the October international break while playing for the England Under-21 squad, Gomez suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Following surgery, Gomez was out for a full year, returning to training in October 2016.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the first half of the 2017-18 season, Gomez started at right back (again \u2013 not his actual position) in place of the injured Nathaniel Clyne.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In May 2018, Gomez had surgery on an ankle, which prevented him from playing in the World Cup for England that summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the start of the 2018-19 season, Gomez was finally fit, and finally able to start for Liverpool at his chosen position of center back.\u00a0 The then-21-year-old Gomez earned universal praise for his performances alongside Virgil van Dijk, until calamity hit again. In December 2018, a hard challenge from Burnley\u2019s Ben Mee broke Gomez\u2019s leg, which then required season-ending surgery in February 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2019-20, LFC\u2019s league-winning season, Gomez was back again, and he hit the apex of his Liverpool career (<\/span>so far<\/span> \u2013 remember, as of August 2022, this guy is still only 25 years old). In Gomez\u2019s absence at the end of 2018-19, Jo\u00ebl Matip had earned the starting right center back spot next to VVD. But, when Matip suffered his own serious injury in late October 2019, Gomez took over and did not look back for the rest of the season.\u00a0 He started 28 league matches at CB in 2019-20, and the VVD-JoGo center back partnership appeared at that point to be set for years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, the 2020-21 season brought disaster for Gomez and Liverpool\u2019s entire central defense. First, Dejan Lovren left in the summer, and the club chose not to replace him in that transfer window. This meant that Liverpool started the season with only three senior (that is, non-youth Academy) center backs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By the end of January 2021, all three of Liverpool\u2019s center backs were out for the season.\u00a0 Gomez was the second to go down, after VVD suffered an ACL tear courtesy of a reckless tackle by Everton\u2019s goalkeeper in October 2020. For several weeks after van Dijk\u2019s injury, Gomez and Matip played quite well. Then, while on international duty for England in November, Gomez tore the patella tendon in his right knee (he had torn the ACL of his <\/span>left<\/span> knee in 2015).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last season, Gomez was back again, and managed to go the entire year without a serious injury. But Gomez also got very little game time last season, as VVD, Matip, and Konat\u00e9 all stayed healthy for almost every match.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also, when Gomez made his initial appearances in domestic cup competitions last season, he looked very rusty and much slower. Nonetheless, when Gomez finally earned some playing time at right back near the end of last season, he again looked back to himself, despite playing out of position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, Gomez appears set to start alongside Virgil van Dijk at right center back once again on Monday against Crystal Palace, as both Matip and Konat\u00e9 are currently out. I\u2019m confident he will do quite well. It would not surprise me if Matip has a hard time getting his job back.<\/span><\/p>\n But it would also not surprise me if Gomez goes down again in a few weeks or months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To be fair to the guy, most of his injuries have been impact injuries, which are mostly down to bad luck. Unlike Daniel Sturridge, Gomez has not had repeated muscle injuries that reflect genetic vulnerability and\/or poor fitness. Certainly, Liverpool\u2019s coaching staff has never increased his risk of injury by overplaying him. He\u2019s been snake-bitten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s hope that, starting Monday,Joe Gomez puts on some snake-proof boots and shin pads, learns a snake-charmer\u00a0 tune or two, and gets on with what should be an absolutely incredible career at the heart of Liverpool\u2019s defense.<\/span><\/p>\n Other center backs<\/b><\/p>\n In the domestic cups, we will likely see both Nathaniel Phillips and Sepp van den Berg play CB for Liverpool, but we can hope that neither one of them get any playing time in the Premier League or the Champions League. Neither player is anywhere close to as talented or skilled as LFC\u2019s top four CBs. Phillips did a terrific job filling in at the end of the disastrous 2020-21 season. He\u2019s extremely good at heading the ball, and he would be a very solid center back for a team that prefers to sit back and pack the defenders into the box. But that\u2019s not Liverpool.<\/span><\/p>\n Van den Berg was out on loan last season and has not yet found his permanent home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both Phillips and van den Berg were expected to leave Liverpool this summer, but Konat\u00e9\u2019s recent injury has meant that they will both stay for the time being.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During preseason this year, midfield is the positional area that has generated a swath of controversy across Liverpool\u2019s fanbase \u2013 at least those vocal supporters (and so-called supporters) who talk regularly about Liverpool Football Club on Twitter. Many Liverpool fans strongly believe that the club should have brought in one or more new midfielders during this summer\u2019s transfer window. Because LFC chose not to do so, these unhappy campers are doomsaying that Liverpool are inevitably destined to finish behind Manchester City in the Premier League again this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, Liverpool\u2019s building list of injured players \u2013 which currently includes two midfielders \u2013 along with the team\u2019s crappy performance last Saturday in the opener against Fulham, have given the doomsayers even more reason to moan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think such histrionics are crazy. I believe the track record of Klopp and Liverpool\u2019s transfer team speaks volumes. Over the last seven seasons, there have been multiple times when the fans and media have been screaming for Liverpool to fill \u201cgaps\u201d in the squad with transfers, and the management team has instead chosen to wait. Then, eventually, that management team has acted by bringing in the players they <\/span>really<\/span> want. Players like Virgil van Dijk. Alisson Becker. Fabinho. Ibrahima Konat\u00e9. Luis D\u00edaz. Thiago Alc\u00e2ntara. In other words, the management team has waited until they could find the right choice for the team in the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the meantime, Liverpool\u2019s midfield choices are still pretty damned good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nPlayer Breakdowns – 2022-23<\/b><\/h2>\n
Goalkeepers<\/b><\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/e0.365dm.com\/21\/11\/2048x1152\/skysports-alisson-becker-liverpool_5581581.jpg?resize=1080%2C608&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/13DFD\/production\/_123950418_caoimhinkelleherreuters.jpg?resize=976%2C549&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets.goal.com\/v3\/assets\/bltcc7a7ffd2fbf71f5\/blta19378d261b0ac0b\/60dbfdabf1ff900f4d40d85c\/a724b07068eb61bf34575154d7ebad9235512ddc.jpg?resize=1000%2C563&ssl=1\")
<\/span><\/p>\nLeft backs<\/b><\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1400\/MTg1OTI0MDQxNzU0ODE0MTQ3\/imago1008597652h.webp?resize=1080%2C727&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk\/incoming\/article26968344.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s810\/0_GettyImages-1397246907.jpg?resize=810%2C539&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\nRight backs<\/b><\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_1862,h_1047,x_0,y_74\/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FGettyImages%2Fmmsport%2F90min_en_international_web%2F01g9pheeh37re6qtdbtw.jpg?resize=1080%2C608&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.asmedia.epimg.net\/resizer\/vvucI6yQ33T0jJmczgc4hLuliDc=\/1288x725\/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/diarioas\/WAAGNYDHIUUMGEAMHXG5XIDUZI.jpg?resize=1080%2C608&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\nCenter backs<\/b><\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/sport\/football\/football-news\/article21291480.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s810\/0_GettyImages-1200563580.jpg?resize=810%2C539&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.redd.it\/so86sgs4sd181.jpg?resize=1080%2C1330&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Although Matip plays a smaller part in the attack than VVD, he still sallies forth into the attacking half with some regularity. I love watching Matip\u2019s towering, unwieldy, skinny, placid self <\/span>smoothly dribbling past rows of defenders<\/span><\/a> \u2013 often all the way to the edge of the opposition penalty area.\u00a0 It\u2019s delightful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thisisanfield.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/P2022-07-31-Liverpool_Strasbourg-44-e1659296309223.jpeg?resize=1080%2C721&ssl=1\")
<\/b><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1400\/MTg2MTYxNjAxMjI3Nzk0MTE1\/gomez-daka.webp?resize=1080%2C721&ssl=1\")
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\nMidfielders<\/b><\/h3>\n