Liverpool are almost Champions Elect.
It’s a bold claim to make in February, no doubt, but Arne Slot’s side are 13 points clear of second-place Arsenal with ten Premier League games to play.
The ever-tightening grip on the trophy is a product of Slot’s genius, Jurgen Klopp’s craftmanship and the overarching squad’s assimilation of tactical ideas.
Rivals needed Liverpool to drop points against Newcastle United at Anfield on Wednesday evening, but they were sorely disappointed, with Virgil van Dijk leading his team to a professional and cultured 2-0 victory.
Goals from the in-form Dominik Szoboszlai and industrious midfield general Alexis Mac Allister did the trick, with Merseyside erupting in elated fanfare as they stepped ever closer to glory.
How Liverpool beat Newcastle
If this contest served as an overture for next month’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley, Liverpool will feel pretty confident. Newcastle struggled to find an answer to the Slot machine, albeit without Alexander Isak, who suffered a groin injury pre-match but is slated to return well in time for the March meeting.
Liverpool are proving to be box-office super-sellers under Slot’s wing, capable of winning in so many different ways. Against Manchester City at the Etihad last weekend, the Reds only had 34% of the ball, but confidently won 2-0.
This time, they thwarted the Magpies with controlled play, limiting their attacking scope. Indeed, Newcastle only took three shots on the evening, none of which tested Alisson, whose sole defensive involvement was to parry a deflected cross.
As per Sofascore, the home side also won 55% of the match duels and made more tackles, clearances, interceptions and ball recoveries than their guests.
It was a complete display, with reporter David Lynch noting: “They controlled this one from start to finish.”
However, one or two Redmen failed to assert themselves as they’d have liked. Diogo Jota, for one, struggled to rediscover that clinical and dynamic quality that has been a staple of his time at the club.
Diogo Jota's performance vs Newcastle
With Darwin Nunez out of favour and slated for a summer sale, this was an opportunity for Jota to stake his claim as Liverpool’s first-choice number nine for the business months of the campaign.
But he struggled to produce the convincing performance that he needed, having now gone six matches without scoring. It wasn’t a dismal display, but it did leave plenty to be desired, with GOAL giving the Portugal star a 5/10 match rating and writing: ‘Offered nothing as a direct threat and was quiet before he went off after the hour mark.’
It’s an understandable, if unforgiving, assessment. Jota was reduced to a bit-part role for much of the contest, taking fewer touches than his goalkeeper Alisson (36), who indeed wasn’t called upon to make a direct save as Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate marshalled the Isak-less Newcastle frontline.
Minutes played
62′
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
23
Shots (on target)
0 (0)
Accurate passes
11/13 (85%)
Key passes
1
Dribbles
0/1
Ground duels
1/6
Aerial duels
1/1
The fact the 28-year-old – who also lost 71% of his total duels – was unable to get a shot away typified his struggles right now. For sure, Jota demonstrated some neat and intelligent movement, found Szoboszlai with one clever pass, but he’s not exactly playing at full throttle right now, lacking the killer instinct that has been expected of him across many prolific years on Merseyside.
Liverpool don’t play this weekend given they are out of the FA Cup, but a double Champions League header against Paris Saint-Germain begins next week. Slot will have one or two bold decisions to make, one of which could be demoting Jota to the bench.
Why Diogo Jota should be benched
Jota has suffered yet another injury-disrupted campaign, missing 15 matches across all competitions between October and January, returning for the festive period but picking up another muscular twinge last month.
He’s since started three of Liverpool’s past four Premier League matches but has failed to find the back of the net, also playing from the outset in a drab first-leg defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final and again during the embarrassing FA Cup exit against second-tier Plymouth Argyle.
It’s clear that he lacks confidence right now, so maybe putting him back on the bench could be a good thing. After all, the £140k-per-week talent’s last three top-flight goals have come during off-the-bench appearances.
Luis Diaz has moonlit as a mobile centre-forward on many occasions this season to combat Liverpool’s struggles with an effective out-and-out striker, be that because of Nunez’s on-pitch struggles or Jota’s injury issues. However, the Colombian is at his rip-roaring best when peeling off the left flank.
However, Szoboszlai played excellently at the Etihad when operating in a quasi-striker role, proving his relentless running and ability to close down his opponents is something that can work effectively for Liverpool.
Given PSG will look to bring fire to their contest against Liverpool, it might be worth deploying such an in-form player, especially since Cody Gakpo will be looking to start after returning from injury.
Moreover, Liverpool’s Hungarian engine has scored four times in little over a month of football, denoting a new and improved version who has listened to the comments about his lack of goals to complement a robust and gifted skill set.
Gakpo and Salah are Liverpool’s two most prolific players this year, so it might be worth using a more balanced focal point to act as a gravity centre, allowing them to arc inward and fire at the Parisiens in a three-pronged cannonade.
Jota, as stated, knows where the back of the net is, but this is a skill that seems well suited to off-the-bench action, and Slot may want to act accordingly.
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