The visitors from Liverpool could not prevent them from winning by two or more goals for the ninth time in a row, and the latest victim was Brentford.
“More than 20 years ago, when I started my career, I wanted to create a team that nobody wanted to play against and we faced that team today,” Klopp said of Brentford, which is praise indeed.
But it could be a banana skin for Liverpool with a 3-0 win that moved them up to second in the table and just behind Man City.
Liverpool looked to be in control of their destiny against the Bees, but FotMob showed that the expected goal difference (xG) was marginal, with the Reds having 1.71 xG compared to Brentford’s 1.68.
The Reds had 16 shots from their opponents but were limited to just three goals, with 10 possessions, with Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota proving the difference. And in doing so, the duo helped the Reds achieve a record that has stood since 1980.
9 consecutively for the first time since 1980
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Saturday 11 November 2023: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring his 200th goal in English football during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brentford FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Nine home games in all competitions this season have brought Klopp’s men nine wins.
And what Bournemouth, Aston Villa, West Ham, Leicester, Union SG, Everton, Toulouse, Nottingham Forest and Brentford have in common is that they all lost by two or more goals.
And with the help of Opta, we know that the last time Liverpool achieved that at Anfield was in 1980, 43 years ago. The combined score of the aforementioned nine games is 27-4, and the next chance to break the record and make it 10 in a row with two or more goals will come when LASK visits on November 30.
Anfield Castle.
The midfield battle leaves room for improvement
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – Saturday 11 November 2023: Liverpool and Cody Gakpo during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Brentford FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Liverpool’s midfield options have taken a hit recently and they didn’t have a top five against Brentford, so Klopp opted for Cody Gakpo to add height in the middle of the park.
The midfield has been attacked in recent games due to their inability to win the ball, and we saw that on Sunday, but not as extreme. “Obviously we haven’t played perfect football yet, not even close,” Klopp assessed after the victory, and Liverpool’s midfield duel proves just that.
Wataru Endo – Duels lost: 11, duels won: 3
Dominik Szoboszlai – Duels lost: 7, duels won: 1
Cody Gakpo – Duels Lost: 5, Duels Won: 4
As a midfield trio, they won eight duels out of 23 opponents with a success rate of 34.8% – that doesn’t exactly lead to success, and luckily it wasn’t to be this time.
It’s both ground and air duels and it’s an area Liverpool will need to improve after the break.
Captain Van Dijk
Virgil van Dijk, who manages Liverpool from within four walls, has gone about his business without too much attention, but he is back to simplify his role.
We all know he’s not the player he was before his ACL injury, but he’s back to dominating the opposition and giving his team a solid platform to build their defense on. He was absolutely dominant against a Brentford side who weren’t afraid to attack:10/12 duel won – best of players 4 differences – the closest third 89% pass accuracy – best among players 2 Blocks – Highest among all players 10/10 accurate long balls
He was as calm as you want. Good to have that Virgil van Dijk back.
FotMob is a must-have app for all fans to keep track of their team or follow soccer around the world. It has everything you want and you can download the FotMob app here.
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