So far
Rodgers has been switching systems, he has been using the 4-3-3 often while
flirting with three at the back every so often but it now looks like he has
settled for a 3-4-2-1 formation with three at the back, two wing backs
alongside two holding midfield players and two men playing off the one
frontman, that being Sterling on the last two outings.
The
performance at Bournemouth and todays draw at Arsenal have probably backed up
Rodgers’ idea of what is his best system and more importantly who are the best
players to carry out this system. The most important ingredient for a winning
team is a stable side and Rodgers looks like he is starting to get a good idea
of what Liverpool’s best team is.
Summer
signings Lazar Markovic and Adam Lallana seem to have worked finally worked
their way into the boss’ plans and they are proving to be very good signings,
Markovic’s pace and great dribbling talents make him a great threat at left
wing back and his hard working nature sees him get back whenever necessary
offering the shaky defence some much needed help. Same can be said for Jordan
Henderson on the right, it may not be his natural position but his hard working
mentality means he can put in a shift anywhere the manager wants to play him.
Lallana has
also offered a lot to the team in the recent past, his great skill with the
ball at his feet and his ability to pick to beat people with relative ease is
exactly what this Liverpool team needs, he has also shown that he and Couthino
can play together quashing peoples worries of having the two in the same
starting eleven.
The defence
continues to look extremely shaky, especially from set pieces, even after the
big decision to replace off form keeper Mignolet with Brad Jones. It must be
said despite the fact Jones is not as good a shot-stopper as the Belgian, his
ability in the air is a lot more assured than Mignolet’s and the current
defenders badly need someone they can trust behind them.
Sakho’s
return to the side has been greeted with great optimism, him Skrtel and Kolo
Toure appear to be the three men Rodgers has entrusted at the back, until
January at least, while Liverpool’s most costly defender in the clubs history,
Dejan Lovren, looks like he will have to contend with a place on the bench for
the foreseeable future. Today’s defensive performance was poor but if Rodgers
keeps the faith with these three, they could develop a strong partnership and
solve Liverpool’s defensive woes.
Lucas Leiva’s
return to the team should not be played down, he has offered some much needed
cover for the men at the back, his well timed challenges break up the play well
and his role is very important to the team. Alongside him, Gerrard is back to
playing the anchor-man role we saw him in last season, he may not have the legs
to play in the hole on his own but with Lucas covering the defensive side of
things he is free to dictate the game from deep.
Moving up to
the final third of the pitch, the aforementioned Adam Lallana has developed a
nice partnership with arguably Liverpool’s best player today and scorer of the
first goal Phil Couthino. In the side he is given almost a free role and proved
today that he can cause the opposition plenty of problems, his finishing
however may need a bit of work.
Without
Sturridge Liverpool have struggled in the goal scoring department and it looks
like for the next few weeks while Sturridge is out, Sterling will take on the
burden of the lone striker role, he proved in the Capital One Cup he can play
the role well and offers something different to the likes of Balotelli and
Lambert with his lightning place.
After todays
brilliant first half performance you would expect that Rodgers is going to
continue with this team for the Christmas period, they are still far off where
they were last season but the domination we saw today against Arsenal suggests
this Liverpool side is on the up.
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| Liverpool's starting eleven vs Arsenal |
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