How Lucas Leiva Revived Midfield Dominance for Liverpool Against West Brom

Perhaps inspired by the birth of his daughter last weekend, Lucas Leiva came back from almost a month out of action in inspired form in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over West Brom on Saturday.

Never has the term “bossed” been used so aptly as the Brazilian controlled possession and the pace of the game from the heart of Liverpool’s midfield.

Lucas has had his fair share of criticism this season, being pinpointed, along with Steven Gerrard, as Liverpool’s weak link.

The midfield pair had been struggling to form the catalyst between Liverpool’s defence and attack, especially in tiring second-half performances.

Perhaps the overgrowing competition for those two central midfield places at Liverpool is putting Lucas into gear.

After all, Luis Alberto, Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen could all take up his role alongside a more defensively sweeping Gerrard.

But Saturday, he looked refreshed and intelligent, allowing Liverpool’s attacking play to move forward.

Jordan Henderson, for example, was given the freedom of pushing up higher than usual due to Lucas’ handling of play behind him.

Taking stats from WhoScored.com, Lucas boasted a pass accuracy of 92 percent from his 69 passes.

His work rate was exceptional also. He had more touches than any other player on the pitch while making seven tackles, more than anyone else.

Last week against Newcastle, in Lucas’ absence due to this fatherhood responsibilities, Alberto made a very good second-half case for a starting position.

Alberto’s role would be higher pressed than Lucas’, but it certainly spurred Lucas into life this weekend.

He looked intelligent on the ball.

Calm and composed, he picked out key passes to ignite Liverpool attacks.

On 11 minutes, a driving ball forward on the counter-attack from deep inside his own half through the middle towards Daniel Sturridge should have been met with better control by the England striker. 

His second-half play showed how well he can read the opposition, position himself in the perfect places to intercept and stop and attack early and high up the pitch for Liverpool.

Lucas simply marshalled the space behind the centre-circle, sweeping balls out wide and ensuring the pace of the game was under the control of him and his teammates.

It was the first time this season that we have seen a dominant and controlled Liverpool performance from that midfield position. 

Brendan Rodgers will be delighted as it has knock-on effects for the freedom and responsibilities of players further up the pitch, contributing to Liverpool’s four-goal rout over the Baggies.