Lazar Markovic's Improvement Bolsters Liverpool's Midfield Options

When Brendan Rodgers was faced with the question of how Liverpool would cope without Luis Suarez this season, he might have been tempted to point to his most expensive signing ahead of the new campaign. Much was promised of Lazar Markovic.

Of course, hailing Markovic as a direct replacement for Suarez would be somewhat disingenuous. For starters, the two attackers operate in different ways in different areas of the pitch. One is fundamentally a winger, with the other a No. 9—albeit a versatile one.

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But Markovic, signed for £20 million from Benfica, was meant to bolster Liverpool’s midfield just as much as he was entrusted to advance their attack. Yet Rodgers’ midfield has become something of a wasteland since the start of the season.

Last season, the central duo of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, complemented by Philippe Coutinho farther up the pitch, provided the platform for Liverpool’s unlikely title charge. While Suarez’s importance to the side was blatantly obvious, the Reds’ structural strength could be found in midfield.

But with Gerrard suffering the inescapable decline that comes with age, the club confirming his decision to leave Anfield at the end of the season and Henderson struggling to match the standards of the previous campaign, Liverpool have lost that composition.

After a disastrous November and December, in which the Anfield club won just two out of 10 games, Liverpool’s form has picked up of late, with Arsenal’s and Manchester United’s struggles sparking optimism on Merseyside that the Reds could yet snatch a Champions League place come May.

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So how is Liverpool’s midfield equipped to facilitate the Reds’ belated push for a top-four finish? And looking to the longer term, how will they cope when Steven Gerrard swaps Anfield for the Hollywood Hills at the end of the season? The key could be found in Markovic.

“Markovic likes to take risks and attack,” explained Benfica sporting director Rui Costa, as per Dominic King of the Daily Mail. “He is very cold blooded when he’s in a one-to-one situation and he’s not afraid of facing the opponents. He’s eager to learn, so I think he will adapt quickly. He is a pure talent.”

Too often this season, Liverpool have been too ponderous in moving between the lines of midfield and attack, and that’s just in games where they have been able to take a grip of the contest. Considering Coutinho’s decline this season, Markovic is the only midfield player Rodgers has that can provide drive and energy.

He is the outlet that Liverpool didn't need last season because they had Suarez. Having Markovic on the wing should free up Rodgers to make better use of his front line—although admittedly, injury to Daniel Sturridge has crippled such intentions.

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Markovic should expect to feature more prominently for Liverpool between now and the end of the season, given that he looks to have finally adapted to life in the Premier League and his slightly different midfield role under Rodgers. 

From a defensive standpoint, Liverpool’s midfield have toiled this season. Injury has robbed Lucas Leiva of the awareness and vigour that once made him one of the finest protective midfielders in the Premier League. And if the club has genuine elite aspirations, Joe Allen simply doesn’t have sufficient presence or frankly ability.

Rodgers has switched between a number of different formations this season, with the Northern Irishman using 4-1-2-3, 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems over the course of the campaign. Perhaps it’s this lack of consistency that has unsettled Liverpool’s central unit.

For a side as dynamic and technical as Rodgers’, the midfield is where Liverpool have been let down this season. If they are to recover in the second half of the campaign, then it will have to coincide with that of their central operators.