A Progress Report on Liverpool's Squad Entering March International Break
Despite recent misery, Liverpool—as both a group of individuals and a collective—can be relatively pleased with their progress throughout March as we head into the international break.
The Reds began the month with a thoroughly professional 2-1 victory at home to Manchester City, followed by a 2-0 win over Burnley at Anfield three days later. A draw with Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup and a 1-0 away win over Swansea City were to follow before Sunday's disappointing 2-1 home loss against top-four rivals Manchester United.
But how did the Liverpool squad perform during March?
Using our previous breakdown of February's form as reference, we will consider every Liverpool player's performance in March ahead of the international break, breaking the squad down into positions and grading each player on form.
We will consider direct contributions such as goals, assists and clean sheets, as well as a subjective and statistical analysis of performance, rounding off with an assessment of the manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Here is how the Liverpool squad performed individually in March.
(Note: For rational purposes, one-minute Burnley substitute Rickie Lambert has not been assessed.)
Goalkeeper
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Simon Mignolet continued his sustained run of brilliant form throughout March's fixtures with a superb three-save display against Swansea, while he kept Liverpool in the game late on against United, expertly stopping Wayne Rooney's penalty.
He showed maturity in his post-United words, as reported by Andy Kelly of the Liverpool Echo, expressing the need to "use this game as a catalyst" to spring back into form after the international break.
Mignolet furthered his claim for the Premier League Golden Glove award with two more clean sheets in March.
Grade: B+
Centre-Backs
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Mamadou Sakho
Mamadou Sakho only made two appearances for Liverpool in March due to injury, but both performances—against Swansea and United—were outstanding.
The 25-year-old made a phenomenal eight successful tackles at the Liberty Stadium, while his team-high posting of 59 passes and a 89.8 percent passing accuracy on Sunday belied United's ultimately successful pressing game.
Grade: A
Martin Skrtel
Martin Skrtel started every game for Liverpool throughout March and was particularly impressive in the home victory over Burnley, making four successful interceptions—more than any other player—to stymie the Clarets' hardworking forward runners.
He was unfortunately forced out of action against Blackburn due to injury and was surprisingly underused against United, where his aerial prowess would have best suited a duel with Marouane Fellaini.
Grade: B+
Emre Can
March was a testing month for Emre Can, who had to deal with a variety of challenges—when shifted into central midfield against Blackburn, for example, the 21-year-old failed to keep up with Rovers' robust engine.
Given the freedom to probe from centre-back against Burnley, Can produced a sublime performance, making three successful dribbles and two key passes.
However, while Skrtel was muted at Anfield against United, Can struggled to deal with the threat of Fellaini, ending the month in rather shaky fashion.
Grade: B
Kolo Toure
Featuring on the bench for much of March, Kolo Toure was introduced three times throughout this month for the Reds, with Rodgers using his capabilities to steady the ship late on against City and Burnley.
Replacing Skrtel in the opening stages against Blackburn, Toure proved his worth in a comfortable display in which he posted a 95 percent passing accuracy and was unlucky to score.
Grade: B-
Dejan Lovren
With Sakho injured at the start of March, Dejan Lovren was brought into Rodgers' first team as part of the back three and, perhaps surprisingly, showed his capabilities in a series of assured displays.
Rodgers should now be comfortable with Lovren as Sakho's left-sided backup, although after his £20 million signing this may be a luxury role.
Grade: B-
Glen Johnson
Returning from his own injury issues, Glen Johnson was used sparingly throughout March with late-substitute appearances against Burnley and Swansea.
Playing the full 90 minutes against Blackburn, Johnson performed reasonably well, helping to keep a clean sheet and a renewed shot at the FA Cup semi-finals in April.
Grade: C
Wing-Backs
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Raheem Sterling
With Jordon Ibe injured, Raheem Sterling was often used in an unnatural wing-back position throughout March, showing his versatility when deployed on either the left- or right-hand side.
However, his muted and overrun display against United at right wing-back showcased why this is a misuse of his talents.
Furthermore, when deployed as a centre-forward against City, Sterling produced a virtuoso display of movement and dynamism, with his two assists and team-high three key passes underlining just why he is better off in a more advanced role.
Grade: B
Lazar Markovic
Making just two appearances for Liverpool in March, Markovic was unable to perform to any effect against either City or Blackburn in a wing-back role and was withdrawn in both games.
Absent for the United loss, Markovic is clearly being treated with caution by Rodgers—it is easy to forget he is just 21 years old.
Grade: C-
Alberto Moreno
Moreno started in every league game for Liverpool in March and was alarmingly poor with each performance.
The 22-year-old was positionally culpable for both of Juan Mata's goals in the recent loss to United. He made no tackles, interceptions or dribbles and made just 16 passes before his 65th-minute substitution.
An international break may have come at the right time for the seemingly fatigued Moreno.
Grade: D
Central Midfielders
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Jordan Henderson
With Liverpool needing to continue their surge toward the Premier League's top four in March, beginning with a testing encounter with City, captain-in-waiting Jordan Henderson needed to ensure he and his side maintained their momentum.
The 24-year-old did so in style, with three goals and one assist in his four league appearances as well as a typically energetic display against Blackburn in the FA Cup.
He was Liverpool's star man for March.
Grade: A
Joe Allen
The talents of Joe Allen came to the fore in March, as Welsh international team-mate Neil Taylor told BBC Sport: "I've always known he was a great player, we know in Wales what a good player he is. He just needed to be fit. He's a key player, and he's in great form."
Allen was absolutely masterful in the win against City, with his movement and understanding of space working to stymie the talents of both David Silva and Yaya Toure. He also produced similarly impressive displays against both Swansea and Burnley alongside Henderson.
Grade: B+
Absent for much of March due to injury, Steven Gerrard returned to a warning from Rodgers, as reported by The Telegraph: "I am not one that makes emotional decisions [in selection] on whether I like someone or not."
Both of Gerrard's appearances in March came as a substitute, with very different levels of success.
His performance as a second-half "regista" against Swansea propelled the Reds to victory in Rodgers' inspired 3-4-3 diamond formation, but a 38-second red card against United serves to undermine his legacy for the rest of the season, with the Reds unable to contend after his stamp on Ander Herrera.
Grade: C-
Attacking Midfielders
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Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho was ever-present for Liverpool throughout March and began the month in sublime form with a trademark curled strike and a tally of four successful dribbles which ran the Citizens ragged.
The 22-year-old didn't quite reach those heights again this month but sustained a level of creativity throughout, although he was sullied somewhat against United.
Grade: B+
Adam Lallana
Playing in all five games, March was a rather hit-and-miss month for Adam Lallana, who showed his versatility when used as a wing-back (either in an in-game switch or starting in this role against Swansea) but couldn't apply his creativity fully when in a more advanced role.
He will be disappointed with his crucial, disappointing miss against United.
Grade: C
Strikers
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Daniel Sturridge
Daniel Sturridge played in all five games for Liverpool in March, one as a substitute, and scored two goals.
Yet there is an inescapable feeling that the 25-year-old has yet to surpass a droll, robotic post-injury slump, with Sturridge seemingly at odds with the system he has returned to.
His 37 touches of the ball against United, the least of any Liverpool player to last the full 90 minutes, serves to highlight the disparity between Sturridge and his team-mates at present.
Grade: C
Mario Balotelli
After making our ranking of the top 10 best Liverpool players for February, Mario Balotelli fell back into the terminable dross that is his Anfield career with a pair of miserable displays in March.
The 24-year-old was particularly lethargic and disappointingly hot-headed in the loss to United where, on his 65th-minute introduction, he was pinned with the hopes of rejuvenating a lost cause for the Reds.
Grade: D
Manager
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Brendan Rodgers
Overall, with three victories out of four in the league and a shot at the FA Cup still intact, Rodgers will be pleased with his side's performances in March.
His ingenuity helped the Reds along the way, particularly with his half-time switch to a 3-4-3 diamond against Swansea; moving the ever-running Henderson into a more advanced position forced the Swans' concession.
Imposed with Gerrard's indefensible red card against United, Rodgers did the best he could by introducing Balotelli in order to inject some attacking verve to the game but was let down by his £16 million summer signing.
One salient criticism of Rodgers for March is his misuse of Sterling in a wing-back role, effectively isolating Sturridge due to the comparatively slow Lallana being utilised in his place. However, once again, this was somewhat imposed on him due to Ibe's injury.
Grade: B+
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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