Liverpool's Improved Defence Gives Them the Platform to Push for Top-Four Finish

Liverpool's start to the 2015/16 season continued in a positive fashion with a third consecutive clean sheet achieved in the 0-0 draw at Arsenal on Monday night.

Brendan Rodgers dressed in all-black for the Reds' opening match against Stoke City, and his side continued to exorcise the demons of last season with a resolute performance that vanquished the memories of a 4-1 defeat at the Emirates back in April.

That performance last season was a particularly poor defensive showing, arriving immediately after the home defeat to Manchester United and undoing the 13-match unbeaten run leading up to those two key fixtures.

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Just four months later, this was a very different Liverpool team that took on Arsene Wenger's side—only four players who started in April did so again on Monday (Simon Mignolet, Emre Can, Lucas Leiva and Philippe Coutinho). Of the seven subs in April, only one was involved.

It wasn't just the personnel that was different, the system used was, too.

April saw a back three of Can, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho, with Jordan Henderson and Alberto Moreno as wing-backs. Monday night saw Rodgers continue with the same back four that have provided clean sheets in the opening two games against Stoke and Bournemouth: Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez.

Gomez and Clyne

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Liverpool's newly signed full-backs have certainly played a huge part in the improved defensive showing at the start of this season.

Clyne, a £12 million signing from Southampton, has immediately proved to be a substantial upgrade on the departed Glen Johnson, offering an attacking outlet but also solid defensive acumen on the right side of defence.

Meanwhile, Gomez, a £3.5 million acquisition from Charlton Athletic, has been a revelation at left-back. Although a centre-back by trade, the 18-year-old has shown huge maturity in his first games in the Premier League.

"

Joe Gomez's game by numbers: 5 tackles won 5 interceptions 4 clearances 3 blocks Looks a real talent. #LFC pic.twitter.com/wrzjAKSx5h

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 24, 2015"

Gomez was initially signed with the idea to loan him back out, but after impressing in pre-season and in training, he's been just as impressive in these opening fixtures despite being played in an unfamiliar position.

Given that Moreno was particularly poor in this corresponding fixture, Gomez showed the benefits of having a more defensively sound full-back.

It's not just the duo themselves, though, but also how they are being used, with their roles being highlighted on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, showing how Rodgers' full-backs are not both pushing high up the pitch at the same time. Instead, one remains deeper while the other pushes on, in a far more traditional way, and it's been key to giving Liverpool a solid base and allowing less space for the opposition to attack out wide.

Centre

In the middle of defence, Skrtel and Lovren are performing individually better and as a defensive duo. They are also benefitting from the more solid approach from the full-backs, plus a more resolute midfield in front of them.

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James Milner put in a particularly impressive showing, but the return of Lucas as a holding midfield player, plus Can as a combative midfielder ahead of him, added muscular presence in the middle. Arsenal weren't allowed the space that Liverpool so often afforded them in the previous encounter.

Rodgers has repeated the mistake of playing 4-2-3-1 at the Emirates in recent league encounters, with a double pivot of Lucas and Steven Gerrard being found out time and again. Playing Lucas in a three-man midfield with Can and Milner ahead and alongside of him was a welcome sight.

Coaching

Liverpool as a team look far better coached defensively. Which begs the question, has this been Rodgers' influence or due to the changes made in the backroom staff? Has new assistant manager Sean O'Driscoll been the man behind the improved defence?

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Last season, Moreno looked like a player who had plenty of ability but needed to actually be coached on how to defend properly. Too often he was caught out of position, but Gomez is now benefitting from the slightly more cautious approach from the full backs.

Lovren struggled due to the same issue, when he was dragged wide with the left-back out of position. Having Gomez there has stopped this from happening, and the knock-on effect has meant the centre-back duo are more solid in the middle.

Whoever is responsible for the change of philosophy defensively, it's certainly working.

Top Four Hopes

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Writing for This Is Anfield, Marco Lopes provided an in-depth statistical analysis of how a club can finish in the top four.

Lopes explained three routes to qualification for the Champions League:

• "The “6 pointers” – keep up with the teams likely to challenge alongside you for 4^th place. Make sure you beat them when you play them, so that ultimately, you are the team taking the points off them, forcing them beneath you in the table."

• "Win 21 games – in the EPL era, only once has a team won 21 games or more and NOT qualified for the Champions League."

• "Beat the “rest” – Consider that beneath the current top 7, there are 13 teams that are all mostly inferior, in squad quality and depth.  These teams represent 78 very obtainable points.  Given that the average points tally of a 4^th place is typically 70 points in the last 8 seasons, these matches represent the largest pool of where the majority of those points can be most easily obtained."

It's that latter theory that Liverpool should be focussing on this season, and improving their record against the bottom 13—which was a huge issue last season.

After 20 games last season against the teams outside the top seven, Liverpool had just 38 points, averaging 1.9 points per game, as explained by Henry Jackson of This Is Anfield.

Having defeated Stoke City and Bournemouth—teams who will probably finish outside the top seven this season—Liverpool have shown improvement already, compared to defeat last season at Stoke and taking just one point from two games against relegated Hull City last campaign.

Beat these teams, then produce resolute defensive performances in the away games against the rivals for the top four, and Liverpool will be in a very strong position come the end of the season.