Assured Alberto Moreno Display Proves Positive Despite Liverpool-Norwich Draw
Despite Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Norwich City representing another deflating result for Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, there are a host of positives to be drawn from this stalemate—not least the impressive performance of Spanish left-back Alberto Moreno.
Goals from Danny Ings and Russell Martin ensured an equal share of the spoils at Anfield, but Rodgers can argue that his side showed a significant improvement in their performance.
A key factor within this was the work of Moreno, making his first start of the 2015-16 Premier League campaign.
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As Rodgers continues to plot a revival on Merseyside, the confident display of Moreno should be focused on.
Replacing Joe Gomez
Norwich's trip to Merseyside marked the first time summer signing Joe Gomez, 18, has been left out of Rodgers' starting lineup in the Premier League, with the former Charlton Athletic defender regularly deployed alongside centre-back Dejan Lovren—who was also dropped for Sunday's clash.
Gomez has been one of the revelations of the season so far for the Reds, but his performances in an unnatural left-back role can, arguably, be attributed to Liverpool's lack of attacking power.
This is something Karl Matchett, writing for This is Anfield, attested to following Liverpool's 3-1 loss to Manchester United:
"With Joe Gomez in place at present as the left-back, his natural inclination (and likely tactical instruction at Old Trafford) is not to break forward at the first sight of a counter-attacking chance.
It has already cost Liverpool more than one chance to overload down that channel, just as his need to turn back inside and pass on his right foot has cost opportunities to deliver the ball into the box early for Christian Benteke during more structured build-up play.
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A lack of consistent support from a left-footed full-back had seen £32.5 million centre-forward Benteke struggle—isolated and lacking in service from wide areas—and instead Gomez's role was largely to provide support for a timid Lovren on the left side of defence.
"When he’s concentrated and thinking only about his own game, not about the left-back or whoever is alongside him, there are very few centre-halves who are better than him," West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic said in defence of Lovren at the end of August, as reported by Pete Oliver of the Independent, despite his compatriot producing a worryingly poor performance in the Hammers' 3-1 win over Liverpool.
The suggestion is Lovren can be a top-level centre-back when not overburdened with organisational duties, and therefore the inclusion of Gomez was to compensate for the £20 million former Southampton man's deficiency in that area.
Gomez performed well in this role, but as Matchett discussed, this detracted from Liverpool's buildup play in wide areas.
Replacing Gomez and Lovren with Moreno and Mamadou Sakho for the Reds' last two games—this Anfield draw and another stalemate away to Bordeaux in Thursday night's Europa League opener—has seen a shift in emphasis from Rodgers.
Moving away from the turgid 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations of the first five games of the season, Rodgers fielded a 3-4-2-1 system in Bordeaux, with the return of Daniel Sturridge prompting a slight shift into a 3-4-1-2 at Anfield—this saw a three-man back line of Sakho, Martin Skrtel and Emre Can supported by wing-backs Moreno and Nathaniel Clyne.
But with Moreno's main flaw during his first campaign on Merseyside last term being his defensive work—hampered by myriad lapses in concentration—this could be seen as a risk by the manager against an ambitious Norwich side.
Happily, Moreno has improved this area of his game significantly.
Defensive Strength
The dynamic Nathan Redmond has been a vital attacking outlet for Norwich under Alex Neil this season, as Sky Sports' Adam Bate detailed at the end of August:
"Ross Barkley has started well. Callum Wilson even has a hat-trick. But only one Englishman has either scored or assisted a goal in each of the first three Premier League games of the season.
Norwich winger Nathan Redmond is in the form of his career.
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The 21-year-old was deployed on the right wing in a 4-1-4-1 formation on Sunday, and making the third-most touches of the ball of any Norwich outfield player, with 62, it was clear that the Canaries had been instructed to play in the former Birmingham City winger whenever possible. His energy and positive movement were a key component in breaking down a compact Reds defence.
Fortunately for Rodgers, however, the combined work of Moreno and Sakho kept Redmond quiet throughout.
Redmond made only one successful dribble, completed just one of his four attempted crosses and was regularly forced to drive inside towards a deep-lying Skrtel in order to create openings.
It is a testament to the improved defensive efforts of Moreno that Redmond's attacking threat was successfully nullified.
The Spaniard made two successful tackles and five blocks, with his work in doubling up alongside Sakho ensuring that lurking centre-forward Cameron Jerome was starved of service from the right flank.
This is a return to the form Moreno showed during his time with Sevilla, prior to his £12 million move to Merseyside last summer, with Matchett continuing his analysis by recalling his strength in the left-back role in La Liga:
"This isn’t a Spanish player who is just an on-the-ball talent; his development was exciting to watch before joining Liverpool, in large part because of his physical traits. Good upper-body power, a fearlessness (bordering on recklessness at times) in the challenge and of course no end of pace all contribute to his performance in both directions of play.
He’s far from a complete defender, but he possesses enough attributes to give himself a chance to recover from any decision-making errors and also contributes a lot more to the team than anybody else in an offensive left-back role.
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Moreno's arrival at Anfield saw him lauded from the stands as a long-awaited successor to former Reds left-back John Arne Riise, and as Matchett points out, this balance of defensive strength—on show against Norwich—and attacking prowess sees him slot into the role much like the Norwegian.
Much like Riise, however, it is in his attacking work that Moreno proved invaluable on Sunday.
Liverpool's Playmaker
The rise of the attacking full-back, or the wing-back, has been one of the key features of the evolution of modern football, as Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wilson discussed in an article for the Guardian back in 2009:
"The advent of wing-backs can be seen as attempt to liberate both full-backs again – particularly in a world without wingers, but as the gradual move to a single striker has led to a return to a back four, the full-back has again taken on attacking importance. That Dani Alves can be hailed as one of the greatest players in the world is an indication of how crucial the role has become.
Few sides today play with wingers who stay wide. Part of the point of a 4-2-3-1, in fact, is to restore dribblers to the game without risking becoming over-manned in the centre. Even in a 4-4-2, the wide midfielders rarely play high up the field, which means that, as Charlton said, the full-backs are the only players on the field who regularly have space in front of them, and where there is space there is opportunity.
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Wilson's reference to Barcelona right-back Dani Alves is an intriguing one, as the Brazilian's performances as Sevilla's principle playmaker prior to his move to Catalonia in 2008 serve as a prime example of this switch in attacking emphasis over the years.
In his final season in Seville, in 2007-08, Alves registered 13 assists in 33 La Liga games—more than any of his team-mates—and it was his contribution that propelled Manolo Jimenez's side towards the top end of the table.
Though it would be remiss to compare Moreno's performance at Anfield to those of Alves during his time in La Liga, Moreno's role against Norwich was similar to that of the 32-year-old in terms of attacking responsibility.
Rodgers' switch to the 3-4-1-2 saw, as Wilson notes in relation to the modern 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2 formations, both Moreno and Clyne tasked with providing some much-needed width, with Liverpool's attacking trident of Sturridge, Benteke and Philippe Coutinho all largely deployed in central areas.
Clyne produced another dependable performance at wing-back, but it was the confident, attacking support of Moreno that energised Liverpool's forward movement.
Whether it be with his whipped crosses from the byline, his one-twos with Coutinho and Sturridge on the edge of the penalty area or his instinctive, direct balls from deep, Moreno flourished in a creative role at Anfield—his perfectly weighted ball for Ings' strike was the perfect example of this.
Provided the support of Sakho on the left defensive flank, Moreno thrived—and, despite an ultimately poor result for the Reds, Rodgers can take this as a positive and build on it.
Referencing Moreno's absence from his starting lineups in the opening games of the Premier League season, Rodgers told James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo: "It's just about when the opportunity comes that you take that opportunity and keep yourself in the team."
With a scintillating attacking display in Sunday's 1-1 with Norwich City, Moreno has grasped his opportunity emphatically.
Now Rodgers must be true to his word and reward the Spaniard with an extended run in the first team.
Statistics via WhoScored.com and Transfermarkt.co.uk.
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