Why Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho Is Liverpool's Best Centre-Back Partnership
"The first thing, always, maybe in life, you need to have a stable defence," Jurgen Klopp told LFCTV on his arrival at Liverpool. "That's the first thing, always. Because you can only stay confident in a game when you know not each offensive move of the other team is a goal."
It serves as a miserable epitaph for his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, whose struggle to form a defensive line undermined his progress on Merseyside.
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After three seasons as Liverpool manager, Rodgers has left Klopp with a five-strong group of senior centre-backs he will need to mould into a functional defensive group: Mamadou Sakho, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Kolo Toure and Joe Gomez.
Arriving at the club, Klopp may struggle to implement this fundamental philosophy, as this group is decidedly weak—something that Rodgers failed to recognise.
But, without the opportunity to reinforce his defensive group immediately, it is Sakho and Skrtel who stand out as his best centre-back partnership.
Klopp's Defensive System
"We were one of the first teams to say that we wanted to cover more kilometres than the opponents and work on this pressing game but on a very offensive basis," Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic told David Hytner of the Guardian in 2013, at the peak of Klopp's success at the Westfalenstadion.
"He wants us to do our job, plus five or 10 percent more to really get there. We want to do more than close the opponents down. We want to close them down, get the ball and fight for it.
"Stats are very important to him. We never want to run less than the opponent and it's not just more than them, but as much as we can to dominate. As soon as we lose the ball, we are back behind it so the opponent has to play against 10 players—not five because the other five are still at the front and walking back."
As Subotic detailed, Klopp's defensive philosophy is very much a collective effort, with his high-tempo gegenpressing style of play the subject of intense scrutiny following his move to Merseyside.
This requires not only the back four to contribute in the defensive sector, but every player from the centre-forward back.
There is an intensity and emphasis on team spirit, ingrained in his sides after years of bonding, or as Subotic put it, "30 times where he saved my butt or I saved his butt."
However, while under Klopp the team is the star, the roles of his centre-backs are clearly defined and central to his sides' success—as he so eloquently explained on his arrival at Liverpool.
For much of Klopp's seven-year spell at Dortmund, his favoured centre-back partnership was Subotic and Mats Hummels, the graceful, cultured Germany international.
Detailing the Subotic-Hummels dynamic in a tactical analysis for This is Anfield, Karl Matchett described how Subotic "is direct, aggressive and goes to ground quickly with his tackles," and Hummels is "happy to step forward with the ball under pressure and be confident in evading an initial press and move into midfield."
While both were required to contribute to Klopp's gegenpressing game plan, there was a clear balance of aggression and finesse within Subotic and Hummels' partnership.
So are Sakho and Skrtel able to replicate their roles at Liverpool?
Mamadou Sakho: Liverpool's Hummels?
Matchett continues to describe Sakho as "as close to Mats Hummels as Liverpool could hope to find," noting their similarities in strength, perception and timing of the tackle.
Sakho, who joined Liverpool in a deal worth £18 million in 2013, often struggled to impose himself under Rodgers, with the Ulsterman's £20 million outlay on Lovren the following summer signalling his intention to replace the Frenchman as starting left centre-back after just one season at Anfield.
But as Lovren's Merseyside misery unfolded, Sakho slowly reasserted himself, and now stands as Liverpool's finest centre-back option; and, arguably, the only Reds centre-back truly worthy of an elite club at this juncture.
Sakho is a phenomenal physical defender, able use his upper-body strength to hold off attackers, and his guile and strong reading of the game to intercept passing moves.
The 25-year-old has been dribbled past just 0.3 times per 90 minutes in the Premier League so far this season, the joint-least of any Liverpool player alongside Skrtel, and has averaged more interceptions made (two) and aerial duels won (three) per 90 than any of his centre-back colleagues.
Of Liverpool's centre-backs, only Gomez (2.5) has made more successful tackles per 90 than Sakho (2.3).
Like Hummels, Sakho is happy to collect possession and move into midfield, looking to prompt attacking moves rather than pass along the back line.
No Liverpool centre-back averages more passes per 90 than the Frenchman (60), while no other Reds player has registered a higher average passing accuracy (92.8 percent) in this season's Premier League.
Sakho employs an aggressive, front-footed defensive game that should endear him to Klopp, and pairing this with a supreme confidence in possession and ball-playing ability makes him a truly invaluable asset for the German as he builds his new-look defence.
Sakho can be Klopp's new Hummels, and having signed a new five-year contract with the club in September, as reported by Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo, is set to remain at the heart of Liverpool's defence as he approaches his peak years.
"I work all the time 100 percent, I try to stay professional and I give my best for this city and this club," he said on signing his new deal.
As Subotic can attest, this will be Klopp's minimum requirement as Liverpool manager. But can the 48-year-old find a similarly committed and, crucially, suitable option in Skrtel?
Martin Skrtel: A Substitute Subotic?
Reflecting on his appraisal of Subotic's qualities, Matchett proffered, "In that light, Martin Skrtel is almost certainly the man to continue on the right side"
Matchett is correct: Skrtel is the most stylistically similar to Subotic, owing to Gomez's raw ability, Lovren's lack of aggression and the 34-year-old Toure's lack of speed.
Skrtel has enjoyed remarkable longevity on Merseyside, serving as a first-team mainstay for much of his seven years with the club to date, and his commitment, fitness levels and physical capabilities have made him a useful option for Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish, Rodgers and now Klopp.
He is an accomplished defender in terms of basic skills: Tackles, headers and simple passes to his full-backs.
On a fundamental level, this makes him a fitting partner for the more refined Sakho, with Skrtel more likely to drop off and cover while the Frenchman steps out of defence.
Skrtel was also rewarded with a new long-term contract in the summer, renewing his terms up to 2018, as reported by Andy Hunter of the Guardian, and this suggests he was focal to Rodgers' plans.
However, while he is Liverpool's best partner for Sakho at present, he should not be a long-term option as Klopp looks to build a "stable defence."
Skrtel is severely limited in his defensive capabilities, often having to rely on last-ditch challenges to compensate for his inability to keep a disciplined defensive line or deal with attacking threats before they develop. At 30 years old, Skrtel is worryingly timid and unable to organise a cohesive defensive line.
He is the most similar to Subotic in Liverpool's defensive ranks at present, and the most complementary to Sakho's talents, but Skrtel should not be a first-choice centre-back for Klopp beyond this season.
The German would be wise to focus on the development of Gomez and Tiago Ilori, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, as more suitable right-sided options; he could also look to the transfer market, and perhaps poach Subotic from his former club.
For the time being, though, Sakho and Skrtel is Liverpool's best centre-back partnership.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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