What Aurelio's Return Means for Liverpool

Reds fans are probably delighted that the trio of Agger, Aquliani and Aurelio will all be ready to start soon. Aurelio’s already made one appearance against Leeds this season coming on as a substitute.

While we all know what positions Agger and Aquliani will play upon their return, Aurelio's position and influence on the team is more of a mystery, especially as it seems Rafa will use him in central mid rather than at left back where he usually plays.

In the Leeds game, Aurelio lined up with Mascherano in the middle two of the 4-2-3-1 formation employed. With Insua improving every game, and Dossena as a more than capable back-up, it seems that it would be a waste to use Aurelio at left-back because of the impact that Aurelio can have on the game from the midfield, and because you don't want to see two good players sitting on the bench for every game.   

This is not the first time that Aurelio has played as a central midfielder. Apart from his time at Valencia, where he occasionally started in the middle, Aurelio was used very effectively in the middle of a 3-4-2-1 formation against Pompey last year. The team lined up

------------Carragher-Skrtel-Agger------------

--Arbeloa-Mascherano-Aurelio-Dossena--

----------------Benayoun----Babel--------------

------------------------N'Gog-----------------------

While the media was, surprise surprise, critical of Rafa's use of the formation, especially since Liverpool scraped past a depleted Pompey side 3-2 with a Torres goal in the 90th minute, those who watched the game saw that Liverpool dominated possession, controlled the pace and style of the game, and both Pompey goals were against the run of play—the second from a set-piece (now where have I heard that before?).

Central to Liverpool's dominance was the man who was voted our man of the match in that game, Aurelio. His passing, movement and control from the centre was reminiscent of a certain Spaniard from Sociedad, and his threat from set-pieces was present as well, especially as he scored from a free-kick inside the box.


Direct Replacement for Xabi?

When Benitez brought Aurelio from Valencia on a free, Benitez said of the Brazilian, “He can cross the ball superbly and he is maybe a better passer of the ball than Xabi Alonso. People will say, ‘Oh really?’ But you will see the quality of his left foot. At set-pieces he is fantastic.”

While Rafa's comments are debatable, no one can deny that Aurelio is a great passer, and will provide service of a similar standard to Xabi's. And although he may not possess Alonso's vision, he does make up for it in other areas—tackling and set-pieces.

Both of these qualities stood out in the game against United in March, where he scored from a free-kick to secure us the win, and nullified the threat of Ronaldo with some brilliantly timed tackles and good positional play. His defensive qualities will be of even more importance this year considering the full-backs will be bombing down the wings a lot more than last season.

He can cover for either Insua or Dossena while one of the two makes his runs down the wing, thus maintaining the shape, and making it harder for teams to get a goal on the counter-attack.

Aurelio's threat from set-pieces cannot be stressed enough. Not only are his free-kicks and corners of a much higher quality than anyone else in the team, they also free up Gerrard so that he can be an attacking threat within the box from set-pieces. And unlike Gerrard, his corners are actually whipped in rather than floated in, and have a bite to them.

Formation (4-2-3-1)

---------------Back 4------------------

--------Mascherano--Aurelio------

Kuyt------Gerrard-------Benayoun

----------------Torres------------------

Left-Midfield

Aurelio could also be used at left midfield, a spot that is up for grabs, seeing how much more effective Babel looks on the right, and how shoddy Riera has been since the start of the season on the left. With Insua or Dossena bombing down the wing, and making overlapping runs, the left midfielder would have the defensive duties of Kuyt for us or Park for United.

Aurelio would be a good fit when tucked in on the left, getting ahead, letting Insua/Dossena make their runs, or getting around the edge of the box and whipping crosses in, for Torres, Kuyt, Gerrard etc. to latch on to. The formation will possibly be changed.

If we have Kuyt and Aurelio both starting, I don't really see the need for a second holding midfielder, considering the main role of a defensive midfielder is to free up the full-backs, win those 50-50 balls in the middle and make those vital tackles. With Aurelio and Kuyt taking care of the first aspect, Masch's overall responsibility will be reduced, and he can focus on the latter two.

Formation (4-1-4-1)

---------------Back 4-----------------

------------Mascherano-------------

Kuyt--------Gerrard----Aurelio----

-------------Benayoun---------------

---------------Torres-------------------

Whatever the position, the fact that Aurelio will be making a return is very exciting, and he could prove to be an important player in our title run. Now, FFS, don't go out and get injured again, Fabio.