Breaking Down the Improvements Liverpool Have Made Under Jurgen Klopp
While they remain on the periphery of the Premier League's European spots, battling with the likes of West Ham United, Southampton and Stoke City for a strong finish to the 2015/16 season, there is certainly a sense of improvement on Merseyside following the arrival of Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers at the beginning of October, with the Ulsterman ousted after a poor 2014/15 was followed by a stuttered start to the current campaign, hours after a 1-1 draw with Everton.
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The German's appointment has restored hope to the Reds, and with the likes of Mario Gotze and Kevin Volland linked with a move to Liverpool this summer, per David Maddock of the Mirror and Bild (h/t Metro's Max Miller), supporters can expect further improvement on the field in the coming seasons.
But where has Klopp improved the club already, after just short of six months at the helm at Anfield?
Here are three key areas based on Liverpool's output over the past two seasons, including Klopp's focus on tightening his defensive line to "feel stability," as he told reporters following his first game in charge—a 0-0 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur—per the Press Association (h/t This is Anfield).
Defensive Work
"You cannot just think about offensive things—up to now we have not scored enough goals but you have to feel stability," Klopp explained after that White Hart Lane stalemate. "When you feel this you are free for creativity, and that is how football works."
The German went on the attest that "0-0 is an absolutely normal score," and no doubt it was Liverpool's dogged defensive work that most impressed him against Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs.
Setting the tone for his reign, Liverpool ran further, tackled harder and pressed higher than in the first months of 2015/16, and they were rewarded with a clean sheet. As his spell in charge of the Reds has continued, Klopp has seen more of the same.
- In 2014/15, and under Rodgers in 2015/16, Liverpool kept 22 clean sheets in 70 games in all competitions, conceding a total of 82 goals.
- This averages at a clean sheet every 0.3 games and 1.2 goals conceded per game.
- Since Klopp's arrival on Merseyside, Liverpool have kept 15 clean sheets in 38 games in all competitions, conceding a total of 40 goals.
- This averages at a clean sheet every 0.4 games, and 1.1 goals conceded per game.
This may seem a paltry improvement, but given Klopp's short time in charge at Liverpool, this should be considered significant; with a change of emphasis in defence at the heart of this upturn in fortunes.
The "stability" that Klopp was searching for has largely come in the establishing of a regular centre-back pairing in Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho, with Klopp altering their roles in the Liverpool back four to achieve this.
Lovren serves as a simple, no-nonsense centre-back, while Sakho is Klopp's more progressive, front-footed defensive general.
The Croatian in particular has proved key, contributing to 10 of Liverpool's 15 clean sheets under Klopp.
It is not only at the back that Liverpool have improved under Klopp, however, with their efforts in front of goal boosted following the German's arrival.
Goalscoring
Rodgers' reign at Liverpool will be remembered for a sensational challenge for the Premier League title in 2013/14, with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge contributing to a vast goal tally of 110 goals in 43 games in all competitions.
But Rodgers' demise came following injury to Sturridge and a big-money move to Barcelona for Suarez—and the players brought in to replace them, notably Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert, failing to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
Boosted by summer signing Roberto Firmino, a returning Sturridge and the fledgling talents of Divock Origi, Klopp has seen an improvement on Liverpool's output under Rodgers over the past two seasons.
- In 2014/15, and under Rodgers this season, Liverpool scored 87 goals in 69 games in all competitions, averaging 1.3 goals per game.
- Under Klopp this season, Liverpool have scored 58 goals in 38 games in all competitions, averaging 1.5 goals per game.
As Liverpool's reliance on Sturridge and Suarez proved, the Reds have struggled for goals from other positions over the past two seasons, but with Klopp contributing significantly to breaking a record for unique goalscorers in 2015/16, this looks to have changed.
Nineteen different players have scored for Liverpool this season—the most of any campaign in the club's long and storied history.
This includes the likes of Sheyi Ojo, Brad Smith and Joao Carlos Teixeira, players who have been handed milestone appearances—debuts or full debuts—by Klopp.
This is a marginal improvement on 2014/15's total of 18 different goalscorers, but with two months left to play this season, Klopp's focus on all-round play is clearly benefiting the Reds; with six different players hitting the back of the net in Liverpool's 6-0 win away to Aston Villa on Valentine's Day.
That win at Villa Park, a 6-1 victory at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium in the Capital One Cup in December, November's 4-1 win away to Manchester City and a 5-4 comeback win away to Norwich City in January stand as some of the most emphatic performances under Klopp so far, with Liverpool's fighting spirit and attacking play showing signs of major progress with the German in the dugout.
The team ethic showcased in these victories is characteristic of Klopp's approach—something that has proved a major improvement following the departure of Rodgers.
Fighting Spirit
"After the goal on 82 minutes, with 12 minutes to go, I saw many people leaving the stadium," Klopp recalled after Liverpool's 2-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace in November—his first as Reds manager—as reported by Andy Hunter of the Guardian.
"I felt pretty alone at this moment. We decide when it is over. Between 82 and 94 [minutes] you can make eight goals if you like."
This notion of Liverpool recapturing a winning mentality has pervaded Klopp's first six months on Merseyside, stemming from his mission statement of turning the club "from doubters to believers" during his first interview as manager, relayed by the Liverpool Echo's David Prentice in October.
Leading his squad over to salute the Kop after Origi's last-minute strike sealed a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion in December, Klopp acknowledged this, and the importance of a fighting spirit.
It was far from an ideal result, but as Klopp told reporters after the game, it was his way of recognising "the best atmosphere since I came here," continuing to explain how his side "tried everything and played football," as noted by the London Evening Standard's Sam Long.
Coming back to secure a 2-2 draw felt like a victory at Anfield, and clawing results from losing positions has become something of a trend for Klopp's Liverpool.
This is an area Liverpool writer Sam McGuire detailed on Twitter at the beginning of March, in comparison with Rodgers' side's output in 2014/15 and in the first months of the current campaign:
In short, Klopp's Liverpool have recovered 11 points from losing positions in the Premier League so far, compared to just four points under Rodgers in 2014/15 and 2015/16; a key flaw of Rodgers' Reds side was that, if they went behind, they rarely fought back to secure a result.
Naturally, there remains room for further improvement for Klopp's Liverpool, as conceding a two-goal lead away to Southampton at St Mary's earlier in March proved, but their defensive prowess, goalscoring efforts and fighting spirit have marked a considerable development following his arrival at the club in October.
With a summer of investment and a intensive pre-season to come, Liverpool are primed for further progress under Klopp in 2016.
Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk and LFCHistory.net.
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