Ian Rush: Klopp’s Squad Management Key To Liverpool’s Title Fightback
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Manchester City have been in phenomenal form this season but it just goes to show you how strong Liverpool have been of late as there’s now only three points in the Premier League title race and all to play for.
It’s very much game on and it’s great for the Premier League in general because for a long time it seemed as though it was going to be settled well before May, but Liverpool’s relentless pursuit of City is paying off.
This time last week City looked so comfortable in both the Premier League and the Champions League after their first-leg performance against Sporting, but now Pep Guardiola has been given some food for thought and he can’t take his eye off the ball in the league.
But that’s what it’s all about at this level. If you want to compete for all the major honours, you’ve got to deal with all these different scenarios and know when to rest key players and when to use your squad depth. Jurgen Klopp has done an excellent job of that and that’s why Liverpool are competing on all fronts again.
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When Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were away at the Africa Cup of Nations, Klopp managed his side so well and it’s bearing fruit now. Speaking of Mane, he’s been brilliant since he’s come back from AFCON, winning the tournament for Senegal seems to have boosted his confidence and he looks back to his old self.
Salah was on the losing side of that final of course, but he actually looks more determined than ever to me. Maybe the disappointment of losing the final with Egypt is spurring him on somehow and Liverpool are benefitting from both players’ reaction to the AFCON final.
Then you have Luis Diaz getting off the mark against Norwich and slotting nicely into the side in the absence of Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota. Diaz is still settling in and getting used to the pace of the Premier League, but it’s great to see him getting plenty of game time. If everyone was fit, he’d probably be getting fewer minutes which would slow down his progress.
His goal against Norwich was quality. The finish was obviously first class but what I really loved about the goal was Diaz’s run and the pass from Jordan Henderson.
I used to look for runs like that in my day, searching for space in between defenders. If you watch the goal again, you can see him looking for the space before the ball has been played and before he’s made the run – that’s the sign of a quality striker.
I was fortunate as a player because I had Kenny Dalglish making those passes – he was the best in the world at putting the ball in space, so it was nice to see Henderson having an eye for that sort of pass.
Leeds Lack Plan B
Liverpool’s 6-0 win was yet another heavy defeat for Leeds and they look in real trouble, especially with Burnley winning on Wednesday night. The problem that Leeds have got is that Marcelo Bielsa only has one way of playing and it leaves them very vulnerable, particularly against the top sides.
Manchester United put four past them at the weekend, Liverpool got six and Manchester City battered them 7-0 in December. I do feel a bit sorry for Bielsa because he’s had so many injuries, but you have to adapt to those situations and he hasn’t tried to change things.
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Sheffield United
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They play nice football when they’re in form but without their best players they don’t seem to be able to stick to their preferred style, so Bielsa needs a Plan B. The best sides have two or three different ways of playing depending on the circumstances and Leeds only have one, that’s one of the reasons why they’re down there flirting with relegation.
I hope they stay up but I fear for Leeds. Bielsa seems reluctant to change things up, so he’s got to get his best players fit as soon as possible or his job could be on the line, because the last thing the club needs now is to drop back out of the Premier League.
League Cup Final
Klopp has some tough decisions to make ahead of the League Cup final against Chelsea this Sunday, with many of his fringe players having done much of the heavy lifting in the earlier rounds of the competition. But I suspect he’ll go with a mixed bag of experience, youth and fringe players.
I’m not sure if Caoimhin Kelleher will start in goal but if he does it will be a big experience for him. Playing in front of 80,000 at Wembley for the first time can be pretty daunting. I remember my first taste of Wembley and I was a bit nervous, it took me two or three times playing there to properly get used to it.
But if Klopp thinks Kelleher can handle the occasion, then he’ll play him. And the same goes for the other players who have helped Liverpool get this far, that’s why I think we’ll see a mixture of youth, experience and squad players.
Bear in mind a lot of these Chelsea players experienced defeat in Wembley against Leicester in last season’s FA Cup final, and I would imagine players of this calibre would have learned from that game and will look to utilise that experience come Sunday.
Romelu Lukaku was not part of that squad and much of the build-up will centre around whether or not Thomas Tuchel will start him on Sunday. Chelsea tend to play better whenever he doesn’t play and they had a good win against Lille on Tuesday after he was taken out of the firing line.
It’s a big decision for Tuchel and one that will keep Klopp guessing. Maybe Tuchel rested him on Tuesday so that he could regroup to be ready in time for the final, who knows? I think we’ll see him in some capacity, whether that’s from the start or as an impact sub.
I don’t think it’ll bother Klopp too much either way, I expect him to start Virgil van Dijk no matter what and I’d fancy him to get the better of whoever Tuchel names up front.
Similarly, Thiago Silva will be a big presence at the back for Chelsea. I know he’s getting on a bit now but he’s really impressed me this season – he’s been excellent – and his experience will count a lot for Chelsea. The top talents will shine through on Sunday and we could see one of the younger players come of age.
Conte Comments Worrying For Spurs
Meanwhile, I was surprised to read Antonio Conte’s comments in the wake of their 1-0 defeat to Burnley. It seems like there’s a lot going on behind the scenes at Tottenham and it’s difficult to know what to expect from them.
They beat Manchester City last weekend and now all of a sudden he’s questioning his own suitability for the job. Maybe he’s still annoyed about their January transfer business, I don’t know, but Conte strikes me as the type of manager who would have no hesitation in walking away from a job if things weren’t going his way.
Perhaps the role is not turning out as he was led to believe so these could be worrying times for Tottenham. He’s only been there a few months but he’s a top-drawer manager so I would imagine he’ll get things right in time, but only if he gets the backing to do things his own way.
Conte would have been on a high after the City game but for them to follow it up with a loss at Burnley has left him deeply frustrated. Maybe his comments were just spur-of-the-moment stuff after losing a game he expected to win, but in the Premier League if you don’t perform you get beat.
Villa Wobble No Trouble For Stevie
Steven Gerrard will not be used to suffering back-to-back defeats given how well he did as Rangers manager, but the Premier League is a lot tougher and he’ll have to pick his side up for the visit to Brighton this Saturday.
Every job in the Premier League comes with pressure and Gerrard will be feeling a bit of that this week, but there’s no need to panic just yet. The Villa board brought Gerrard in because they were fearful of relegation and the job he’s done already has them looking pretty safe.
So from here it’s all about getting experience of managing at this level, which is why I don’t think losing two or even three games on the bounce will do his credentials any harm. You might not look at it that way if you’re a Villa fan, because you want to win every game, but they were in danger of getting relegated before he took over and now they’re not.
Gerrard’s task remains to keep Villa in the Premier League, and I think he’ll do that comfortably this season and build from there, so all these little bumps in the road will help make him the top manager I think he can become.
Hughes Back in Business
I’m made up for my old Wales team-mate Mark Hughes getting back in to management with Bradford City.
They’re in League 2 now so it feels like a big appointment for them, although Mark has been out of the game for a few years now. The longer you stay out of football the harder it is to get back in, so I’m not surprised he’s dropped down the divisions to take on the Bradford challenge.
He’s a good friend of mine and Bradford are a great club – a big club – so I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on and I wish him well. Hopefully he can get them up the table this season and back up the football pyramid thereafter.
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