When he plays like that, he's one of my favorite players at LFC to watch. Intelligent, fearless, tireless, full of invention. Even last season he tended to overplay and slow the game down; now he doesn't waste a touch. It's incredible how a player's playing style can change so quickly, even for somebody who is already in his prime years – I guess it's a testament to what can be done with good coaching when the player fully buys into the coach's ideas.
Lallana was one of the first LFC players to fully adapt to Klopp's style and he's become quite a key player and LFC's main hub of creativity other than Coutinho. I've always loved to watch teams with not one but two playmakers – like Real Madrid with Figo and Zidane in their prime or Milan with Rui Costa and Kaka. When you can squeeze two playmakers into the team, it becomes much harder for the defensively-minded opposition to stifle your creative game than when you have just one. That's why we struggled against Man U until Lallana came on.
Other than the 2 assists, I really love that floated pass for Mane at 0:47 – even though it was cut off by defender's desperate lunge, it was the absolutely the most dangerous (and technically the hardest) pass to play in this situation. It also reminded me of Firmino's floaty assist for Mane in the previous game. Klopp is being pigeonholed as "heavy-metal football" coach, everybody talks about pressing and work-rate – which is all good and true, but when these players have the ball, they are starting to play like fucking Barcelona, ruthless and stylish at the same time.
Last edited:
