For all the understandable plaudits our front 3 are getting from all quarters for their performance against Porto, for me the most encouraging thing from that game was a sense of control that was missing from similarly spectacular attacking performances against likes of Sevilla, Arsenal and Man City that were spoiled by our inability to manage a lead. This was a complete performance, where every line of the team, from the goalkeeper to the defense, midfield and the attack, dominated their respective opponents and not one player became a weak link.
There were many elements to this: solid performances by both full-backs (Trent deserves special credit for nullifying Porto's biggest attacking threat in Brahimi), Van Dijk's leadership from the back, improved form of Karius, etc. A good write-up I recommend reading is here. But I want to focus on one element – Milner in place of Coutinho.
We know that for all their attacking talent, Klopp couldn't always find a way to use the "fab four" effectively when they were on the pitch at the same time. At times they were devastating, as against Spartak at home. At other times, the balance was wrong and attack sputtered, like against West Brom in the league and Spartak away. But the most characteristic of the "fab 4" period were performances like Sevilla and Arsenal away when the attack did shine, but on the flip side there was never any sense of control and even a 2 or 3 goal lead never felt secure. For me the common thread in these performances was Coutinho's utter ineffectiveness as soon as the flow of the game turned from us attacking to needing to defend and as Klopp likes to say "suffer." After the UEFA Cup final defeat (which falls in the same category) I posted stats showing that Coutinho had almost no touches in the 2nd half. It was the same in the more recent game against Sevilla – Phil attempted only 2 passes in the 2nd half before being substituted, one of which led to giving away the penalty. Against Arsenal I noticed how he was trying his best to reverse the trend and get on the ball – but he simply couldn't win any 50/50 or even 60/40 duels against physically stronger opponents. As a result it felt like we were playing a man down, our midfield was overrun and the attacking game suddenly disappeared, with Firmino, Salah and Mane forced to drop increasingly deeper to try to change something.
It was a recurring trend that led to accusations that Klopp's Liverpool is a "gung-ho" attacking team, an "all-or-nothing" outfit that was almost a reincarnation of Keagan's Newcastle. You could sense how this line of criticism grated on Klopp; often in press-conferences he would make a reference (usually wrapped in a self-deprecating joke) to the common perception that Liverpool cannot defend or manage a game. Unlike Keegan, he does care about defending; one of his first memorable lines as a Liverpool manager for me was that "in football, as in life, you need to build everything from being secure at the back, 'at home'."
So this brings us back to Milner. Nobody in their right mind would say that he is a better player than Coutinho – but I think it's already clear that at least in some games Milner (or someone else with similar qualities) gives us a better balance as a team. In Klopp's 4-3-3 system, the most advanced of the 3 midfielders needs to have serious playmaking and creative skills in addition to being able to competently defend his assigned area on the right or the left of the sitting midfielder. Phil supplied plenty of the former, but not nearly enough of the latter, which led to the ever-present danger of tables being suddenly turned on us by a capable opponent. Lallana performed in this role very well last season and will probably return to it once he builds up fitness. Ox played there too this season in his own way – not so much playmaking, but at his best creating a bit of useful chaos with his energy and turn of pace. Milner seemed to be on his last legs at times this season and not many people considered him to be a serious option – but to his great credit he stepped up big just when we needed him most.
Klopp turned to Milner after the Swansea and West Brom disasters (in fact Milner and Hendo's cameo against West Brom almost saved that game). He was running the show against Huddersfield and was solid against Spurs. When he started on the bench at Southampton on Sunday, it looked to me like Klopp is saving him for Porto, which turned out to be exactly what it was (his 30-minute cameo vs Saints was again excellent and helped us to manage the 2-goal lead quite comfortably). I thought his Porto performance was one of his very best in the Liverpool shirt; he was everywhere in attack and defense, helping Robertson on the flank one moment and setting up Salah or Firmino the next. His inch-perfect tackle from behind midway through the first half had me off my feet like a goal. And when we took the 2-goal lead, his calm leadership (together with a few others) ensured that Porto didn't get a sniff of getting back into the tie.
Milner might not be a long-term solution in this position, but he deserves huge respect for the way he performed in this last stretch of games and I think it's a lesson that whoever does become a long-term solution will need to have some of the same qualities – not only talent and creativity, but also amazing work-rate and ideally also some leadership. I like this ruthless and pragmatic Klopp team very much and I don't want to go back to the "Keegan's Newcastle" comparisons ever again.
There were many elements to this: solid performances by both full-backs (Trent deserves special credit for nullifying Porto's biggest attacking threat in Brahimi), Van Dijk's leadership from the back, improved form of Karius, etc. A good write-up I recommend reading is here. But I want to focus on one element – Milner in place of Coutinho.
We know that for all their attacking talent, Klopp couldn't always find a way to use the "fab four" effectively when they were on the pitch at the same time. At times they were devastating, as against Spartak at home. At other times, the balance was wrong and attack sputtered, like against West Brom in the league and Spartak away. But the most characteristic of the "fab 4" period were performances like Sevilla and Arsenal away when the attack did shine, but on the flip side there was never any sense of control and even a 2 or 3 goal lead never felt secure. For me the common thread in these performances was Coutinho's utter ineffectiveness as soon as the flow of the game turned from us attacking to needing to defend and as Klopp likes to say "suffer." After the UEFA Cup final defeat (which falls in the same category) I posted stats showing that Coutinho had almost no touches in the 2nd half. It was the same in the more recent game against Sevilla – Phil attempted only 2 passes in the 2nd half before being substituted, one of which led to giving away the penalty. Against Arsenal I noticed how he was trying his best to reverse the trend and get on the ball – but he simply couldn't win any 50/50 or even 60/40 duels against physically stronger opponents. As a result it felt like we were playing a man down, our midfield was overrun and the attacking game suddenly disappeared, with Firmino, Salah and Mane forced to drop increasingly deeper to try to change something.
It was a recurring trend that led to accusations that Klopp's Liverpool is a "gung-ho" attacking team, an "all-or-nothing" outfit that was almost a reincarnation of Keagan's Newcastle. You could sense how this line of criticism grated on Klopp; often in press-conferences he would make a reference (usually wrapped in a self-deprecating joke) to the common perception that Liverpool cannot defend or manage a game. Unlike Keegan, he does care about defending; one of his first memorable lines as a Liverpool manager for me was that "in football, as in life, you need to build everything from being secure at the back, 'at home'."
So this brings us back to Milner. Nobody in their right mind would say that he is a better player than Coutinho – but I think it's already clear that at least in some games Milner (or someone else with similar qualities) gives us a better balance as a team. In Klopp's 4-3-3 system, the most advanced of the 3 midfielders needs to have serious playmaking and creative skills in addition to being able to competently defend his assigned area on the right or the left of the sitting midfielder. Phil supplied plenty of the former, but not nearly enough of the latter, which led to the ever-present danger of tables being suddenly turned on us by a capable opponent. Lallana performed in this role very well last season and will probably return to it once he builds up fitness. Ox played there too this season in his own way – not so much playmaking, but at his best creating a bit of useful chaos with his energy and turn of pace. Milner seemed to be on his last legs at times this season and not many people considered him to be a serious option – but to his great credit he stepped up big just when we needed him most.
Klopp turned to Milner after the Swansea and West Brom disasters (in fact Milner and Hendo's cameo against West Brom almost saved that game). He was running the show against Huddersfield and was solid against Spurs. When he started on the bench at Southampton on Sunday, it looked to me like Klopp is saving him for Porto, which turned out to be exactly what it was (his 30-minute cameo vs Saints was again excellent and helped us to manage the 2-goal lead quite comfortably). I thought his Porto performance was one of his very best in the Liverpool shirt; he was everywhere in attack and defense, helping Robertson on the flank one moment and setting up Salah or Firmino the next. His inch-perfect tackle from behind midway through the first half had me off my feet like a goal. And when we took the 2-goal lead, his calm leadership (together with a few others) ensured that Porto didn't get a sniff of getting back into the tie.
Milner might not be a long-term solution in this position, but he deserves huge respect for the way he performed in this last stretch of games and I think it's a lesson that whoever does become a long-term solution will need to have some of the same qualities – not only talent and creativity, but also amazing work-rate and ideally also some leadership. I like this ruthless and pragmatic Klopp team very much and I don't want to go back to the "Keegan's Newcastle" comparisons ever again.
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