Team Focus: Liverpool's Defence No Longer a Threat to Their Title Hopes

It’s been a season in which Liverpool have obliterated all expectations, and a large part of that has been because they have rendered any flaws absolutely irrelevant.

Consider their previously calamitous defence. Right up to late February, as Brendan Rodgers’ side were conceding three goals at home to relegation-threatened Swansea, much of the talk was about whether problems at the back would eventually scupper their growing title challenge.
 
The failure to add another defensive midfielder was seen as merely exacerbating all of that, particularly after Lucas Leiva’s injury. Quite simply, it seemed like individuals of that quality needed much greater protection. Looked at objectively, the Liverpool defence just did not look like it had enough players of the required standard to sustain a run like this.

“We’ll analyse the other side of our game and look to improve it,” Rodgers said following that 4-3 win over Swansea. “I think it’s not something that is planned.”
 
Since then, however, momentum has only grown and Liverpool have evidently improved even further. The plan, it appears, has come together.

One obvious assumption, of course, is that it’s just down to their devastating attack pulling enough opposition sides apart; that they have simply outscored other teams and offset any defensive issues.

A deeper look, however, reveals that to be a little simplistic.

For one thing, Liverpool’s defensive record isn’t actually all that bad. They have only conceded one goal in the last four matches against Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton - the teams that had been considered to be their closest rivals in any chase for a Champions League place. All that has contributed to what is the sixth best defence in the division, with 35 conceded in 29, and ensured they have now definitively moved beyond a top-four battle into a proper title race.

It’s also not quite been a case of Liverpool’s attack just pinning opposition sides back with either pressing or passing to take heat off the defence, as the stats indicate.

In terms of territory, Liverpool allow a fairly standard amount of play in their defensive third (ninth in the Premier League) at 28%, and their relatively low possession average of 53.9% - also ninth in the division - means it’s not really Rodgers’ side just retaining the ball in those areas. The fact that they concede 13.1 shots per game - the eighth highest - proves that, as does the manner in which they’ve scored the most counter-attacking goals this season (6).

Clearly, Liverpool’s backline are more capable of handling attacking pressure than has been perceived, but their ability on the break is perhaps a pointer.

It does seem as if, rather than just improving the backline as a unit, the backline itself has been better integrated into the overall system. That is something arguably displayed by the drop-off in individual errors of late, and is something Rodgers has stated himself.

“We conceded poor goals. It isn’t so much structurally. It’s just mistakes or decision-making that costs us. There’s absolutely no doubt we’ll continue to work on that side of it.”

There’s also absolutely no doubt, however, that Liverpool have worked on Martin Skrtel. From a situation last season where the Slovakian was barely playing in the second half of the campaign, he has now become the central figure in the side’s backline. The stats prove that, as well as a lot more.

Skrtel does the lion’s share of the pure defensive work, and greatly leads the way in many of the basics of defending - from aerial duels won (3.4) to clearances per game (11.5). More surprisingly as a result of that, he also plays more passes per game (45.8) than any of the rest of Liverpool’s regular defensive starters other than Glen Johnson. Skrtel also has a pass success rate of 90.1%, which ranks him among the top 20 in the Premier League of players with 10 or more appearances.

It is as if Skrtel serves as a lightning rod, which fosters greater stability in the rest of the defence, and has allowed them to better contribute to the overall game.

Rodgers certainly thinks so.

“I brought in a way I wanted to work, on the training field and in games, and for the second half of last season he didn't feature much. He had a choice, he could either throw the toys out the pram, or he could sit down with the manager and the coaching staff and see what areas he needed to improve.

“Now, you see a player with great intelligence in his defence, his use of the ball is composed and he has taken on a real leadership role. His performance levels, consistently, have been of a high level.”

It has lifted the level of Liverpool’s defence. Sure, it is still not perfect and could still cause a few issues in this run-in, but it is now very far from that detached flaw in the team.

Will Liverpool's earlier defensive mistakes cost them in the title race? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below