Adam Lallana stepping up in Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool
When Adam Lallana joined Liverpool in summer transfer window of 2014, it was widely accepted that the former Southampton player was a good signing. His performance in the 2013-14 season at Southampton was exceptional, scoring 9 goals and provided 6 assists, and helping Southampton finish at 8th position in the league.
The Englishman was touted to be a regular member of the squad alongside Liverpool midfield maestro Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and others. But under the then Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers he failed to cement his place in the side.
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After a series of bad results, Liverpool sacked Rodgers and brought in Jürgen Klopp as their manager in October 2015. This led to a few changes in the Liverpool lineup and Lallana became a key member of the squad. Klopp was known for high-pressing and attacking football at his previous club Borussia Dortmund and he needed the right players for that kind of football at his new club and the English midfielder was the perfect player to have in Klopp’s dominating midfield
.(Video Courtesy: David YouTube Channel)
The confidence shown by the new manager worked wonders on Lallana and he seems to be a transformed player after that. Klopp plays wih a 4-3-3 formation with the full-backs, James Milner and Nathaniel Clyne joining the attack every now and then. The former Southampton midfielder plays in the midfield three and is given a free role by Klopp whereas Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson play deeper, and the German manager has also fielded him higher up the pitch as well.
Lallana creates pockets of space in midfield with his clever movement off the ball and has the ability to play incisive passes. But this season he has frequently popped up inside the 18-yard box and caused problems for the opposition and has found the back of the net more often.
| Manager | Under Rodgers | Under Klopp |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 31 | 42 |
| Goals | 5 | 11 |
| Assists | 3 | 12 |
Klopp’s tactical tweaks enables Lallana to play with freedom just like David Silva at Manchester City. This enables him to have far more touches and dictate the game; his average touches per match is up from 53.8 last year to 71.8 this year and crucially, his goal attempts are up from last season, with shots on goal every 33 minutes compared to every 50 minutes last year.
Lallana’s record-breaking distance covered by a player in the Premier League in 2016-17 (13.1km against Leicester) also highlights just his importance in Liverpool’s high pressing, high-intensity play. This has attributed to an all round improvement in his game. The fact that Klopp has praised him for his performances tells a lot about his form.
Most assists by a midfielder
The midfielder has been involved in more goals than any other midfielder in the Premier League this season (7 goals, 7 assists) and has the second highest passing accuracy (86.1 percent) for a Liverpool midfielder only behind Georginio Wijnaldum.
Given that Lallana has a greater number of passes higher up the pitch makes his effort even more laudable and goes to show his composure with the ball. The England midfielder is only behind Sadio Mane (8 goals) with respect to the number of goals scored by a Liverpool player.
The Reds have scored 46 goals in 19 league games (2.4 goals per game) this season so far. But when Lallana hasn’t started a game for them, they have managed only 5 goals in 4 games (1.25 goals per game) including two goalless draws against Manchester United and Southampton.
The former Saints player’s contribution to the team has become far more crucial after the injury of Philippe Coutinho in the clash against Sunderland earlier this season. This injury was a big blow to Liverpool as the Brazilian was in terrific form right from the start of the season with 5 goals and 5 assists in the league. Without him, Liverpool’s hopes of winning a title after 27 years seemed improbable.
But Lallana has stepped up in his absence and kept Liverpool’s hopes alive, involving himself in 8 Liverpool goals in his last 6 starts. He had more shots that any player in their game against Stoke City.
Important player for England and Liverpool
The former Southampton man is also an integral part of the England national team now. Under new manager Gareth Southgate, he has an important role to play and has started two World Cup 2018 qualification matches in this year and scored 2 goals (one each against Slovakia and Scotland) for his country.
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Lallana has become almost indispensable for both Liverpool and the English national side and will be hoping to stay fit and continue this run of form. The former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher has claimed that Adam Lallana is the best English player in the league at the moment and he may absolutely right in saying so.
Against Manchester City last night, Lallana took up a position on the left side of the front three and played a key role in Liverpool’s only goal in the game. The Englishman put in a delightful cross from the left for Georgino Wijnaldum to head home as early as the 8th minute. Lallana harried and tracked back to help his defence out, and helped see out the game.
With Liverpool just 6 points behind leaders Chelsea, Lallana’s contribution to the team will be vital if Klopp’s team are to topple the Londoners and finally take the Premier League crown.