A new season of sports
28 shots, 14 on target, 4 goals! How the record-breaking Liverpool 'shot down' Chelsea.
Jurgen Klopp's side once again displayed an unusual and brutal winning pattern in Liverpool's win over Chelsea on Wednesday night, making them one of the most disruptive teams in the Premier League in attack in recent months.
While most teams insist on a combination of sophisticated passing and sophisticated attacking tactics, Liverpool have developed their own unique attacking system. Liverpool's system is as complex and sophisticated as any other team in the Premier League, but they do execute very simply and straightforwardly in one aspect: once they catch a goalscoring opportunity, they kick it towards goal.
Liverpool's first-team players seem to be following the 'shoot on goal when you get the chance' principle, which led to a record number of shots and shots on target for Chelsea in a Premier League match at Anfield. Liverpool had 28 shots on goal that night, 13 of which were on target.
Not before have Chelsea faced so much pressure in the league since records began in 2003. Chelsea have also never allowed their opponents to hit the target 13 times in a single game in the same time frame. Nunez alone had 11 shots on goal in this game. In the face of Liverpool's indiscriminate bombardment, Chelsea also conceded four goals.
To be clear, this is not an accident for Liverpool. Against Newcastle at the start of January, Liverpool contributed a staggering 34 shots in total. That night, their expected goals were as high as 727 – this is the highest expected goal in a single game on record in the Premier League.
When it comes to shots on goal, Liverpool seem to have opened a clear gap with other Premier League teams this season. Jurgen Klopp's side have completed 422 shots on goal so far this season. In second place is Arsenal, who are already far behind Liverpool with 57 shots on goal with 365. Manchester City, meanwhile, had a relatively low number of shots on goal – just 352.
If the current pace can be maintained, Liverpool are expected to have 729 shots on goal over the course of the season. Last season, the team with the most shots on goal in the Premier League was Brighton, so what was their combined number of shots? 613 times.
It's clear that a big reason why Liverpool have so many shots on goal is that Jurgen Klopp encourages his players to finish from greater distance. For Manchester City and Arsenal, they emphasised more on tearing apart opposition defences through passing, and less inclined to solve problems with long-range shots.
Another point to note is that Liverpool have assembled a team that shoots well and seems to like nothing more than to blast the ball into the opposition goal as much as possible.
Szobosloy, for example, has scored five goals this season, more than he has ever scored in any other season under Jurgen Klopp. McAllister – another new midfield signing in this summer window – is also a player who likes to shoot from distance. Alexander-Arnold's shot from near the goal was also decisive and resolute.
And then there's Nunez. The Uruguayan is so persistent in his runs and shots that he is arguably the most noteworthy and unstoppable striker in the league. So far this season, Nunez has contributed 72 shots, the most of any player in the Premier League.
This was also reflected in Nunez's tendency to shoot the ball more towards goal against Chelsea, who also hit the woodwork on four occasions. No Premier League player has ever hit the woodwork more than Nunez in a game. Those efforts mean that Nunez has hit the woodwork nine times this season, while no other Premier League player has done more than three at most.
Arguably, Liverpool could ultimately benefit from more control and more pragmatic tactics. Perhaps in a match against a title rival, they may pay a high price for their lack of patience. But for now, it's clear that this approach is working, which is certainly a bit exciting.