The biggest focus from Liverpool’s win over Manchester City Sunday will be their spectacular goals, and deservedly so. Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson won the match with a pair of sensational strikes. But those players’ contributions ran so much deeper than those two shots, and their ability to control the game might have been even more impressive than their goals.
Liverpool’s resurgence fueled by midfield control
Sunday marked the first time this season Liverpool dominated an elite opponent’s midfield, and it’s what guided them to a big win.
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Their performance would have been great against any opponent, but the fact that they were able to control the midfield so well against City was mildly stunning. Yaya Toure and David Silva were solid in this match, while Fernandinho was far from awful, even if this wasn’t one of his better performances. That trio hung with Liverpool in the first half, but were seriously outplayed in the second half -- Henderson won the ball back regularly, while City struggled to get the ball off Coutinho and Joe Allen to start counters when they pressured them. It was no small feat for Liverpool.
It’s been a strange season for Henderson, who hasn’t spent the entire campaign at central midfield. Brendan Rodgers played him on the wing a few times early on, then at wingback when the team first moved to 3-4-3 -- both in an attempt to accommodate Steven Gerrard -- but it’s become obvious in recent weeks that Henderson is just too valuable as a central midfielder to be moved around. After struggling to find consistency early in the season, Henderson has become steadily more reliable over the last two months, and he’s become the key to Liverpool’s midfield with Lucas Leiva injured.
Henderson showed off that improvement in bossing the midfield Sunday, and he was helped out by Coutinho and Allen, with the latter having one of his best matches in a Liverpool shirt. Coutinho has had other spectacular matches this season, but this game was different than the others -- his contributions in controlling the game were just as important as his spectacular shots and passes. The work Henderson did defensively and in driving his team forward was complimented perfectly by the work Coutinho and Allen did to retain possession in tight spaces and make intelligent passes that limited Manchester City's ability to threaten on the counter. They were a formidable trio, and an extremely well-balanced one, too.
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Henderson’s finally getting a sustained run in his best position and he’s making the most of it. Allen is finally looking like he can perhaps fulfill the promise he showed at Swansea, discarding the lack of confidence that plagued him earlier in his Liverpool career. Coutinho is becoming a more complete player, just as capable of helping his team control a match as he is of playing creative passes. And best of all? They work well together.
This is a group that needs to be kept intact as long as they’re performing at this level. When Gerrard and Lucas return, they should do so as important impact substitutes, not starters. Rodgers has finally found some balance in his midfield. Even more than his formation change or Daniel Sturridge’s return to fitness, this is what’s driving Liverpool up into the top four.
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