Liverpool are making this look a little too easy, aren’t they?
Not only top of the Premier League and the league-phase table in the Champions League, they’re now into the Carabao Cup semi-finals for a record-breaking 20th time after seeing off Southampton at St Mary’s.
Even without Arne Slot on the sidelines due to his one-match suspension for picking up three yellow cards this season, his team still looked the part and spent the first hour of the game flicking between systems so frequently that their hosts had no idea how to handle them.
Slot, so adaptable in his style, is building a team that plays with conviction regardless of the personnel deployed. The way his team moved the ball through the middle was a joy to watch, all achieved with a patched-up team.
Sometimes you will see a Liverpool line-up drastically changed by injuries and the absence of rested players. Yet, for the second successive game, a midfielder filled in at centre-back and controlled the position like it was his own.
This was Wataru Endo’s time to shine in an unfamiliar position — at least, in his Liverpool career — with Ryan Gravenberch doing the same in the 2-2 draw against Fulham on Saturday.
Wataru Endo in action against Southampton (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Playing in the heart of defence is for the tough, battled-hardened performers willing to throw their bodies on the line and head the ball away without flinching. Size also matters.
Endo is much smaller (178cm/5ft 10in) than any other player asked to perform such a role for Liverpool this season, but showed no signs of struggle, even when he was dwarfed by the giant Southampton striker Paul Onuachu in the closing stages.
“In a different position, playing such a good game like this shows what a quality player he is, but also what his mentality is like,” Slot said.
Endo was the most fouled player on the pitch but also won the most tackles (four) and duels (10), and only misplaced six of his 85 passes. It was rather unfortunate that the one time he was punished was when the ball smashed off his face, leaving him dazzled on the floor but also space in front for Cameron Archer to score. That changed the game and gave Southampton a spark that never looked likely after Liverpool had cruised into a 2-0 lead by half-time courtesy of goals from Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott.
No doubt the second-half changes also had an impact on the closing half an hour. Tyler Morton, a central midfielder by trade, spent most of the second half at right-back and Jayden Danns, 18, and James McConnell, 20, were tasked with closing out the win.
Once again, Liverpool showed another way to get over the line, though, and that’s a credit to the way that Slot is preparing them. After 60 minutes of dominance, the performance for the remainder of the game was then gritty and determined. There aren’t many sides in the country who can adapt as well as Liverpool can under Slot, and with every passing week, the Dutchman is proving what a savvy hire he is turning out to be.
Darwin Nunez gestures as he celebrates giving Liverpool the lead at St Mary’s (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Despite their testing injury list, Liverpool still look so unnerved and only four teams in the Premier League have taken points from them over 15 games. In all competitions, Slot has won 20 out of 24 games and nobody expected it to be this smooth.
It would only be natural if the injuries to key players caused Liverpool to come up short during this period — yet when they went down to 10 men against Fulham at the weekend, Gravenberch, their outstanding performer this season, dropped back into central defence and roamed around like he had played 100 games there.
Endo didn’t have much time to prepare for this test but was also immense in Liverpool’s time of need. Granted, he will never have the same skill set as Gravenberch or some of the other midfielders who get the nod ahead of him in the Premier League. Virgil van Dijk won’t be fearing for his place, either, but to step up without many minutes or much experience in that position was impressive.
With Ibrahima Konate injured, Liverpool are stretched in defence and it’s taking some unexpected changes and a bit of rejigging to guide the team through.
There is, however, more to this run of results than just swapping around a few players’ positions. Slot said when he first joined the club from Feyenoord this summer that he wanted his team to be so varied and unpredictable that it made it difficult for opponents to work out their system.
That didn’t necessarily mean moving square pegs like Endo into a round hole. His hybrid role of playing in defence out of possession and then moving into midfield in possession was very much a case of needs must.
It was the combined number of changes — and the frequency of them — that really made the difference. From 17-year-old Trey Nyoni switching from side to side to Elliott dropping deeper to collect the ball and Alexis Mac Allister subtly finding enough space to dictate, Liverpool just had too much for Southampton in a scenario so many others have already struggled with this season.
(Top photo: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
