Post-match thought: High line prevails

Average position map vs Stoke portrays LFC's

high defensive line. Toure (4) and Agger (5) 

are stationed near to the halfway line. 

Liverpool had 25 shots at goal on Saturday, as they ran out one-nil winners against Stoke. This statistic alone highlights the reds’ dominance in the match, but the point is strengthened by the fact that 17 of those shots were taken from inside Stoke’s penalty area.

There were a number of factors in Liverpool’s supremacy throughout the 90 minutes, but one is key: the home side’s high defensive line.

It was noticeable early on in the game that Lucas Leiva, normally briefed to sit deep in-front of Liverpool’s defence, was playing in a more advanced position. However, his role – to win possession for his side and recycle the ball – remained the same. Brendan Rodgers’ idea was clearly to push Stoke backwards and pen them in their own half; the away side’s struggle to retain possession early in the game portrayed the Northern Irishman’s plan in action.

Liverpool’s positive approach also pushed Stoke’s wingers Jonathan Walters and Matthew Etherington back, and subsequently potters’ striker Peter Crouch was left isolated and outnumbered on the rare occasion he got a touch of the ball. Crouch’s lack of pace and explosiveness meant Liverpool didn’t have to be guarded against through-balls or passes into space behind their defensive line.

This game was a prime example of the authoritative nature in which Brendan Rodgers yearns for his teams to play: pressing high up the pitch and not allowing the opposition to rest in possession. However, the red’s manager will not be naïve enough to blindly take this strategy into every match. Against teams with a strong, pacey forward line – next Saturday versus Aston Villa for example - Rodgers will be more wary and pragmatic in his approach, whilst not wavering from his desire for Liverpool to control matches.