Pragmatism Pays off for Rodgers

Saturday evening’s one-nil win over Aston Villa saw Liverpool record their second consecutive three points at the beginning of the 2013/14 Premier League campaign. It is the first time the reds have won their opening two games of a season since 2008.

Liverpool took just five shots at goal on Saturday.

But the victory produced a landmark holding more prevalence, in my view: Brendan Rodgers team’s willingness to stray from their familiar attractive, attacking style, sacrifice possession and battle their way to a relatively ugly three points.

After a first half in which Liverpool retained the ball expertly, securing 61% of possession, most reds’ fans would have hoped for and expected a similar performance after the break. However, proceedings reversed: Aston Villa now began to dominate territorially. The switch was of course partly caused by the home side’s elevation in tempo and aggression, but Liverpool’s change of game-plan undoubtedly had an effect. Brendan Rodgers would have been wary of Villa’s explosiveness and ability to exploit any loss of defensive position on the counter-attack, and subsequently the Northern Irishman astutely set his team up in a rigid 4-4-1-1 system for the second 45.

Obeying further instruction from Rodgers, the reds were content to sit in a solid shape, and concede possession in their opponent’s half. They were essentially challenging Aston Villa to break them down, in readiness to pick the home side off if they over-committed; Liverpool’s one goal advantage in the match meant they could play Paul Lambert’s at their own counter-attacking game. The strategy was nearly executed to perfection in the final minutes of the game, when Daniel Sturridge raced clear of the Villa defence and looked to have been brought down by goalkeeper Brad Guzan, but a penalty surprisingly wasn’t given. Nevertheless, Liverpool held on to win one-nil, and Brendan Rodgers newfound pragmatism had paid off.

The fact that the away side took just five shots (including blocked efforts) on the Aston Villa goal throughout the game highlights the reds’ inclination to concede territory and possession (after they had the lead) simply in order to stand the best chance of remaining impenetrable and win the match. The nature of Liverpool’s victory was also contrasting to the reputation of profligacy they have been tagged with in recent seasons and the methodical approach taken by Brendan Rodgers in the second half to ensure his side took three points was unusually refreshing to see. "It was a terrific win for us," the reds' manager said. "The first half we had good control of the game and scored an excellent goal and in the second half we just needed to defend a bit more deeply. If we open up too much they can really hurt you. Our aim was to just to keep our lines tight together and deny them many chances."

Rodgers willingness to adjust the reds' playing style in the second period was what pleased me most about Saturday. I am a massive supporter of the Northern Irishman and the way he likes his teams to play, but his previous unequivocal avocation of possession-based football slightly concerned me. It's vital, particularly in the Premier League, to be mindful of your opposition's strengths and weaknesses and not just blindly set up in the same manner each week. Liverpool's manager showed against Aston Villa he is prepared to assess the opposing team and adapt accordingly: that stands Liverpool in good stead.

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