Virgil’s Aeneid begins thus: Aeneas and his crew, adrift on the Mediterranean Sea for seven years after the Trojan War, encounter a storm sent by Juno and are wrecked in North Africa. Many of Aeneas’ crew are killed in the storm, and the ones who remain are terrified, tired, and have been away from home for over a decade.
But when Aeneas steps onto land for the first time, Virgil tells us this:
hoc primum in luco nova res oblata timorem
leniit, hic primum Aeneas sperare salutem
ausus, et adflictis melius confidere rebus
Here in the grove, for the first time, something new appeared
which eased his fear; here, for the first time, he dared to
hope and place his trust in shattered things.
This was the nature of Liverpool’s win today, away from home, at Leeds. Jürgen Klopp’s Reds (3W-7L-4D on the road) have struggled all year to win when not at Anfield, and the problem has gotten significantly worse since the World Cup break, since which they had posted a 2W-5L-2D record before today’s match.
There have been a few worrying through-lines in these away defeats since Boxing Day: Liverpool have failed to score in 5 of 9 matches, they have looked dreadful defensively (conceding 15 goals), and they have seemed ragged physically, at times unable to find ideas or physical power. Another through-line in these defeats is their strange away kit, below, whose design is difficult to defend.
Today, though, Liverpool played in their home red against Leeds’ home white, and spent the ninety (six) minutes making their supporters feel firm ground again. I watched the game at my local Liverpool bar, and found myself murmuring the words “he’s back” three or four times, each time about a different player. Here is a short rundown of who returned, and to what, today in West Yorkshire.
Diogo Jota returned to scoring
It wasn’t until Diogo Jota scored in the 52nd minute that I felt terra firma for real—Jota hadn’t scored in over a year, since April 10th of last year, when he scored against Manchester City at the Etihad. The first goal came after a lovely ball from Curtis Jones sent Jota into empty space. His finish was clinical.
Jota added a second goal in the 73rd, on a sneaky roller from outside the box, to give Liverpool a 5-1 lead. If we’ve all felt this year like Aeneas searching for solid ground, imagine what Diogo must have felt—goalless for a year, injured just before he could go to the World Cup, and returning to a seriously struggling team. I saw lots of questions on Twitter before today’s game about Klopp’s decision to start Jota over Darwin Núñez, but Klopp evidently had the right idea. Having seen not one but two shots go in today, Jota should feel confident going forward.
Luis Díaz returned to football
Luis Díaz, who had been playing in the position vacated by Sadio Mané, has been out for over six months with an ankle injury. He replaced Cody Gakpo in the 81st minute as part of this meaningful quadruple change:
In the ten minutes that remained, Díaz didn’t manage to score (as his fellow substitute Darwin Núñez did), but he got a few touches in. More importantly, he got some real playing time into his legs. It was wonderful to see him back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to midfield
Trent began his career in the Liverpool Academy as a midfielder, and was eventually changed into a right-back. But he has always been a better deep playmaker than a defender, and (after a bad few months defensively) he has moved into a hybrid position alongside Fabinho. He is essentially a second defensive midfielder. This tactic made its debut last Sunday against Arsenal, and was used more aggressively today. Liverpool’s formation is still officially a 4-3-3, but today looked more a 3-2-5 on offense. Andy Jones and James Pearce, from The Athletic, explain the nuances of this in a great article from this morning.
Trent looked confident, even dominant, in the midfield today, notching two very pretty assists. And because he was playing further up the pitch, he was able to win more tackles in crucial spots than when he is forced to defend moving backward toward his own net. It’s not a bad idea on Klopp’s part to have a talented defender winning the ball in spots where he can immediately start an attack. We can leave the hardcore defending to people like Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk.
The idea of a fullback becoming a defensive midfielder (especially on offense) can be traced back to Pep Guardiola, and is sometimes called a “double-six.” Trent seems to be doing wonderfully as a double-six, and should continue in the position, if only because of his longtime jersey number: 66.
Finally, Curtis Jones returned to consistency.
Jones, a Liverpool Academy graduate who grew up in Merseyside, has made 89 appearances for Liverpool despite being only 22 years old. But he has made fewer appearances for Liverpool every year since the 2020/21 season, and although some of the absence can be chalked up to injury, the reality is that he has struggled to find consistent form. But, having started the last three games, Jones is beginning, as the poet wrote, to make believers of doubters. He was excellent against Arsenal, in a high-pressure game, and today was Liverpool’s best true midfielder. He also managed to notch that assist to Diogo Jota, in what was a very nice piece of hold-up play. (See the camera angle below.
Final thoughts
In all, the game was a pleasure to watch. A top-four finish seems (and is) still a long way off for Liverpool, but the reality is that our season doesn’t have to be worthless just because we’ve failed to deliver at the very highest level.
A case study: this week, I’ve been rewatching All or Nothing: Arsenal, an Amazon series that followed the North London club for their entire 2021/22 season. The series is good, and includes a lot of locker-room, front-office, and training footage. (I was surprised how much footage there was, even about sensitive topics such as the downfall of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It seems they had the whole training ground wired up.) Spoiler alert: instead of finishing in the top four, as was the stated goal from the beginning of the series, Arteta’s boys finish fifth. It’s disappointing for them, but Arteta’s final speech to the players is grateful and humble. Fast-forward to this year, and Arsenal are top of the league. They face a seriously uphill battle to the title, almost certainly needing an away win against a flying Manchester City, but nevertheless they are in position to win.
The point is: runs at the title, or even the top four, take time. If we get back there next year, and if Jota, Díaz, Trent, and Curtis Jones play a part, we may be looking back on this 6-1 victory as a turning point.
A programming note
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. Goodness knows there are enough soccer newsletters out there. I’ve been trying to do these posts once a week, when there’s stuff to write about and even when there isn’t. So expect that kind of frequency, even as we approach the summer. Also: feel free to follow me on Twitter at anfieldmass, where I sometimes live tweet soccer (without context!) and occasionally comment on the Red Sox. My email is anfieldmassachusetts@gmail.com, should you prefer a more professional (or more retro) mode of communication. As always, if you’re new here, welcome! Make sure to subscribe.