Magic behind Liverpool success revealed
Liverpool’s sport-leading data science is providing Jürgen Klopp with the tools to change football matches as they’re happening.
87 minutes of football had been played in North London last Saturday, as Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur clamoured in a desperate search for an equalising goal.
Liverpool managed to gain a lead earlier in the contest through Roberto Firmino but had been unable to add to their tally, resulting in the final stages of the match descending into chaos, with the ball moving rapidly up and down the pitch, and Spurs missing a pair of excellent chances through Heung-min Son and Giovani Lo Celso.
But in one moment, Liverpool managed to kill Spurs’ momentum dead. As Dele Alli took control of the ball near the halfway line, Jürgen Klopp’s team morphed into a solid, narrow block and gave their opponents a simple ultimatum – ‘go around us’.
10 players wearing red had positioned themselves in the centre of the field, separated from back-to-front and from side-to-side by a total of no more than 20 yards.
Unsurprisingly, the ploy worked and the contest ended with Liverpool securing their sixth clean sheet in a row.
The Reds have now conceded at least seven fewer goals than any other Premier League outfit this season, and that record stems from the team’s ability to control the pitch. The large majority of football clubs have data analysis departments, but very few, if any at all, incorporate such knowledge into top-level decision-making and processes to the extent that Liverpool do.
Michael Edwards, the club’s sporting director, is a former analyst himself having previously spent time at Portsmouth and Spurs. He’s since been promoted through the ranks at Anfield, with his current role centred around catering for the medium-to-long term interests of the club as well as ensuring that every department is seamlessly aligned.
Fenway Sports Group, the owners of Liverpool FC, have a history of embracing data. John Henry ventured into baseball before exploring the world of football, and he’s renowned for offering Billy Beane, the man behind the concept of Moneyball, a $12.5m deal to become general manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2002.
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The leading figures on Merseyside have been assembled by FSG over time and are now making a difference to the team’s success behind the scenes.