Possession Loss and Gain
Glen Johnson lost possession for Liverpool on most frequently (20 times) in the FA Cup Semi-Final whilst Jordan Henderson gained possession most (outfield players) for Liverpool. We know that Jordan Henderson has come in for a lot of criticism but in his last two games for Liverpool (and as John Barnes mentioned on ESPN yesterday) he gave 100% effort for the team’s cause. He’s now started to win the ball back and work really hard for the side whereas he’s seemed anonymous previously.
In the game against Blackburn he played the right back role for around 65 minutes and I’d lost count at the times he was working on the right flank all by himself. At times he just charged forward with the ball taking pressure off of the defence and attempting to retain possession for his side.
Although his pass accuracy statistics may not do him any favours he won the only tackle he attempted and won the ball back most frequently for and outfield Liverpool player. In terms of losing possession he was joint third in losing possession the least. So he’s going in the right direction.
Further stats via @OptaJoe and the Opta Sports team can be found below:
Jay Spearing lost the ball the least for Liverpool in the semi-final whilst Glen Johnson lost the ball the most in the side. There were times where Johnson’s touch seemed a little off or he got caught in possession. This will improve with time as he’s had a long lay off (6-7 weeks). It’s no co-incidence that Liverpool have had two consecutive positive results when Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson have played some sort of role in the game. Their availability is key to Liverpool continuing any sort of form or run towards the end of this season.
Shooting Stats
Luis Suarez only had two attempts at goal in the semi-final vs Everton which is below his average of 4.1 shots per game in the Premier League. The first half was a poor one for Liverpool as they didn’t attempt many shots and none called Tim Howard into action. The second half was a different affair with Liverpool scoring two and forcing Howard to make three, albeit simple, saves.
More surprising was the fact that Steven Gerrard only had one shot, off target, and that it was in the first half. You’d expect Steven to have more shots when chasing the game but his role yesterday was to hold in midfield and protect. This is where Lucas is missed as you can expect Lucas to hold in front of the midfield on his own whilst Jay Spearing doesn’t have the full confidence of his team mates just as yet. Lucas is a very important part of this side and will improve the team immeasurably when he returns in August.
Andy Carroll had five attempts yesterday and his only one on target found the back of the net, giving him a chance conversion of 20%. It’s a big ask but if he could produce this form every game he would really be worth his price tag. Carroll could have had a hat trick yesterday, one miss was pretty bad and another was centimetres past the post however the key was that he didn’t give up and continued to find positions for an attempt. We hope he continues in this vain and proves all of his doubters wrong. In the meantime he can take pleasure in the fact that he’s just scored the most important goal of his young career – a winner against Everton in the first all Merseyside FA Cup Semi-final at Wembley Stadium.
Summary
- Liverpool beat Everton three times in a season for the first time ever.
- Luis Suarez has now scored consecutively in his three FA Cup appearances.
- Andy Carroll scores with a header in consecutive games for Liverpool for the first time.
- After waiting one year for a headed goal, Andy Carroll scores two headers in the space of five days.
- Jordan Henderson gained possession back for Liverpool than any other outfield player in the semi-final.
- Glen Johnson lost possession more than any other Liverpool player in the semi-final.
- Jay Spearing had the best pass accuracy in the Liverpool side – 90%.
- Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing the most chances- four chances each.
- Daniel Agger made the most passes for Liverpool in the semi-final – 53.
- A lot of journalists mentioning that Liverpool hadn’t appeared at Wembley for 16 years can now print that Liverpool will be appearing at Wembley 3 times within 10 weeks in 2012.
All stats in this article are via @OptaJoe and the Opta Sports team. Please do give Opta Joe a follow on twitter for more excellent stats.
