It’s been a season to remember for Reds as they went agonisingly close to their first league title in years. However as it turned out to be in the end, it was their very own defensive mistakes that cost them the title as they conceded a record half century of goals. By scoring most own goals this season, the Reds’ defenders invited criticism from all sides. And now according to a recent interview by Daniel Agger in which he claimed he will not play second fiddle to anyone, he has made clear that Liverpool might either keep him or Mamadou Sakho.
Clean sheets
In comparison to 20 appearances Agger made this season, Sakho had a lion share as well as he featured in a decent 18 games. However it is the Danish International Agger who leads the way in clean sheets as all of Liverpool’s 8 clean sheets have come in matches in which he featured. SO as far as clean sheets are concerned, Daniel Agger leads the show.
So putting into context the above mentioned stats, only 20 out of the total 50 goals that Liverpool have conceded have come in matches in which Agger featured, all 30 remaining have come in which the French International got a nod.
Defence
After leading in terms of the collective team effort, Daniel Agger seemed to have lost on individual basis. He has conceded 3 errors this season as compared to 4 of Sakho. Being a part of Brendon Rodgers passing style of play, we have seen Liverpool defenders alone most of the times and in testing times it was the last ditch tackles and interceptions that mattered. Here we show you why Agger is behind Sakho in this case.
Defensive errors weren’t rare in Liverpool’s case this season, however as the stats mentioned above suggests, Daniel Agger averages one every 6th match he played. In contrast to this, the French International managed an error every 9th match. Quite a difference!
Possession won
Back pedalling was the last thing associated with Liverpool midfielders this season. It looked like a responsibility of Steven Gerrard alone to help the defenders whenever the ball was intercepted upfront and an attack was broken down. Liverpool played high up the pitch to re-control the ball more quickly and in doing so, had leaked goals. Here are the stats comparing the duo.
Passing
After the arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, passing and Liverpool football club go hand in hand. Their name is mentioned amongst those who have made the game beautiful again and they have also reaped the benefits of it. By starting the game from their own half and looking for a killer ball as soon as the ball gets in the midfield, this Liverpool side has kept the opponents in check whenever they were in possession. Throughout the season, it was their defence that initiated the spark up-front. Here are the stats:
Conclusion
By virtue of afore-mentioned stats and keeping in mind the longevity of the club it could be said that the decision to let Daniel Agger go may not be as bad as it seems. Mamadou Sakho’s stats this season have been impressive in comparison to his teammate and as the younger and stronger centre back it makes sense to rebuild the defence around the French International.
