Liverpool’s attacking depth, Harry Wilson’s move to Fulham and Yasin Ayari’s role at Brighton in The Debrief | Football news
It was Mikel Arteta who highlighted Liverpool’s depth this weekend when Darwin Nunez scored twice late on to beat Brentford. “They made substitutions and the substitutions had an impact and managed to change the game. It was the opposite with us.”
Whatever your views on Arsenal, he has an opinion on Liverpool. Nunez’s impact came in the same week that Diogo Jota came off the bench to score with his first touch to equalize at Nottingham Forest. Arne Slot’s attacking options make the difference.
Jota’s goal brought one extra point, Nunez two. But Jota has not started a Premier League game since picking up an injury against Chelsea in October, while Nunez’s playing time is limited. That’s because Liverpool’s starting trio was also very effective.
Luis Diaz scored the breakthrough goal in as many as five Liverpool victories in the Premier League. Cody Gakpo scored the equalizer at home against Brighton, Fulham and Manchester United. Mohamed Salah’s contribution hardly needs mentioning.
It’s no wonder that Italian national team member Federico Chiesa has to be patient. Salah is a star, but it is a rare luxury to have this many top strikers in their prime. Gakpo and Nunez are 25 years old. Diaz and Jota are 28 years old. Apart from Chiesa, the other five are also well established in the club.
All have now scored at least 20 Premier League goals for Liverpool since the start of the season before last. For context, Arsenal have four such players – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz. But no other team can boast more than two.
This will surely be very important for Liverpool in the coming months as they will be competing for four different trophies between now and the end of May. They are the bookies’ favorites to win three of them and second favorites to win the FA Cup.
Achieving success in multiple competitions will require more options, the ability to select different teams and change plays from the bench. Fortunately for Sloto, if he can keep these forwards in shape, there is no team in a better position to handle that situation.
Traore and Wilson’s wing switch
Sometimes managerial skills are created on the training ground. Others happen in the heat of the moment – and not always for the intended reasons. Adama Traore’s goal for Fulham that took the game to Leicester was an example of the latter.
The substitute’s side-footed volley to seal a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium came in from the right flank, but Marco Silva didn’t place it there for that reason. Traore came on at half-time in place of the ill Alex Iwobi to play on the left.
Silva then spent much of the early part of the half trying to get Traore into the right position. Asked about this by the Fulham boss in his post-match press conference, he explained that he wanted Traore to follow the onslaught of right-back James Justin.
“We had some specific situations for that player because we knew Leicester would try to attack with Justin on our right, which meant when the ball was on the left we knew he would be all the way up and get in the box sometimes.
“We had some specific positions for Alex and after that, of course, the player who came in should do the same. Adama was a bit confused at first and couldn’t do what we wanted. That was one of the reasons why we changed him to right.”
Harry Wilson took over the job. “We pushed Wilson to the left side because [Adama] he was not able to do what we planned and of course when a player is not able to do that you have to give him feedback or change it like we did and put him on the right.”
Traore received applause with his goal, but it was won by Wilson from the left, who had earlier set up Fulham’s first goal. Wilson created seven chances in total, more than the entire Leicester team and more than all his teammates combined.
It is also the biggest chance Wilson has created in a Premier League game in his career. His previous best? Those were the four chances he created just two weeks earlier against Ipswich. No wonder the fans serenaded him off the pitch.
Since coming off the bench to score in the comeback win over Chelsea on Boxing Day, Wilson has been Fulham’s standout player. “He plays at a very good level. On and off the ball.” Silva counted on both aspects of his game on Saturday.
Ayari shines for Brighton
Some players burst onto the scene, others take longer to emerge. After loan spells at Coventry and Blackburn last season, Yasin Ayari has quietly established himself in Brighton’s midfield. His performance against Manchester United felt like a statement.
Ayari was outstanding in Brighton’s 3-1 win at Old Trafford and his partnership with fellow 21-year-old midfielder Carlos Baleb allowed Fabian Hurzeler’s side to take control of the contest in the second half. He’s starting to get the credit he’s due.
Brighton fans chanted his name from the away side, appreciating his neat use of the ball combined with an obvious effort which helped to stifle United’s attacks. What was striking was the maturity of the performance, which belied the Swede’s inexperience.
Telling Hurzeler afterwards, he agreed with that sentiment. “I’m glad you asked this question, because that’s exactly the case,” he explained, highlighting the progress his midfield duo have made during the campaign.
“They suffered or had bad experiences, Carlos and Yasin. We had a lot of let-ups during the season where we were leading, and did things that were not mature, that you can’t do if you want to win a Premier League game and they really learned from toga.”
Ayari’s improvement was rapid, covering the field well and always half-turning to receive the ball. But his attitude stood out for Hurzeler from the start. “Yasin is a player who always wants to be good. He had an amazing pre-season,” he added.
“He has this attitude that he always gives more than 100 percent, and with that intrinsic motivation you can achieve a lot of things.
“And of course he’s got great talent, he understands the game quite well, he’s good in tight spaces, he’s got a good first touch, he’s good at scanning, and I think you can see his progress, he’s a great example of the Brighton & Hove Albion way.
“That’s the way we want to go, developing young players with great potential, but in the end they’re always players themselves, and Yasin is a role model for trying to win every day and trying to improve.” Against United, that progress was clear.
