This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
No wonder Pep Guardiola has called Liverpool unstoppable at the moment.
The Reds have won 12 of their first 13 games so far this season, and currently lead the Premier League by eight points from second-placed Leicester City. The current back-to-back holders Manchester City are a further point back in third, and they must be wondering if Jurgen Klopp and Co will ever slip up.
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Their latest victory came against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. It was a narrow one – the Anfield outfit won 2-1 thanks to an 85th minute strike from Roberto Firmino – but it is the three points that counts.
Georginio Wijnaldum was included in the starting XI, fresh from his hat-trick last week for the Netherlands. Back with the Reds, though, he was once again back to the passive midfielder we have seen for much of this campaign.
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The former Newcastle man was one of just three players to manage a shot on target for Liverpool, but he failed to make a true impact on this match either offensively or defensively. He completed just 33% of his attempted dribbles, whilst only seven players from either side managed less than his one key pass.
Of the eight duels he contested, he prevailed in just three, whilst he managed two tackles and two clearances. Like many of the other stats, that was not exactly horrific, but considering it was once again beaten by a number of other players, it shows that the 29-year-old was a passenger.
The former PSV man’s displays for his country have attracted attention – he was the Oranje’s top scorer during qualification for Euro 2020 – but he is nowhere near prolific for his club side. For context, he scored more during those eight qualifiers for his nation than he has done in the last two-and-a-bit seasons for Liverpool.
Wijnaldum has previously said that he would prefer to play further forward, but Klopp is right to use him as he currently does. The results tell the story. In the last 52 Premier League games, the Reds have lost just once, whilst they have also made it to back-to-back Champions League finals. They are winning, and they have done so with Wijnaldum playing less of a starring role.
For Liverpool, the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are there to score the goals. Whilst the £45m-valued man – as per Transfermarkt – has done the business for his country in front of the target, the former Borussia Dortmund manager is correct to deploy him as he does.
Meanwhile, Andrew Robertson has said there is one left-back who is better than him.
