It might have been so different. Admittedly, that’s certainly an exaggeration, but overcoming a two-goal deficit would have been much more difficult.
Manchester City earned a corner in the 26th minute of last weekend’s contest at the Etihad as it attempted to come back from a 1-0 deficit. But it didn’t work, as Liverpool launched one of its renowned counter-attacks from an opposing set piece.
Unfortunately for Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota, Jack Grealish’s (surprising?) defensive work rate meant that none of their breaks came to fruition. Manchester City equalized less than two minutes later, and you don’t need to be reminded of what happened after that.
The ball from Harvey Elliott that started the wheels in motion was the greatest element of Liverpool’s attempted counter-attack. This season, the newly-minted 20-year-old has already hooked up brilliantly with Salah.
Elliott produced the greatest predicted goal-value opportunity Liverpool has generated in the past six Premier League seasons when he found his Egyptian teammate unmarked at the back post in the 9-0 thrashing of Bournemouth.
A ball the teenage midfielder played to Salah in the FA Cup loss at Brighton was more relevant to their link-up in Manchester. Elliott was able to breach the Seagulls’ back line with a superbly weighted through pass after receiving the ball in the center circle, creating another (unfortunately wasted) clear-cut opportunity. According to a recent Statsbomb post on line-breaking passes, Liverpool’s number 19 has been doing this more than you would have imagined in 2022/23.
Passes must fulfill two requirements to be classed as line-breaking: the final position of the pass must be more than or equal to 10% closer to the goal than the beginning location, and the pass must connect a pair of defenders who are within proximity (x-axis) or pass behind the defenders’ line (y-axis). Elliott’s Amex Stadium performance might serve as Exhibit A if Statsbomb needs one.
The analytics business then considers On Ball Value — think of it as xG (expected goals) applied to passing — and can determine which players contribute the most with their passes that break lines. Elliott ranks third among midfielders with at least 600 minutes played in the 2022/23 Premier League, after only Kevin De Bruyne and Mateo Kovai. The only other player in the top 10 with the same combination as the Liverpool man is lkay Gündoan, further cementing the Manchester City connection.
It’s worth noting that these data differ from the previous set Statsbomb provided in June 2022, when Thiago Alcântara claimed bronze – one position ahead of De Bruyne, incidentally. Elliott didn’t play enough minutes in 2021/22 to qualify for last season’s rankings due to a terrible injury he received at Elland Road, but he has already surpassed his far more renowned colleague.
Because of their distinct positions, their talents have manifested in somewhat different ways. Elliott is ranked in the ‘Attacking Midfield’ and ‘Attacking Wide’ categories, while Thiago is ranked in the ‘Attacking Switch’ and ‘Early Midfield’ categories.
Nevertheless, with Thiago entering the last year of his contract — which is unlikely to be extended given his age, salary, injury history, and the Reds’ impending midfield reshuffling — it’s reasonable to wonder whether Elliott is effectively his long-term successor. It’s a simple comparison to make since they’re both rather short, not the fastest, and outstanding on the ball.
They both seem to be effective at ‘Attacking Long’ line-breaking passes, like the one Elliott supplied for Salah in the Brighton example. Although much has been made of Thiago taking Stefan Bajeti under his wing, Elliott may be his long-term successor, following in the footsteps of De Bruyne.
