Following Liverpool’s nightmare against Napoli, some are questioning midfielder Harvey Elliott, but critics should look to Manchester City and Arsenal.
Following Liverpool’s humiliating 4-1 loss to Napoli in midweek, the narrative surrounding Harvey Elliott has shifted in some sections of the fanbase.
Prior to the nightmare evening at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, he was widely regarded as one of the Reds’ best players this season, if not the best, a bright spot in an otherwise dismal start.
Elliott has largely been impressive in possession, gliding through challenges, making sound decisions, and drawing fouls. As a 19-year-old, he’s gotten even more credit for stepping up when established stars have faltered.
But what if he was part of the problem? That’s the question some supporters are beginning to ask.
Perhaps Liverpool’s biggest issue right now is that the midfield is offering inadequate protection to the defense and the attack-minded Elliott, so the argument goes, maybe a key culprit. Is he neglecting off-the-ball duties in service of his offensive instincts?
On the face of it, the stats do paint that kind of picture. Elliott ranks inside the bottom 20 percentiles among midfielders in the top five leagues for pressures (12th) and blocks (17th) and is among the lowest for tackles (third), interceptions (fourth), and clearances (first).
However, before judging him too harshly, it’s worth looking at other attacking midfielders who play a similar role for Premier League rivals.
Kevin de Bruyne operates in a three-man midfield for Manchester City and only marginally out-scores Elliott for pressures (15th percentile) and blocks (19th) while making roughly the same amount of tackles (third) and interceptions (first).
There’s also Martin Ødegaard at Arsenal. Nominally, the Norwegian plays as a no. 10 in a 4-2-3-1, but it’s pretty fluid in reality.
He does record a significantly higher number of pressures (50th percentile), but he’s in a similar bracket for all the other metrics — 10th for tackles, second for interceptions and clearances, first for blocks.
The midfield constructions are fairly similar, but the results have proven very different so far. Liverpool looks wide open and has given up 7.15 xG this season — which places them sixth in the Premier League — whereas City and Arsenal boast the best defensive records in the division by this measure (3.68 and 5.36 xGA respectively).
How can this be explained? Well, put simply, the players behind them, whether that be Rodri, Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, or inverted full-backs, are offering greater protection and balance.
Admittedly, Elliott does need to make more of an impact out of possession at this level. Only 11 players in the whole Premier League have been dribbled past more times than the Englishman (nine) up to this point. He must do more to stop the opposition in their tracks when he has the chance.
But still, judgment should be withheld. His counterparts at The Etihad and The Emirates appear to enjoy similar attacking licenses, but they can plough forward knowing that they have reliable cover in their rearview.
Thiago, back from injury, and Arthur, freshly signed from Juventus, are superior to the likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson, and Fábio Carvalho in their defensive contribution and awareness. Deployed alongside Fabinho, they should be able to better cover the spaces left by Elliott, forming something closer to the Reds’ first-choice midfield.
If the same issues persist with a trio of Fabinho, Elliott, and Thiago — the combination we may see against Ajax on Tuesday — then questions will have to be asked about the teenager’s suitability for the role at this early stage of his career. But for now, we shouldn’t be too quick to lay blame at his feet.
Leave a Reply