Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reserved a lot of praise for midfielder Adam Lallana after the England international played a huge role in helping Liverpool get a 3-1 win over Arsenal on Saturday. It was only the second win of the year for the Reds, as they struggle to achieve the same kind of consistency that made them a force to reckon with in the first half of the campaign. It was not long ago – precisely before the turn of the year – that Liverpool were challenging with Chelsea at the top of the table. Even though the win over Arsenal has lifted the club back into a top three place, Liverpool are about to end another campaign empty-handed.
The win over Arsenal has brought back the positive atmosphere to the club. It was a victory largely possible because of the intense work rate provided by Lallana, according to the manager. He said:
“When we are compact, it is really nice to have Adam because he jumps out of compact formations and triggers the pressure or sets the tone.
“The problem is in a few games when we have not been compact and Adam does the same, he opens a gap for the opponent, then it’s a one-on-one in a big area.”
“We cannot win all of these things. Today we were as a group really compact.
“Stability is the base for everything and we wanted to be stable. We worked really well in these parts together and Adam, it is nice to have him in this role.”
Adam Lallana played 66 minutes in the 3-1 loss against Leicester City a few days ago. However, he showed no signs of any hangovers from that game after managing to press Arsenal at a high intensity. Arsenal midfielders Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin were unable to handle the work rate shown by Lallana. The midfielder may have had only 77% pass accuracy, but Lallana more than made up for it in terms of winning the ball back for his team. Despite playing in a more offensive role, Lallana managed to win the ball twice and also had won an aerial duel.
Lallana ended up having 6.2% of the Liverpool’s possession compared to Coquelin, who had just 2.1% of Arsenal’s possession. Lallana ended the game as one of the highly rated Liverpool players alongside the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Wijnaldum. It was no surprise that Klopp came in with high praise for the midfielder, who was certainly impressive ahead of Gareth Southgate naming the England squad for the upcoming friendly against Germany and the World Cup qualifier with Lithuania.
