Xherdan Shaqiri seems to be making waves at Liverpool after his latest showing against Fulham. The Reds were far from their best and needed some quick-thinking to open the scoring before Shaqiri made it 2-0 with a great volley.
The Swiss attacker possibly was the best player on the pitch. The former Stoke man has fitted well into the Liverpool team with Jurgen Klopp deploying a 4-2-3-1 several times this season.
This is one conundrum that Klopp might have to look into. Liverpool were playing a fluid and attacking 4-3-3 last season, however, the German has opted for a 4-2-3-1 this season.
There has been a dual effect with this change. Liverpool aren’t scoring goals for fun or tearing teams down, but we aren’t conceding many too.
In fact, we have only conceded five goals from 12 Premier League games, which is an incredible record considering how leaky our defence was when Klopp arrived.
It isn’t just Shaqiri who has done well in this new formation. Fabinho started his Liverpool career slowly but now seems to be doing well.
The Brazilian still lacks a bit of speed but hopefully, he will get better as the season progresses.
Big decisions lying ahead for Liverpool
Shoehorning Shaqiri and Fabinho might have taken some doing, but the pair certainly make us a tougher team to break down and better in attack this season.
Our front trio from the previous campaign as just not looking as fluid as before. Mohamed Salah is scoring the goals because he is leading the attack now, and his relationship with Shaqiri has helped us to a couple of goals this season.
Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane aren’t going great guns and Shaqiri has actually looked the most threatening of our attackers, once we take Salah out of the equation.
Fabinho has done a decent job as the midfield destroyer but he is yet to adjust his game to Premier League conditions.
The Brazilian was great in our 4-0 win over Red Star but hasn’t been able to replicate that kind of form in the Premier League games.
However, Klopp shouldn’t think of going back to a 4-3-3 yet since we are doing pretty well in the league this season.
The Reds are tougher to break down, which is a great sign going into the rest of the season, and Fabinho will only get better with more time under his belt.
The pair weren’t the biggest names when we signed them or even the most expensive, but they have made us a rounded team.
It is difficult not seeing the attacking football from last season every game. However, if we remain challengers for the Premier League crown, it will be another step in the right direction.
Klopp has tweaked his formation effectively this season, and a stronger Liverpool in all aspects is the final product.
