Surprise number nine experiment
When the Liverpool line-up dropped at 2pm on Saturday, eyebrows would have been raised at Jurgen Klopp’s choice of striker.
Diogo Jota was on the bench while Roberto Firmino was not rushed back despite returning to training in midweek, but with the Portuguese nursing a knock and a frenetic festive period looming ahead of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane-less January, their absence was not a surprise.
Divock Origi would perhaps have been expected to start as a result, following his winners against Wolves and AC Milan this week, but a sore knee saw the Belgian ruled out.
So surely Takumi Minamino would be next in line? Evidently not as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given the nod.
Word from the AXA Training Centre has for some time told all who’d listen just how impressive the England international has been as a ‘false nine’ behind the scenes, but supporters have seen little evidence to support such claims until now.
The 28-year-old was deserving of his start and has been quietly impressive since the November international break, though he has lined up his traditional midfield position for the majority.
But with Salah and Mane’s Africa Cup of Nations excursions on the horizon, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s selection in attack will reiterate his credentials as a solution.
Yet the jury will remain out on if Klopp’s latest experiment was a success or not.
MOTM: Tell us who your star man was for Liverpool against Villa
VOTE NOW: Select your Liverpool Fans' Footballer of the Year for 2021
Had this been the start of the German’s reign when his central forward really was a ‘false nine’, the answer would be yes.
The midfielder worked hard throughout in his new role, pressing Villa’s defenders when out of possession, dropping deep to link up with his team-mates and developing a solid understanding with Salah and Mane either side of him.
But in a scrappy game when Liverpool needed a poacher in the six-yard box, he was missing and instead was stationed deeper as a number of low crosses and cutbacks came to nothing. Very much a ‘false nine’, the Reds have evolved since Roberto Firmino’s early flurries in such a role.
His one shot on goal came from outside the area and it wasn’t a surprise to see Jota introduced in his place just short of the hour-mark to offer that focal point leading the line.
Liverpool can possess such a forward when they have Salah and Mane either side of them popping up with goals. But without them in January, such usage of Oxlade-Chamberlain might not be the answer.
Jota is of course still there while Firmino is nearing a return. Throw in Origi and Minamino and Klopp has options, though the debate in the Reds fanbase or whether they require another body will continue.
Had Liverpool not won this game thanks to Salah’s second-half penalty, the critics would point to Oxlade-Chamberlain’s selection in attack as a stick to beat the Reds with for dropping points.
Instead he avoids such scrutiny. But Klopp still has a problem to solve in the weeks ahead at finding a way for his side to remain free-scoring without its two deadliest attacking threats.
Ghosts of Christmases past and yet to come
While the questions regarding Liverpool’s attacking ranks persist, the Reds faced off against two attacking players who have repeatedly haunted them in the past.
One who was once one of their own and another who could join their ranks in the future.
Danny Ings remains a popular figure at Anfield and has been the scourge of Liverpool since leaving the club for Southampton back in 2018, scoring the winner for the Saints at St. Mary’s to accelerate Klopp’s side’s woes at the start of the year.
And he nearly came back to bite them again for Villa, coming off the bench and seeing a late penalty appeal waved away after going down following contact from Alisson.
Had it not been for recurring injury problems, who knows how much of an impact the England international could have made under Klopp for the Reds.
Instead, he was one of a number of players left behind as Salah, Mane and Firmino formed their famous front three, and eventually left for pastures new following a lack of game-time.
Had he stayed on Merseyside, he could have found himself leading the attack against Villa given the lack of other options, but Liverpool are not a side to stockpile players in case they might one day need them when they decide they want to play more and move on.
*Give us your player ratings vs Villa:
As such, it was Steven Gerrard who sent on the £30m striker in search of a goal as the Reds made do with the remaining options they had at their disposal.
But could Villa’s starting striker Ollie Watkins be a potential solution in the future?
The England international has repeatedly been linked with Liverpool in the past and Klopp has previously gone public on his admiration for the forward, who scored both home and away against the Reds last season.
Netting a hat-trick at Villa Park in Villa’s shock 7-2 win before opening the scoring in their 2-1 loss at Anfield, his four goals against Liverpool are only bettered by the five he has scored against Swansea City in his career.
Yet despite causing problems for Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, he failed to register a shot as the Reds saw out the match.
At this time it seems unlikely that Klopp will bolster his ranks in January despite any interest in Watkins and Salah and Mane’s Africa Cup of Nations departure, but he will remain under Liverpool’s watchful eye in the long term as they continue to weigh up the future of their attack.
On the spot
If you ask Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or Thomas Tuchel what they make of the ongoing title race, they will all insist they are only focused on their own side’s fortunes and matches they can control.
Yet they wouldn’t be human if they didn’t have one eye on each other’s results. And even if they don’t, supporters certainly do.
When Liverpool beat Everton at the start of the month, they found themselves first, second and third at various points of the night.
And it remains just as tight at the top as we head towards the busy festive period.
Man City currently lead the way, a point ahead of Klopp’s men and with a two-point advantage on Chelsea, and ensured they would finish the weekend top of the table after beating 10-man Wolves in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.
But that came courtesy of a controversial penalty in far from convincing fashion.
How those of a Liverpool persuasion felt watching such events unfold, they will have inevitably felt the same when the Reds came out on top against Villa in similar circumstances.
Meanwhile, Chelsea both trailed and were pegged back by Leeds United before a stoppage-time penalty from Jorginho, his second spot-kick of the game, sealed all three points.
Each of the three contenders will be waiting for one of their rivals to fall away and a favourite to emerge but as we approach the halfway point in the season, it’s impossible to call.
Grinding out wins in such a way is what would-be champions do. Yet none of the trio are showing any sign of blinking first and will all have their own sights on the title.
With all three riding their luck and relying on penalties to pick up their latest wins, the trio can all look back on a weekend having claimed a maximum three points and what could feel like season-defining victories.
It might be impossible to win the title in December, but it is possible to lose it.
And Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea all continue to make sure they have no intention of doing that anytime soon.
