A strange quirk of Naby Keita’s Liverpool career reared its head once again in the last week, and not only that he unfortunately sustained another injury.
Each time he has scored in two successive matches, one of them has been in the Champions League, and he maintained the pattern by netting against Atletico Madrid and Manchester United.
In 2018/19, the Guinean opened the scoring against both Southampton and Porto in the space of five days, then the following season he found the net at Bournemouth and Salzburg.
There was another echo of that match at the Vitality Stadium in December 2019 in Manchester last weekend, as Keita and Salah each assisted a goal for the other in both matches.
Jurgen Klopp will hope to have the Reds’ number eight back from injury soon, and not only as he has been in good form on an individual level.
READ MORE: Klopp gives Naby Keita injury update after Brighton as Liverpool fear crisis
His performances haven’t been flawless by any means, with many supporters critical of his role in the two goals Liverpool conceded in Madrid ( though he was far from the only player at fault ).
However, the team have been largely perfect during his time on the pitch in the Premier League in 2021/22.
Keita started the victories over Norwich and Burnley, before making substitute appearances against Leeds and Crystal Palace (scoring the Reds’ third goal in the latter).
The former RG Leipzig man next started in the league when Liverpool won 5-0 at Watford and also when they triumphed by the same score line at Old Trafford.
Although Keita has only completed 90 minutes on one occasion this season – at Vicarage Road – the team have a remarkable record when he has played. In the league, Liverpool have scored 17 goals without conceding any in reply in Keita’s 344 minutes of playing time.
As their total goal difference at this point is +21, this means they have scored 10 and conceded six in their 466 minutes without Keita. He has a goal difference of +4.5 per 90 minutes played while the team’s figure in his absence has been +0.8 so there is a massive difference.
Clearly this is not all down to the presence of Naby alone. He was an unused substitute for the matches with Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool’s two hardest fixtures so far this season, and was injured for the rollercoaster 3-3 draw at Brentford. The Reds would not have automatically won those games had Keita been included in Klopp’s starting XI.
But it’s equally fair to suggest that he must have helped the team play well on the occasions when he has been involved.
Only four players in the Premier League have a better personal goal difference, and they have all played for at least 702 minutes, so over twice as long. On a pro-rata basis, Keita is at least one goal per 90 better than every other player in the division.
The margin is not as wide when looking at the underlying expected goal statistics, but once again he is leading the way (per 90) in the top flight. Liverpool’s xG difference has been +2.5 per 90 with Keita, +1.1 without him.
Klopp will be pleased that other members of his squad who would not be considered the first choice for their position have similarly impressive records.
For instance, the Reds have yet to concede with any of Caoimhin Kelleher, Ibrahima Konate and Kostas Tsimikas on the field, showing that defensive rotation needn’t necessarily come at a cost.
And while Keita’s record this season is extreme and unlikely to hold as strongly across the rest of the campaign, his teams improving while he has played has been a theme of his career.
In the nine seasons since he was a 19-year-old at Salzburg, only once has his team had a better goal difference per 90 minutes without him playing rather than when he did ( Liverpool in 2018/19), and even then, the difference was just 0.1.
The stats imply Keita’s clubs have consistently benefitted from his presence and his return from his latest knock will be most welcome as a result.
