Final Standings |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 96 | 34 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 91 | 29 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 86 | 41 | +45 | 82 |
Introduction
During a busy season painted by the colors of a three-horse race towards the title which was influenced by Jurgen Klopp’s departure announcement on the 26th January this year and a failed attempt for a treble once again (the first being the 2021/2022 season), many presumptions were made by Liverpool fans in order to justify certain events like Paul Tierney’s bias against Liverpool on many occasions, Simon Hooper and the famous Spurs match that ended with 2 controversial red cards and a disallowed goal from Diaz, the impact of 12:30 matches on the squad which caused many negative comments from Klopp and finally the attacking prowess of Liverpool failing to deliver at important matches where we saw a wasteful Nunez and an out-of-form Salah who was injured during AFCON in January.
So, as a Liverpool fan myself, I wanted to check whether these claims were true by letting data talk objectively.
Used Libraries
Attacking Performance
After the departure of Firmino and Mane, Liverpool saw a change in their attacking trio that wasn’t always at its best where many comments were made about Nunez incapability to finish, doubts about Salah’s longevity and Diaz and Gakpo’s disappointing performances at times.
So, we’ll explore their attacking stats using WhoScored data extracted with Claude AI from screenshots due to the difficulty of scraping data out of their website.
xG Stats
The stats proves that Nunez, Diaz and surprisingly Salah managed to underperform when it comes to scoring goals with Darwin missing 7 whole goals despite his impressive xG per 90 mins stat equal to Salah! Whilst having a low rating of 6.89, the stats are promising for him as he just needs to work more on his composure in 1v1 situations.
As for Gakpo, he plays outside his preferred position on the right so it’s really not that bad of a season for him. Diaz on the other hand was more influential as a classic winger who tries his best to beat defenders so these stats won’t do him justice although he was disappointing in finishing big chances at times.
Salah did manage to start the season fabulously only to be cut short by a rare injury during AFCON resulting in a disappointing 4 goals after his return albeit providing more as a playmaker.
As a conclusion, the attacking performance was indeed disappointing except for Jota, arguably the best finisher in the club, who did beat his xG by 3.46 goals despite being injured.
xG Statistics |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Player | Apps | Mins | xG1 | Goals1 | xGDiff | xG/90 | Shots | xG/Shots | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Díaz | 32(5) | 2646 | 13.04 | 8 | -5.04 | 0.44 | 94 | 0.14 | 7.09 |
| Mohamed Salah2 | 28(4) | 2536 | 22.17 | 18 | -4.17 | 0.79 | 114 | 0.19 | 7.24 |
| Darwin Núñez | 22(14) | 2050 | 18.00 | 11 | -7.00 | 0.79 | 108 | 0.17 | 6.89 |
| Cody Gakpo | 17(18) | 1646 | 8.75 | 8 | -0.75 | 0.48 | 66 | 0.13 | 6.87 |
| Diogo Jota3 | 14(7) | 1151 | 6.54 | 10 | 3.46 | 0.51 | 41 | 0.16 | 7.09 |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats. | |||||||||
| 2 Injured during AFCON. | |||||||||
| 3 Missed many games due to a knee injury. | |||||||||
Possession Loss Stats
A noticeable thing by some Liverpool fans was that attackers lose the ball more than usual, a remark that is a bit exaggerated after checking data with a max of only 2.6 unsuccessful touches and 2.1 dispossessions.
Touches and Dispossessions |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Player | Apps | Mins | Unsuccessful Touches1 | Dispossessed1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Díaz | 32 | 2529 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
| Mohamed Salah2 | 28 | 2434 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
| Darwin Núñez | 22 | 1761 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| Cody Gakpo | 14 | 1035 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Diogo Jota3 | 14 | 1006 | 2.6 | 0.9 |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats. | ||||
| 2 Injured during AFCON. | ||||
| 3 Missed many games due to a knee injury. | ||||
Dribbling Stats
We also saw the skilled dribblers like Diaz and Salah suffering more than usual in beating defenders, a confirmed statement backed by the low dribbling success rate for the 5 players with only Diaz averaging more than one successful dribble a game.
Dribbles |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Player | Apps | Mins | Unsuccessful1 | Successful1 | Total Dribbles1 | Success Rate1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Díaz | 32 | 2529 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 50.00% |
| Mohamed Salah2 | 28 | 2434 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 34.62% |
| Darwin Núñez | 22 | 1761 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 30.77% |
| Cody Gakpo | 14 | 1035 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 52.00% |
| Diogo Jota3 | 14 | 1006 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 41.67% |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats. | ||||||
| 2 Injured during AFCON. | ||||||
| 3 Missed many games due to a knee injury. | ||||||
Shooting Stats
When it comes to shooting, the 5 attackers excel at delivering especially Nunez and Salah the top 2 scorers only to be criticized when looking at their conversion rate and the rate at whice their shots are on target.
Shots Accuracy |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Player | Apps | Mins1 | Total1 | On Target Rate1 | Off Target1 | On Post1 | On Target1 | Blocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Díaz | 32 | 2529 | 2.8 | 32.14% | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Mohamed Salah2 | 28 | 2434 | 3.9 | 48.72% | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
| Darwin Núñez | 22 | 1761 | 4.1 | 41.46% | 1.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.8 |
| Diogo Jota | 14 | 1006 | 2.5 | 48.00% | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| Cody Gakpo3 | 14 | 1035 | 2.9 | 37.93% | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats. | ||||||||
| 2 Injured during AFCON. | ||||||||
| 3 Missed many games due to a knee injury. | ||||||||
Struggle during December?
Another assumption fans made was that Liverpool tend to struggle during the very busy period of holidays which was mainly due to the frustration of an underperforming Liverpool team against Man United that saw a disappointing 2.3 goals missed and a not-so-champions performance in a tight match against Arsenal.
Liverpool’s December Games |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Date | Round | Venue | Result | Goals | Conceded | Opponent | Shots | On Target | On Target Rate | Goals - xG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 December | 14 | Home | W | 4 | 3 | Fulham | 26 | 12 | 0.46 | 0.9 |
| 6 December | 15 | Away | W | 2 | 0 | Sheffield Utd | 15 | 8 | 0.53 | 0.3 |
| 9 December | 16 | Away | W | 2 | 1 | Crystal Palace | 14 | 2 | 0.14 | 0.8 |
| 17 December | 17 | Home | D | 0 | 0 | Manchester Utd | 34 | 8 | 0.24 | -2.3 |
| 23 December | 18 | Home | D | 1 | 1 | Arsenal | 13 | 3 | 0.23 | 0.0 |
| 26 December | 19 | Away | W | 2 | 0 | Burnley | 19 | 10 | 0.53 | 0.2 |
Source: FBref |
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Record against Top Teams
In a season where Liverpool challenged for the title until the end where they crumbled, their performance against their toughest opponents predicted that it would be hard to win the Premier League especially versus Arsenal and Man City the direct challengers for the title and Man United where they totaled a sum of shots equal to 61 shots and only scoring 2 goals.
As a summary they only won 2 relatively easy matches against struggling sides while drawing 6 times and losing twice in tight matches which resulted in a disappointing 4.4 goals missed and a low shots on target rate equal to 28.13% alongside a poor defensive record as well conceding 14 goals in 10 games.
Liverpool VS Top Teams |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Round | Venue | Result | Goals | Conceded | Shots | On Target | On Target Rate | Goals - xG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | |||||||||
| Matchweek 18 | Home | D | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 23.08% | 0.0 | |
| Matchweek 23 | Away | L | 1 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 10.00% | -0.4 | |
| Chelsea | |||||||||
| Matchweek 1 | Away | D | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 7.69% | -0.3 | |
| Matchweek 22 | Home | W | 4 | 1 | 27 | 13 | 48.15% | 1.1 | |
| Manchester City | |||||||||
| Matchweek 13 | Away | D | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 37.50% | 0.4 | |
| Matchweek 28 | Home | D | 1 | 1 | 18 | 5 | 27.78% | -1.7 | |
| Manchester Utd | |||||||||
| Matchweek 17 | Home | D | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8 | 23.53% | -2.3 | |
| Matchweek 32 | Away | D | 2 | 2 | 27 | 6 | 22.22% | -1.6 | |
| Tottenham | |||||||||
| Matchweek 7 | Away | L | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 33.33% | -0.3 | |
| Matchweek 36 | Home | W | 4 | 2 | 25 | 12 | 48.00% | 0.7 | |
| Total | — | — | — | 16 | 14 | 187 | 56 | 28.13%1 | -4.4 |
Source: FBref |
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| 1 Average Rate. | |||||||||
The 12:30 Kickoff Dilemma
During his last two seasons, Jurgen complained about the 12:30 kick-off time being discontent with TV broadcasters labeling it as a crime.
The data confirms that this kickoff time didn’t really affect Liverpool’s performance overall but it seems that Klopp was affected by the winless record with 3 losses of the previous season which was a turbulent one.
Liverpool in 12:30pm kick-offs under Jurgen Klopp |
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| Season | Played | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016/17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2017/18 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2018/19 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019/20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020/21 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2021/22 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022/23 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2023/24 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 45 | 22 | 15 | 8 |
Source: FBref |
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Referees Bias Against Liverpool
The Spurs game with Simon Hooper sparked an interesting discussion where fans were bemused when yellow cards were given for non-existent fouls and two harsh red cards on both Jones and Jota, other than that Paul Tierney’s story with Liverpool is a long one alongside Anthony Taylor.
This season, the 3 referees were significantly more likely to penalize Liverpool players with a surprising appearance of Andy Madley.
Referees Statistics against Liverpool |
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2023/2024 Premier League Season |
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| Referee | Apps | Fouls1 | Fouls Per Tackle | Penalties1 | Yellow Cars1 | Red Cards1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Madley | 5 | 14.00 | 0.78 | 0.2 | 1.80 | 0.00 |
| Paul Tierney2 | 5 | 13.40 | 0.73 | 0.0 | 1.40 | 0.00 |
| Anthony Taylor2 | 5 | 13.33 | 0.80 | 0.0 | 2.33 | 0.17 |
| Simon Hooper | 4 | 13.00 | 0.79 | 0.0 | 2.00 | 0.50 |
| Chris Kavanagh2 | 6 | 11.50 | 0.56 | 0.0 | 1.50 | 0.00 |
| Michael Oliver | 4 | 10.25 | 0.49 | 0.0 | 1.50 | 0.00 |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats | ||||||
| 2 Referees from Greater Manchester | ||||||
As for the All-Time stats, Anthony Taylor seems to be more lenient than others except for Paul Tierney whom stats do suggest that he’s more likely to penalize Liverpool players than others.
Referees Statistics against Liverpool |
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All-Time Stats |
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| Referee | Apps | Fouls1 | Fouls Per Tackle | Penalties1 | Yellow Cars1 | Red Cards1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Taylor2 | 58 | 10.22 | 0.36 | 0.10 | 1.78 | 0.05 |
| Michael Oliver | 54 | 10.31 | 0.55 | 0.11 | 1.41 | 0.02 |
| Martin Atkinson | 52 | 10.48 | 0.51 | 0.13 | 1.38 | 0.10 |
| Andre Marriner | 48 | 9.71 | 0.46 | 0.04 | 1.54 | 0.04 |
| Kevin Friend | 32 | 10.38 | 0.58 | 0.03 | 1.22 | 0.06 |
| Craig Pawson | 31 | 9.77 | 0.62 | 0.06 | 1.23 | 0.00 |
| Paul Tierney2 | 28 | 11.43 | 0.74 | 0.04 | 1.68 | 0.07 |
| Jonathan Moss | 26 | 10.12 | 0.56 | 0.15 | 0.81 | 0.12 |
| Phil Dowd | 24 | 12.54 | 0.60 | 0.13 | 1.92 | 0.04 |
| Lee Mason2 | 22 | 10.77 | 0.58 | 0.09 | 1.23 | 0.14 |
Source: WhoScored |
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| 1 Per Game stats | ||||||
| 2 Referees from Greater Manchester | ||||||
What’s next for Liverpool?
Now that Klopp left, the club is moving forward with Arne Slot having had a good US pre-season beating Arsenal and United marked by more freedom for the midfield to be creative and a more possession based gameplay. It’s also worth noting that only one 12:30 kickoff match on the first Premier League matchweek has been fixated which is interesting after seeing Klopp leave. Hopefully him leaving can also fix the possible bias against Liverpool.
