The forward is likely to break Premier League records
but his efforts should not overshadow the contributions made by his
team-mates to create Brendan Rodgers' "collective" side
ANALYSISBy Chris Davie
Where would
Liverpool be without
Luis Suarez?
It's a question the club have no need to be concerned with until the
summer, at the earliest, but one most cynics have been only too eager
answer as the Uruguayan edges his side closer to a first league title in
24 years.
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, whose team were
narrowly beaten at Anfield earlier this month, felt Liverpool would not
even be Champions League contenders, let alone title frontrunners, if it
wasn’t for their leading marksman. "Without Suarez, they would probably
be in mid-table," was the 46-year-old's assessment.
But is Suarez really carrying the Liverpool's title push by himself?
Suarez
has scored 29 goals in 29 Premier League matches this season and is
only two away from equalling the joint record held by Alan Shearer and
Cristiano Ronaldo for the most goals scored in a 38-game campaign.
Another
landmark will be equalled if Suarez carries on creating. He's
registered 12 assists so far and is on course to be only the second
player, after Andy Cole in 1993-94, to top both the goals and assists
charts in the same season.
The 27-year-old's influence at Anfield
tallies with his marked improvement since his arrival from Ajax in
January, 2011. In his first full season at Liverpool, Suarez posted a
chance conversion rate of 10.19 per cent. This term, that figure has
more than doubled to 21.32%.
As expected, Suarez’s chances
created per match is on the increase as well. The forward averaged just
over two chances created per game in the 2011-12 campaign. This year,
his average is 2.69.
SUAREZ'S IMPROVED RECORD
|
| SEASON |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
APPS
GOALS
CONVERSION RATE
ASSISTS
CHANCES CREATED |
31
11
10.19%
3
64 |
33
23
16.08%
5
90 |
29
29
21.32%
12
78
|
Where the statistics are concerned, Suarez's progression mimics
Liverpool's rise from a club that finished 12 points behind a Champions
League place last season to one that is currently leading the Premier
League with four games remaining.
But Suarez shone last term as
well. He scored 23 goals, registered five assists, and Liverpool only
finished seventh. The season before that under Kenny Dalglish, Suarez
was the sole inspiration and eighth place was all the club could muster.
It's
evident Liverpool needed a goalscorer to reach the top four and Suarez
has stepped up to be just that, but it's too simplistic to attribute the
club's ascendancy to the Uruguayan alone. They needed more than that.
Daniel
Sturridge's improvement has been fundamental in Liverpool's title
pursuit. This is his first full season under Brendan Rodgers and the
24-year-old has already reached the 20-goal milestone - the first time
he's done so in his career.
What's more, Sturridge already
possesses one of the most coveted attributes of any leading striker -
consistency. He's never gone more than three games without a goal and,
this season, became only the second player in the Premier League after
Ruud van Nistelrooy to score in eight consecutive Premier League games.
In comparison, Suarez's best streak has stretched to four matches.
Steven
Gerrard also needs to be recognised for his input this term. The
33-year-old has adapted well to a deeper role, while his composure from
dead-ball situations is unmatched.
The England captain has 13
goals to his name this season, 10 of which have been penalties, and they
have been scored at crucial points in the campaign - the late winner at
Fulham in February, two in the 3-0 demolition of Manchester United at
Old Trafford and, most recently, two against West Ham when both Suarez
and Sturridge failed to break the deadlock.
This is the first
season since 2008-09 in which Gerrard has managed to score over 10 goals
in the Premier League, a season which coincided with the last time
Liverpool had their eyes on the title as Rafa Benitez's men fell four
points short of Manchester United.
While Gerrard's impact can be
instantly recognised by his record in front of goal, Jordan Henderson's
contribution could be highlighted by his absence in Liverpool's next
three matches.
The 23-year-old was sent off late on against
Manchester City on Sunday and will now be unavailable until Liverpool's
final game of the season against Newcastle United on May 11.
Henderson
has emerged as Liverpool's link between defence and attack, and
Rodgers' next tactical challenge is to find the balance in his midfield
for the next three matches. Elsewhere in the title race, Manuel
Pellegrini will need to stifle the damage caused by the loss of Yaya
Toure, who is out for two weeks with a groin injury, but it is Rodgers
who has the more difficult task.
Other than goals, Yaya Toure has
scored 18 this term, 10 of which have been from dead-ball situations,
Henderson has outshone the Ivorian across the board. The Liverpool
midfielder has created nearly double the amount of chances, and in the
defensive department, it is a similar story in terms of the number of
tackles and interceptions made.
 |
Minutes played |
Goals |
Assists |
Chances created |
Tackles won |
Tackle success |
Interceptions |
| Fernandinho |
2130 |
4 |
3 |
31 |
65 |
76.19% |
58 |
| Steven Gerrard |
2540 |
13 |
10 |
57 |
59 |
71.95% |
44 |
| Jordan Henderson |
3038 |
4 |
7 |
60 |
57 |
70.37% |
33 |
| James McCarthy |
2465 |
0 |
3 |
39 |
76 |
75.26% |
47 |
| Ramires |
2517 |
1 |
2 |
31 |
64 |
78.05% |
25 |
| Ramsey |
1537 |
8 |
7 |
29 |
57 |
85.07% |
19 |
| Yaya Toure |
2619 |
18 |
5 |
32 |
36 |
67.92% |
19 |
Henderson has been one of the Premier League's most complete
midfielders this season. Where the likes of Ramires, James McCarthy and
Fernandinho boast strong defensive numbers but less impressive returns
in the attacking third, Henderson has that rare balance between the two.
Where
as most other clubs have a clear difference between attacking and
defensive-minded midfielders, with Gerrard and Henderson the two are
merged, as Rodgers has pointed out numerous times, his emphasis is on
the balance of the team, rather than an over-reliance on a single
player.
At the back, Liverpool's defence has been far from watertight, and
the club's philosophy has been to score their way out of trouble.
And
even Martin Skrtel, who's scored more than Kevin Mirallas, Roberto
Soldado and Samir Nasri, has chipped in at key moments. The centre-back
found the net twice in the 5-1 demolition over Arsenal, struck two
against Cardiff after Liverpool had gone 2-0 down and scored the header
which capped Liverpool's swift and stunning opening against City on
Sunday.
Skrtel, who has netted seven times so far, has already
surpassed John Terry's haul of four goals when Chelsea won the title in
2006 under Jose Mourinho. Centre-backs who are on a par with wingers and
strikers in terms of goals scored are very uncommon in sides aiming for
the Premier League trophy.
Liverpool have simply produced extraordinary efforts from all areas of the pitch.
And
each problem has been provided with a solution. Aly Cissokho looked
unconvincing at left-back after the season-ending injury to Jose
Enrique, so in came Jon Flanagan, who impressed in the Merseyside derby
at Goodison Park in November, missed a month of action due to a
hamstring problem, but returned to the team at the end of January and
hasn't looked out of place since.
Suarez and Sturridge were not
at their brightest against City, so the onus was on Raheem Sterling and
Philippe Coutinho to deliver. And the pair did just that in the absence
of Liverpool's two regular headline-grabbers.
Once again,
Liverpool's success this season has been down to players making their
mark when others are off the pace. Both Sterling and Coutinho have
created fewer chances than the likes of Eden Hazard and David Silva this
season but when they were required in the crucial test against City,
neither shirked responsibility.
Rodgers' response to Poyet's
prediction was accurate. "It was levelled at us that if we didn't have
Luis Suarez's goals, we'd be mid-table, which is probably quite
disrespectful to the other players.
"At various times while I've
been here, we've had Luis out and won games, we've had Steven out and
we've won games, we've had Coutinho out and we've won games, we've had
Sturridge out and we've won games, so what we're building here is the
collective."
Suarez is just one of many Liverpool players who have taken their game to another level in their bid for the title.