Trent Alexander-Arnold to Virgil van Dijk is Liverpool’s most prolific in the Premier League this season. It’s even the league’s joint-fifth best.
On the face of it, it’s not that surprising. After all, Alexander-Arnold takes the corners and Van Dijk is the biggest threat in the team.
But then, when compared to the Premier League’s best combinations (per Whoscored), you see how unusual it is.
Van Dijk is the only defender in the scoring column of the top 20. It’s otherwise dominated by forwards, as you’d expect.
Kevin De Bruyne to Sergio Aguero is first with six assists to goals – no surprises there. Then you’ve got Adama Traore to Raul Jiminez with five. Next is Daniel James to Marcus Rashford, and Emiliano Buendia to Teemu Pukki, both with four combinations.
Then comes Alexander-Arnold to Van Dijk with three, an amount shared with ten other combinations. And it’s certainly the only one to feature two defenders.
Perhaps the most surprising thing, though, is that this is Liverpool’s most prolific combination. The Reds don’t feature again in the top 20 shown, in fact.
Manchester City are there four times, as are Leicester City. Wolves make two appearances, as do Arsenal. Even Burnley have two.
A lack of Liverpool strikers
It’s surprising because Liverpool have two players in the Premier League’s top 10 scorers. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have scored 11 goals each, supplying another 11 between them, and yet don’t have any prolific combination.
But maybe that’s to Liverpool’s credit. They don’t rely on a single way of scoring and that’s why they’ve managed to break down and beat every team in the league this season.
So while it’s strange that their only appearance on the list is from corners, it’s also a testament to their fantastic versatility.
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