Headline: Liverpool’s New Manager Faces Challenges Despite Top-Five Finish
Liverpool’s recent Premier League campaign underwhelmed, leading to hopes for improvement from new manager Andoni Iraola. Despite finishing in the top five for the 2024-25 season, Liverpool’s underlying statistics reveal significant areas needing enhancement.
The club ranked behind only the two Manchester teams in the total number of shots taken, but struggled in finishing, as evidenced by their placement lower in conversion rates than 11 other teams. While Liverpool found the net 63 times, they ranked sixth in expected goals, suggesting that the team faced challenges in creating quality scoring opportunities.
Defensively, Liverpool’s performance was mixed. They conceded 53 goals, and only three teams allowed fewer chances. Remarkably, the Reds had a lower expected goals against (xG) figure than only the top two teams. In terms of shot conversion, relegated teams like Wolves and Chelsea allowed opponents to capitalize on a higher percentage of their attempts. Notably, goalkeepers Alisson and Giorgi Mamardashvili ranked poorly in terms of goals prevented, indicating potential defensive inefficiencies that may have hindered their performance.
These statistics highlight not just areas of concern, but also the potential for improvement as Iraola embarks on his tenure with Liverpool, aiming to refine both their attack and defense for better results in future competitions.
As disappointing as last season was for the 2024-25 champions, Liverpool’s underlying numbers just about justified their top-five finish – but it is clear there is a lot for new manager Andoni Iraola to improve.
While only the two Manchester clubs took more shots, 11 teams were better than Liverpool at converting them.
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But it wasn’t so much a finishing problem for Arne Slot’s side, it was a creative one as 12 teams fashioned chances that were easier to score, which is why the Reds only ranked sixth for expected goals.
Despite conceding 53 times, surprisingly only three teams gave up fewer chances and only the top two teams had a lower xG against figure.
But only relegated Wolves and Chelsea conceded a higher percentage of their opponents’ shots, with Alisson and Giorgi Mamardashvili both ranking among the worst shotstoppers in terms of goals prevented.
While it could have simply been down to them, the fact they both performed poorly suggests they may not have been working in the best environment at the back.
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