Liverpool found a defense solution? Cabak-Philips line, clean sheet for 4 consecutive matches

Liverpool found a defense solution? Cabak-Philips line, clean sheet for 4 consecutive matches

Input: 2021-04-04 15:43:38Revision: 2021-04-04 16:25:29Published: 2021-04-04 16:25:43

Liverpool’s center back line, which was treated as a’temporary service’, is drawing attention from football fans by maintaining a clean sheet for four consecutive games.

Liverpool had to adjust their defensive line once and for all, injured by Van Dyke, Joe Gomez, and Matif this season.

Following midfielders Fabinho and Henderson, youth-born Nathaniel Phillips and Reese Williams took turns.

Later, at the end of the January transfer market, Ben Davis and Ozan Kabak were recruited, and Henderson was also injured. Recently, Kabak and Nathaniel Phillips are playing central defense.

The combination of the two seemed to be a temporary solution chosen by Klopp, who had no choice, as Phillips was from a youth with less experience and Kabak was a prospect who transferred from the Bundesliga.

However, the Kabak-Philips line has been attracting the attention of local fans and the media as they have not scored a single goal in their recent four games.

Kabak and Phillips started as a starter in the Arsenal round 30 of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2020-21 season held at the Emirates Stadium on the 4th (Korean time), contributing to the team’s 3-0 win.

As a result, the two players recorded a clean sheet in all four games they started together. Kabak and Phillips played against Wolverhampton and Leipzig in a row to lead the victory, and they also won the match against Sheffield, where they played together ahead of this, with zero runs. However, they lost 0-1 each against Chelsea and Fulham, where the two players played separately.

On this day, Nathaniel Phillips also recorded excellent defensive performances, including 6 wins out of 7 air ball competitions, 3 successful tacklings, 5 clearings, and 2 intercepts. Kabak also won 3 aerial ball competitions, 4 long passes, and 89% pass accuracy without making a big mistake.

The two players complement each other’s shortcomings and breathe well, so it seems that synergy effects come out when they compete together. The analysis says that Philips is good at the aerial ball and Kabak is good at defending against players, and that even if one player makes a mistake in positioning, the movement covered by the other player is good.

In addition, Fabinho’s return to his original position as a defensive midfielder is helping Liverpool’s defense improvement in recent years. In the match against Arsenal that day, Fabinho also won 2 out of 2 aerial ball competitions, 6 successful tacklings, 1 intercept, 0 dribble breakthroughs, and 89% pass accuracy. Gary Neville promoted the “League’s best defensive midfielder” to Fabinho on Sky Sports.

Sky Sports also gave Fabinho the best of both teams, 8 points, and was selected as MOM.

Reporter Jo Kyung-gun, Busan.com [email protected]