Liverpool has already established a significant lead over both Manchester City and Arsenal, two potential Premier League title rivals this season.
Dominik Szoboszlai had an unwelcome first as Liverpool drew 1-1 with Luton Town in the Premier League on Sunday. He’d previously played every minute of the Premier League this season, but after what was arguably his first poor performance in a Liverpool shirt since joining from RB Leipzig in the summer, he was replaced just after the hour mark.
Szoboszlai is now second in the overall minutes played chart at Liverpool this season, with Mohamed Salah (1,128) taking the top spot after playing the full 90 minutes at Kenilworth Road. Despite the fact that backup goalkeeper Caoimhn Kelleher started three matches, Alisson is third (1,080), with Szoboszlai’s fellow new signing Alexis Mac Allister fourth (987) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (851) even after a brief absence.
So far, Liverpool’s top five most-used players have logged 1,030 minutes on average, which equates to just under 11 and a half matches. How does this compare to its competitors?
We looked at Jürgen Klopp’s club-record run of starting XI changes in an article on Monday, arguing that he was making the most of competing in the Europa League rather than the Champions League after Liverpool failed to qualify for the competition for the first time since 2016. He’s been able to use a more extensive rotation plan against weaker opponents, keeping his key players fresh.
For our purposes, we can assume that the top-five most-used players are also the top-five most-important players. While injuries (see Kevin de Bruyne, who hasn’t played for Manchester City since the season began) can sometimes artificially alter that picture, it generally holds true.
Looking first at reigning champion City, we can see that Pep Guardiola’s top five (led by Erling Haaland and also including Kyle Walker, Ederson, Julian lvarez, and Manuel Akanji) has played 240 minutes, or exactly four hours, more on average, despite the fact that it is only the beginning of November and City has played one fewer match due to an early League Cup elimination. Guardiola is known for chopping and changing players from match to match, but some players have largely avoided this policy, possibly to their detriment later on.
City’s average of 1,270 minutes is the same as Newcastle’s, which has been climbing the table in recent weeks after a slow start to the season. The chart is topped by goalkeeper Nick Pope, who is followed by Bruno Guimares, Fabian Schär, Kieran Trippier, and the now-injured Dan Burn. Finally, Arsenal has the highest figure of all, with Ben White first, William Saliba second, Declan Rice third, Gabriel fourth, and Bukayo Saka fifth.
Mohamed Salah and his fellow Liverpool stars have played much less football than their rivals
Liverpool | Manchester City | Newcastle | Arsenal | |||||
Most minutes | Mohamed Salah | 1,128 | Erling Haaland | 1,359 | Nick Pope | 1,350 | Ben White | 1,397 |
Second most | Dominik Szoboszlai | 1,107 | Kyle Walker | 1,350 | Bruno Guimarães | 1,295 | William Saliba | 1,350 |
Third most | Alisson | 1,080 | Ederson | 1,260 | Fabian Schär | 1,260 | Declan Rice | 1,305 |
Fourth most | Alexis Mac Allister | 987 | Julian Álvarez | 1,200 | Kieran Trippier | 1,234 | Gabriel | 1,191 |
Fifth most | Trent Alexander-Arnold | 851 | Manuel Akanji | 1,184 | Dan Burn | 1,211 | Bukayo Saka | 1,166 |
Average | 1,030 | 1,270 | 1,270 | 1,282 |
It’s worth noting that the player in fifth place in all three cases has played more football than Liverpool’s minutes leader, Mohamed Salah. Time will tell how significant the advantage is, because the impact of minute differentials varies from case to case. Indeed, one of the major talking points early in the season was which teams would benefit and suffer from the winter World Cup, with projections made based on the number of players each team sent to Qatar. However, by the second half of the campaign, there was little discussion about the tournament’s impact, implying that it had been minor.
But theoretically at least, because it is participating in the weaker Europa League as opposed to the Champions League, Liverpool’s biggest names should be fresher physically and mentally for the run-in than their counterparts, some of whom may face burnout in that decisive period, particularly those at Arsenal and Newcastle who are unfamiliar with the rigors of Europe’s premier competition.
If Liverpool can beat Toulouse in France on Thursday, then it will seal progression to the knockout stage and, more likely than not, top spot, affording Klopp the chance to step up his rotation even further. Meanwhile Arsenal and Newcastle are guaranteed to be battling on to matchday five at least, having both lost at least one of their first three games.
This should strengthen Liverpool’s lead, which could last into the new year if the Reds are given favorable draws in the first two knockout rounds. To reiterate, they would prefer to be in the Champions League, but their absence may benefit them domestically at least.
Leave a Reply