Reds lead the Premier League for shots, big chances created and Expected Goals but title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City have proven to be more clinical in the final third; Liverpool's draw at Manchester United underlined how their wayward finishing could cost them this season...
Monday 8 April 2024 14:56, UK
Three meetings. Eighty-seven shots. But no victory for Liverpool over Manchester United this season.
After somehow being shut out at Anfield in December, Liverpool's draw at Old Trafford on Sunday was similar in so many regards to their FA Cup loss at the same venue last month.
Dominance. Chances wasted. But despite beating Andre Onana they didn't do it as many times as they should have - and were then undone by mistakes at the other end.
The FA Cup quarter-final exit stung. But the four points dropped against their fierce rivals could be painfully costly in the Premier League title race.
Of course, Liverpool aren't the first side to rack up big shot numbers against United this season.
Erik ten Hag's men have faced 726 shots across all competitions this term. That's more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
There have been 253 opposition shots in their 11 Premier League games in 2024 alone. An incredible figure.
But Liverpool's finishing could be a cause for concern.
Jurgen Klopp's side lead the Premier League for shots taken this season - and by a long way.
They have had 70 more than Man City. They've had 112 more than Arsenal.
They have created more Opta-defined 'big chances' than those title rivals too. Six more than Man City and 14 more than Arsenal.
Drill down further and their Expected Goals total is the highest in the league by a significant margin - around eight more than Man City and almost 10 more than Arsenal.
But where Man City and Arsenal have overperformed their xG figures significantly, Liverpool are pretty much on par.
They have missed more big chances than any side in the Premier League.
They rank 14th for shooting accuracy.
After all the good build-up play, the finishing touch has too often been missing for Liverpool.
The chief culprits? Darwin Nunez has missed 24 of his 30 clear-cut chances in the Premier League this season.
Of the 60 players to have scored more than five goals in the Premier League this season, Nunez's 20 per cent conversion rate of big chances is the worst.
Expected Goals data suggests he should have scored four more goals than the 11 he has to his name.
Luis Diaz - who has missed 10 of his 16 big openings - should have at least a couple more than his eight.
Liverpool's attacking play has been wonderful to watch this season but they will need to be razor sharp in the run-in to beat Arsenal and Manchester City to the title and not spend the summer rueing their missed chances...
Reflecting on Liverpool's draw with Manchester United on Sunday - which saw the visitors post an Expected Goals total of 3.59 to their hosts' 0.71 yet draw 2-2 - Klopp said:
"We were in a bit of a rush - I'd have loved us to take an extra touch. You always have to take different things from the game. I know the outside world will get nervous but we have to be calm - it's going to be full of life, excitement and desire. The goals we have scored have got us where we are. We need to build on that. We're deal with that in the right way.
"I'm not over the moon but it's OK. You take what you get. If we were more clinical then we could've won here."
