Liverpool’s title challenge powered without a number 9

Playing without a natural number 9 has been the key to Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge.

Divock Origi’s winner to beat Newcastle 3-2 on Saturday and keep Liverpool in the thick of the Premier League title race was tinged with irony. The goal came from the closest player the Reds have to a traditional number 9, but Liverpool are pushing Manchester City all the way precisely because they don’t use a classic center-forward.

Removing a focal point through the middle is how manager Jugen Klopp answered the question how can you make an already prolific forward line better?

It hardly seemed like a question worth asking when Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah scored enough goals to take Liverpool to the Champions League final last season.

Klopp’s subtle tweak involved turning his front three into less of a trio and more two stars assisted by a supporting act. It meant turning his center-forwards into number 10s.

The transition was smooth and easy when it involved Firmino. He was always more of an attacking midfielder pretending to be a striker, anyway.

Yet Klopp has stuck to the switch even when Firmino has nursed injuries. The Brazil international wasn’t fit enough to start against the Magpies, so Daniel Sturridge got the nod.

Sturridge’s career has been defined by two things, injuries and a selfish streak in front of goal. So it was a surprise to see the 29-year-old take to a role as a complementary attacker so easily.

The job Klopp’s number 10 has is two-fold. First, he must provide the passes to meet Mane and Salah’s runs from out to in.

Fortunately, Sturridge proved he has the technique for a creative role.

One of his best early passes was slid through to send Mane clear. It came after Sturridge had moved out of a central area and dropped deep before picking out one of the wide forwards who replaced him in the middle.

Another deft and classy touch from Sturridge proved key in the build-up to Liverpool’s second goal. The former Chelsea and Manchester City forward’s cute back-heel teed up right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold to cross for Salah to score.

Just like Mane earlier, Salah was the one in the center-forward position, replacing Sturridge, the ostensible striker.

Giving a number 9 in name only the freedom to roam creates obvious problems for a defense. Markers don’t know whether to follow him, knowing that being drawn out of position will leave space in behind.

Even if opposition defenders stand their ground they are left unsure who to mark because they don’t know who will become the new No. 9. Sometimes it’s Salah, other times it’s Mane, with both benefiting from a more fluid approach.

There’s another benefit from opting for a No. 10 behind a pair of perceptive wide forwards. Having a striker who drops off the front regularly gives Liverpool another player behind the ball who can press the opposition out of possession.

Numbers are essential for a manager like Klopp, whose philosophy is all about putting and maintaining pressure on the ball. Having eight players perform a seek-and-destroy mission helps explain why the Reds have been so stout defensively this season.

This aspect of Klopp’s tactical tweak has turned Liverpool into a shape-shifting unit defenses still haven’t figured out. What appears like a 4-3-3 is actually closer to a 4-4-2 with a diamond-shaped riff thrown in for good measure.

By giving his natural center-forwards more to do, Klopp has answered Liverpool’s need for a creative player to replace Philippe Coutinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain without anyone noticing.

Enlisting a striker to carry out defensive chores is no easy task since not many attackers relish this side of the game. Thankfully, it’s something Firmino warms to, and Sturridge did the same:

Through clever deployment of strikers like Firmino and Sturridge, Liverpool have redefined what it takes to build a modern forward line. By removing the traditional focal point, Klopp has forced defenders into nightmare choices and made his best players more difficult to track.

Liverpool’s ideas are the antithesis of how main rivals City operate. The Citizens still rely on knowing where Sergio Aguero will be when chances develop in the final third.

Both forms of attack have merits, but it’s the Reds’ willingness to shun the number 9 that has made this title race perhaps the best ever.