Were Gerrard & Lucas To Blame For Liverpool’s Shock Southampton Defeat?

Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season against Southampton, falling victim of a Dejan Lovren goal at Anfield. After looking fantastic so far this season, the victory against Manchester United being a highlight, Liverpool fans were left to wonder where their side faltered against a team which had not won in three games prior to their visit to Merseyside.
Midfield duo Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard have been criticised for the lack of attacking threat and defensive cover they posed Southampton. From an attacking perspective the duo created only two chances between them, both of which came more down the right-hand side of the pitch rather than through the middle. This suggests either an inability to break Southampton down through the middle or a tactical decision from Brendan Rodgers to attack the wings – or rather left-back Luke Shaw.

Liverpool Key Passes v Southampton

However, this left the Reds looking rather one-dimensional and predictable – the unwillingness of their central midfield pairing to pass through Southampton’s core was one of Liverpool’s failures against Mauricio Pochettino’s team. Had they tried to feed Iago Aspas or Raheem Sterling, who fulfilled the ‘number ten’ role, rather than Jordan Henderson, Rodgers’ men could have found more success. As you can see from Gerrard’s pass graph, he rarely threaded any balls into the penalty area, something which could have really troubled Southampton.

Steven Gerrard's Passes v Southampton (42 Passes, 84% Pass Accuracy)

However, defensively, Lucas and Gerrard were criticised by Liverpool fans. Captain Gerrard for example, won just one tackle from a possible three. While Lucas lost all his aerial duels, this was a key problem for The Reds, as Southampton were pressing the Liverpool's midfield aggressively, as shown in the Heat Map below and Liverpool could not keep the ball or win it back effectively.
Furthermore, the likes of Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert often dropped deep, thus not allowing Lucas and Gerrard time on the ball, meaning The Reds couldn't slowly build their attacks or perhaps more crucially, dictate the tempo of the game.

Southampton Heat Map v Liverpool

Lucas & Gerrard Duels v Southampton

Liverpool's midfield was a weak point against Southampton. They did not use the ball effectively, nor did they handle Southampton's pressure. Furthermore, going forward, Gerrard and Lucas could not effectively instigate any of The Reds attacks, meaning Rodgers' men looked disjointed. However, the midfield alone cannot be blamed for the defeat, even if they had a poor game. Rodgers' use of four centre-backs in his defensive line meant Liverpool lacked deep-runners from full-back, who could stretch the play and offer Gerrard and Lucas more options on the ball.