Henderson: Team Working Hard To Improve And Find Fluidity In Attack

In the Champions League program notes, the Liverpool captain says he sees a lot of good from the front three so far.

With nearly a quarter of the season gone, and the vaunted front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane are just a bit off. Their attacking moves so far have frequently broken down in frustrating and tantalizing positions, where even a moderately better pass would see one of them through on goal.

This frustration was once again on display at Huddersfield Town on the weekend, where the Reds were lucky to escape with a 1-0 win. However, captain Jordan Henderson has seen plenty of good.

“Just to be clear, as the gaffer has said repeatedly, it’s not a case of looking to sacrifice adventure and attack to become more solid,” Henderson said in the program notes ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash, “In fact, I think some of the football we have played so far this season has been as good as anything at this stage of a campaign I’ve been involved with.

“From my position on the pitch I have a pretty decent view of what is happening ahead of me and the shift the front lads are putting in means we set the tone for a more solid approach. I really don’t buy into the talk that they’re not as fluid as they were last season – that’s nonsense for me.

“Of course we know we need to improve, but that should be a given regardless. So far we’ve been unlucky in front of goal, but again that’s common in the first few months of a season.

“This is the stage of the season where you are finding rhythm and fluency, where you’re getting right into the groove.”

Henderson is right to compare this Liverpool side to past vintages. Looking back just a year, this side were in 9th place on 13 points and a -2 goal differential (oh hi there, Manchester United).

And speaking of last year, it wasn’t really until coming up against a relative minnow in the Champions League when the attack really kicked into gear, which they did by blowing the doors off Maribor 7-0. Hopefully the lads can jumpstart the attack this year as they did last, and really start putting pressure on Manchester City.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com