Liverpool’s issue with the long ball: Why 25% rise is plummeting win rate

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Arne Slot has made it no secret that Liverpool struggle when their opponents opt to play long balls, and there has been a 25 percent rise in the strategy this season. In an interesting deep dive into the strategy, The Times have found that Liverpool’s opponents have increased their attempted long balls from 59 to 74 per match, a 25 percent rise.

Liverpool win rate drops dramatically with long balls The obvious shift in how to nullify Liverpool will continue so long as Slot does not come up with an effective solution, as it is a proven avenue to a result. As Hamzah Khalique-Loonat has identified, in 17 of the 49 league games under Slot that has seen Liverpool face a long ball pass rate of 20 percent of more, the win rate is only 41 percent.

In the other 32 matches when Liverpool face fewer long balls, the win rate rises significantly to 75 percent. The long ball approach has seen Liverpool contest 11 more aerial duels per game, a 35.5 percent increase on last season, but Slot’s side are then not winning or positioning themselves for the second phase.