Are these the problems that Liverpool need to address?

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Advanced Stats – prior to Matchday 24

Using the excellent Footballintheclouds website, we can see further evidence for Liverpool being a strong team that creates a ton of shots, as they are second in the Barclays Premier League with a +/- ratio of +153 shots. As a sidenote, leaders Leicester City have a paltry ratio of +4, calling into question the dogma that shooting more frequently automatically leads to more goals and as a result, success. Aside from the large volume, Liverpool are also hitting the target fairly consistently (59%) and from good areas (4th in total shots from inside the box with 211).

So the problem must be on the defensive side, right? Well actually, they are technically no slouches here either, as their Total Shot Ratio (TSR% = Total Shots For/(Total Shots For + Total Shots Against)) is a very healthy 62.7%, second only to Man City. They also have an excellent +77 rating that is 3rd best in the Premier League in ‘Shots in the Box For/Against’, meaning that they have taken 77 more shots from inside the box than they have allowed from inside the penalty box. So, clearly LFC have been excellent in generating shots, very good at getting them on target and superb in not allowing a lot of shots from inside their penalty area.

So, how on Earth are they then 8th in the league with a -4 goal difference? Staying on offence, conversation rate is the elephant in the room for LFC. The league average is around 9% for teams, while for individuals anything above 14% is considered top class. I have found two rankings that both have Liverpool in the bottom 4 with 7.4% and 11.4% (2nd worst, here Leicester are first with 19%). The discrepancy can be attributed to the way the two sites calculate the numbers, the former takes into account all shots, while the latter looks at shots inside the box – but the picture is crystal clear – the Merseyside outfit are atrocious when it comes to converting chances.

On the other side of the ball, Liverpool boast the second worst save % – that is calculated by measuring shots on target against goals conceded. The Reds stand at 61%, just edging Bournemouth for last place – the top teams like Arsenal and Tottenham are at 80%, while the league average is 70 percent. Overall, they have allowed 77 shots on target, an average of 3.34/game, but have conceded a stunning 34 goals. For comparison, the disaster that has been Chelsea this season have also conceded 34 goals despite allowing 25 more shots on target than Liverpool, with an average save percentage of 69.7%. All of that is suggesting that the frustration at Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has been more than justified.