Long-ball revival has exposed Liverpool flaws – Ruben Amorim will go route one at Anfield
Liverpool versus Manchester United was once a meeting of English football’s sophisticated elite. Sunday afternoon’s match could showcase the most distinctive style contrast between the clubs since Roy Hodgson’s brief Anfield tenure.
If Ruben Amorim is to navigate a path to United’s first Anfield triumph since 2016, he is likely to get there via route one. Indeed, Liverpool manager Arne Slot’s preparation for United’s visit included showing his players evidence of how opponents are prioritising the long-ball game against them.
Only three Premier League clubs have played more long passes than United in the first few weeks of this season. United’s 391 is 121 more than Manchester City, and more than 10 per match more than Liverpool.
Amorim is not averse to embracing the long throw into the penalty area, too. United have utilised that weapon on 10 occasions so far in their seven league fixtures.
Amorim can be forgiven if he follows a blueprint that almost brought him an Anfield victory last January, when Harry Maguire missed a late chance to seal what would have been considered a shock 3-2 win.
United’s direct and physical approach generally worked. They won more tackles than the champions-in-waiting (20 to Liverpool’s six) and emerged victorious from more duels (52.2 per cent to Liverpool’s 46.2). United’s long pass rate increased to a whopping 15.9 per cent.
While purists might identify this as a regressive approach because of the weaknesses in the United line-up, Amorim’s anticipated Anfield strategy is in keeping with the broader trends across the Premier League.
Liverpool’s title defence has met the resistance of a 1980s-themed revival, the long-ball, ultra-physical game is back with such vigour that John Fashanu must be contemplating coming out of retirement.
Data from Opta underlines how dramatic the tactical switch to an old-school approach has been in the early weeks of 2025-26.
Before this weekend’s round of fixtures, long balls accounted for more than 14 per cent of passes for five Premier League clubs – Burnley, Brentford, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace.
The weaponising of the long throw-in is the most visible representation of this change of tack across the board.
Before this weekend there had already been 262 long throws into the penalty area this season – an average of 3.7 per game.
Compare this with five years ago when there were 340 across the entire season (less than one per match).
United are not the only “fashionable” club jumping on this bandwagon, with Newcastle United (18), Tottenham Hotspur (18), Arsenal (16) and Aston Villa (13) just as willing to make Premier League matches resemble the NFL, every throw-in within the vicinity of the penalty area giving the impression it needs a “time-out” to prepare a meticulously choreographed missile launch.
When recently asked what Liverpool must improve, Slot offered logical explanations such as the introduction of new signings, key players still conditioning after a disrupted pre-season and a midfield rejig.
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