The defeat to Manchester United in December seems a long time ago now, 5 consecutive away clean sheets and Liverpool have the top 4 once again in sight. Simon Mignolet, the much maligned Liverpool ‘keeper, is currently enjoying a resurgent run in the side, and in turn Liverpool are excelling defensively. This is no coincidence, the Belgian International is playing with the psychological shackles off and The Reds are reaping the rewards.
I mention the United game as that was the game that Rodgers made the bold, and surprising decision, to drop Mignolet and start Jones in the 3421 formation. Liverpool dominated but they conceded three soft goals and the future for Liverpool goalkeepers at that point looked very bleak.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
January came and went. Rumours of a new ‘keeper lasted the whole month with many names being mentioned. The impressive Mattia Perin and Mathew Ryan looking the most likely at various stages but neither came to fruition. Yet during this month Mignolet was slowly finding form, the kind of form that alerted Liverpool his potential to begin with. With every passing performance you could see the confidence breeding within him.
I was a ‘keeper as a youngster and there’s no better feeling that going into a game feeling unbeatable. The confidence you get from knowing your team appreciate you can do wonders. We seen this with Mignolet, after the Sunderland game when Steven Gerrard purposely grabbed hold of him as he was walking down the tunnel, with a massive smile on his face and put his arm around him. This personal touch could’ve been the reason the following week the Belgian was in inspired form against Aston Villa. He kept Liverpool in the game with a brilliant save off a Benteke effort. He was coming from crosses and punching them, a far cry away from the meek performances earlier in the season.
What caused his early season slump? Many jumped on the bandwagon and said he wasn’t good enough. His quality should never have been in question, he is one of the best in the league at instinctive saves. It was clear, in my opinion anyway, that he was being asked to play a game that was alien to him. He was tasked with having a higher starting position within the area so to come and sweep the ball.
“We play with eleven men, other teams play with ten men and a goalkeeper.”
Brendan Rodgers made his intentions clear with that unforgettable comment. This was unnatural to Mignolet who was by no means comfortable with the ball at his feet. Being asked to play as a sweeper clearly had an adverse affect on his normal game and as a result there few a forgettable performances. A prime example of this can be seen in the City, the Aguero goal just screamed he didn’t know where he was in the area and his angles weren’t correct. This was down to him being in different territory within the area itself.
Not only that, the defence infront of him was porous. The manager persisted with 4231 which offered the defence no protection and the reckless Dejan Lovren often vacated the space designated to him. It is of my belief that Lovren has a detrimental effect on Mignolets mindset in the early stages of the season. He looked a nervous wreck whenever Lovren played the ball back.
An aspect of the game many people question Mignolet over is why he continuously punches the ball. I spoke to a few Belgian journalists who put this down to the fact he apparently (I found no evidence of this) had an unorthodox coach when he was younger who had him punch everything. It’s his safety zone and it’s why, in this upturn in form, he’s punching everything that comes near him.
Not so long ago I wrote about Liverpool not needing a new ‘keeper and that with a settled defence Mignolet would once again excel. This has been showed to be true to some extent. Shielded by a defensive trio of Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can, we’ve had the pleasure of this defensive unit gelling before our eyes. Each of them breeds confidence in one another, including Mignolet. A weak aspect to his game is kicking, yet in this system he more often than not has options in the defence to pass out to so he isn’t expected to be unnervingly accurate with distribution. His positivity in coming for the ball now means Skrtel doesn’t drop to being inside the six yard box in open play. He’s on his toes and when the outside centre backs split at times he is an auxiliary sweeper alongside Skrtel.
This remarkable renaissance has lead to Mignolet being integral to Liverpool’s charge for the top 4, the FA Cup and the Europa League. He could be what makes this a successful season. He’s the one constant in the backbone of the side that shouldn’t change from now till the end of the season. He’s not likely he’ll be injured but others infront of him could be. We’ve already lost Lucas, Gerrard and Sakho lately to injury. All these are central players to Liverpool on the pitch. The recent found solidity stems from the backbone. It’s important he keeps up this level of performance to inspire those ahead of him, whether it be Sakho, Can, Skrtel, Lucas and Henderson, or Lovren, Skrtel, Kolo, Allen and Gerrard. If the Belgian is on top of his form as he has been those ahead of him will follow suit knowing they have a wall in goal.
The formation could even change but Mignolet needs to be the constant in all of this. His saves have been going under the radar lately due to the fact The Reds have been winning games but throughout this run he’s made some stunning saves; the Lamela effort at Anfield, the save from Demba Ba at 0-0 in the Europa League and even against Southampton when many were claiming a penalty and Mignolet was alert enough to save the Elia follow up shot. He isn’t perfect, and some may even argue he isn’t a top 4 goalkeeper but his form is certainly keeping us in with a chance at top 4.
His weaknesses – His kicking can be masked somewhat in this formation with the 3 at the back.
Sam McGuire
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