Liverpool was in serious danger of dropping two points in what was theoretically its easiest match of the campaign on Thursday. Welcoming the worst side in the division to Anfield when they are in danger of setting a new Premier League record for goals conceded should really be three points written blind.
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Sheffield United had other ideas and with 13 minutes of normal time remaining, the score was 1-1. The Reds were unlucky to concede an equalizer via a Conor Bradley own goal but had also taken the lead in strange circumstances, with Darwin Núñez charging down an attempted pass by the Blades’ goalkeeper, Ivo Grbić, and the ball rolling in to an unguarded net.
While the shots total was building up, the chance quality remained low. Fortunately for Liverpool and their army of fans, Alexis Mac Allister stepped up to score a goal which will live long in the memory. It isn’t the first time the Argentine World Cup winner has delivered such a moment in his debut campaign with the Reds either.
Mac Allister’s strike was so pure and true that it passed the eye test with ease. Opta’s data backs up what a fantastic hit it was too. The chance was valued at 0.08 expected goals, but that rose to 0.66 in the post-shot model once the finish had been applied. While that feels low considering the power and placement of the strike, it was only the 10th shot in the league or Europe by a Liverpool player this season where finishing added at least 0.58 to the xG value.
Narrow the sample to those where the chance rating multiplied by at least eight times after the shot was taken and there are only four: Núñez at Newcastle, Diogo Jota at Burnley and Mohamed Salah at Brentford. These were all well placed shots, but they were not at Mac Allister’s level.
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His strike against Sheffield United was like his goal against Fulham in December, an effort where the xG and post-shot xG figures were 0.03 and 0.52 respectively (and again, the latter figure feels too low). The two efforts found very similar areas within the goal frame, a zone which many football fans would refer to as ‘top bins’.
The phrase, which was once slang, is now in the Oxford English Dictionary: “Either of the top corners of the goal; (also) a goal scored by kicking the ball into either of the top corners.” While such areas are not easy to find, they are the most productive zones of the goal.
Opta breaks the frame area down into six sections: left, middle and right for the top or bottom halves of the goal. Around 30 per cent of all shots on target are converted but that figure rises to above 40 if you find the upper corner segments.
Only 14 of Liverpool’s 125 goals this season have been scored in these zones, seven on either side. The top player for converting them is Dominik Szoboszlai, with four, though probably only his rocket strike against Leicester would be described as in the top bin as fans would think of it. The same is true for Salah, with his three goals in the Opta-defined left and right upper zones not firmly in the corners.
Both he and Szoboszlai have found this section on the right, as have Luis Díaz, Wataru Endō and Curtis Jones. But only Mac Allister has scored in this zone twice, finding the corner both times. His Fulham effort was the club’s goal of the month for December, and he may have wrapped up the April award already. Liverpool supporters can’t wait to see how many more times the former Brighton man can fill the top bin for the Reds.
Liverpool.com says: Liverpool has frequently scored far fewer goals from outside the box than Manchester City, to the point that the difference has settled Premier League titles in the past. Mac Allister’s shooting prowess could prove to be a very valuable asset for the Reds, both this season and beyond.
