MY ACCOUNT
Jordan Henderson is a man on a mission.
The Liverpool skipper has scored three goals and set up team-mates four times this term, eclipsing the one strike and solitary assist he managed during the previous campaign.
And his attacking output is yielding dividends with the Reds flying high in the Premier League and already through to the Champions League knockout rounds.
Ahead of the Merseysiders’ visit to AC Milan, we consider the reasons behind this flurry of goal contributions and assess whether Henderson can keep troubling the scoring charts in the months ahead.
Unshackled
Last season was a forgettable one for Liverpool as their title defence was ended prematurely after injuries to all three senior central defenders.
By January, the Reds were forced to name a centre-back pairing of Fabinho and Henderson.
Even prior to the loss of Joel Matip in December, Henderson’s role had been completely different, with the England international having to fill in as the team’s defensive midfielder.
Instead of influencing things in the final third, he was having to put out fires in the defensive areas of the pitch.
But Henderson has never been shy about what his favoured role is.
Reflecting on his performances for England back in 2019, he said: “I felt more comfortable in (an advanced) position for England, creating chances and doing what I enjoy doing.
“I feel as though I can do more in a position further forward.
“Me and the gaffer (Jurgen Klopp) had a conversation. Obviously, he saw the England games and it was something he said he’d think about.”
A goalscoring midfielder
Liverpool failed to bring in a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum this season — choosing to tweak their system instead.
The Reds had been married to a 4-3-3 formation, with the wide midfielders filling in for the attacking full-backs as well as the inside forwards.
This meant Henderson would often find himself on the right wing or at right-back depending on where others positioned themselves.
But this season has been different.
The right-sided midfielder in the team has been tasked with joining the front three to effectively make it a quartet of attackers.
With subtle tweaks to Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s roles, this has freed up Henderson to attack central areas a lot more.
As a result, he is finding himself in better shooting positions and that explains his increase in shots (1.11 per 90 minutes, up from 0.74 last season) and goals (0.17 this year, compared with 0.05 per 90 in 2020-21).
The Liverpool captain is on course to beat his haul from the 2019-20 campaign when he scored four times in the league and registered five assists.
Redemption
Henderson hobbled off in the Merseyside derby last season as Everton secured their first win at Anfield since 1999.
He also had what would have been the winner chalked off in the match at Goodison Park earlier in the campaign to make it a forgettable one for the skipper against the Toffees.
But in the first derby of the season this time around, Henderson put in a man-of-the-match performance as Liverpool romped to a 4-1 win against their city rivals.
The former Sunderland youngster scored the first and assisted the second, with Klopp singling him out for praise in his post-match interview.
He said: “Hendo was good. But with his skillset, he should be good.
“When you can train and play and you get rhythm and you have the quality of Hendo, then you can play good football games.
“Tonight, I think it was for him as well the best performance at Goodison Park.”
A point to prove
For close to a decade now, Henderson has been an undisputed starter for Liverpool.
Initially under Klopp, the defensive midfield role was his. He then claimed the right-sided midfielder spot.
However, for the first time in a long time, Henderson’s place in the starting XI is not assured.
Harvey Elliott impressed prior to his injury, as did Naby Keita, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has caught the eye in recent weeks.
Henderson struggled on the left against Chelsea and with Fabinho back, the defensive midfield role is no longer up for grabs, so there is just one position available to the skipper.
The Liverpool No14 is having to work for his place in Klopp’s first-choice team, and this could well be one of the reasons why his game has gone up a notch. Competition brings out the best in players.
Rolling back the years
It is often forgotten, but Henderson was a creative menace in the final third when he burst onto the scene with Sunderland.
He also caused chaos for the Reds when deployed on the right side of a midfield diamond in the 2013-14 season — using his one-touch passing to link up effectively with Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling.
It was only after Klopp’s appointment in 2015 that we started to see a more reserved Henderson as he was tasked with controlling the tempo.
But with Liverpool changing their system, he has been freed up a little.
Fabinho and Thiago set the tempo as part of a two-man midfield and this allows Henderson to impact things in the final third.
We have seen him link particularly well with Salah and Alexander-Arnold, as the latter mentioned in a recent interview.
He said: “You might find me inside in midfield, it might be Hendo (Henderson) out wide and Mo (Salah) as like a striker or just rotating all the time.
“You see Mo drop deep and just get a few touches on the ball. It flows really well, especially this season.”
With the ideal tactical set-up for his strengths in place at Anfield, there is no reason why Henderson cannot keep hitting the same heights in the final months of the season.
