Beyond Philippe Coutinho’s perfectly weighted pass, there’s not much which needs analysing about this goal – but it’s still worth highlighting quite how hard Jordan Henderson works to score.
Here’s Henderson’s starting position at the beginning of the move – he’s the Liverpool player third from the right:
The focus is on Coutinho’s vision here, and his ability to put Henderson in on-goal, but don’t discount the role the latter plays – he makes the run which provides the Brazilian with the passing option.
Villa’s covering midfielder, Ashley Westwood, doesn’t even do much wrong here, he just gets out-run by Henderson. Pace, and defence-splitting movement aren’t qualities associated with the Liverpool player, but they’re exactly what he exhibits here, and they’re what puts him one-on-one with Brad Guzan.
Once he’s in on the keeper, there’s still plenty to do, and his finish is absolutely sublime. A couple of minutes later, Philippe Coutinho will waste a similar chance by panicking and lashing the ball wide of Guzan’s far post, but Henderson retains his composure and clips the ball past the American.
It’s a small detail, but consider how difficult it is to execute a finish like this after having run fully seventy yards at top speed – lungs screaming, legs heavy: we all know the feeling.
I’ve criticised Henderson a lot in the past, but credit where it’s due – this was excellent from start to finish.
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Just hope Caroll will be given chance and tbh LFC is lacking power up front, especially playing with a strong defensive team. There’s a reason why KD brought in these players.