Brendan Rodgers just can’t seem to get a break, finally it seems that he might have gotten the Liverpool formation right on with his 3-4-3 and playing with 3 centre backs to deal with threats and wing backs supporting him and then after a few good performances against Arsenal, Burnley and Manchester United, his first choice centre backs get injured.
Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure both got injured in recent games and with barely any cover, Rodgers had to deploy the young German player Emre Can as a makeshift defender. He first made his defensive debut as a centre back in the second half against Burnley and he did pretty well to hold his own against a tough team, Can then did the same and played the entire game as a centre back in Liverpool’s emphatic 4-1 win over Swansea.
While Can was specifically brought in to play as a defensive midfielder, for some reason his chances at that position have been limited with Lucas Leiva playing more games than expected and then Gerrard being preferred to play in midfield. With chances limited in the midfield, playing in defence might be the one option that Can has of impressing in his first season at Liverpool.
A history of playing in defence
Before we deal with stats, we need to be clear about one thing. Can is one versatile player and before his time at Liverpool. He was a Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen player and often he played as a left back or right back for Leverkusen, he didn’t really play as a centre back but was adept at dealing with headers and put in quite a few decent performances as a left or right back for the German teams.
In the few appearances he has made for Liverpool, there have been quite a few traits that have popped up, Can can play with the ball and often does love to make a good pass which is something that other Liverpool defenders cannot do. He is a player who likes to take control of the ball and try to play out from a situation and he isn’t afraid to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
When compared to the other central defenders with whom he will battle to take the central defensive position, Lovren and Sakho, Emre Can has at least a couple of stats which point that he can play in defence and be more reliable than the pair. Can hasn’t made one single defensive error or an error which has led to a goal this season while Lovren has made 0.40 errors per game while Sakho has 0.33 errors per game.
He has won 0.88 tackles per match this season while Lovren and Sakho have won 1.40 and 1.33 tackles respectively, we must take into consideration that Can has only played 1 full game as a centre back for Liverpool and that was against Swansea, he made a half time appearance in the Burnley game as well so he still needs time to develop as a defender.
Playing Can as a defender should only be seen as a stop gap measure, he is too good to be plagued down by playing for the defence and should be seen as a better, younger and stronger alternative to the now ageing Lucas Leiva, time will only tell how Can’s progress goes but he has impressed in the few chances he has got at Anfield.