Reports have surfaced suggesting Liverpool are in talks with Cesc Fabregas, but his Como side is set up very much like Arne Slot sets up the Reds, and FSG should therefore avoid like the plague.
Fabregas has made a great start to life at Como. In his first full season, the Spanish boss guided them to 10th in Serie A, after promotion from Serie B.
They’re currently sixth in the Italian top division and reports suggest Liverpool have opened talks with Fabregas over potentially taking the place of Slot if they sack him.
Slot won the Premier League with Liverpool last term, but they’re currently 10th, and have both scored and conceded 24 goals in 17 games. Trying to outscore their opposition only works for so long.
A look into the stats, thanks to FBRef, shows Fabregas’ high-pressing, forward-thinking football might be no better than Slot’s – he’d be the same manager, just with hair.
In terms of shots and goals in Serie A, Como are right up there – fourth in both metrics, while Liverpool are second for shots and seventh for goals in the Premier League.
But that means very little if the other team can carve through you, which is the case for the Reds.
No Premier League club has made fewer than Liverpool’s 200 tackles, with the Reds on the third fewest in the defensive third (92), while they’re 13th in the attacking third (32).
The relative positions are different for Como in Serie A, but the results are very close to Liverpool’s.
Como’s high press is proven by the fact that their 35 tackles in the attacking third are the joint most in the Serie A, and very close to Liverpool’s Premier League tally.
But when we look to the defensive third, Como’s tackling numbers drop to 11th, with their 100 again very close to Liverpool.
They want to win the ball back high up the pitch, and if they don’t, they are susceptible to being punished. Yes, that gives them an advantage when it comes off and they’re already on the front foot, but the discrepancy shows that it doesn’t happen all the time, and they are vulnerable when it fails.
The recent 4-0 loss against Inter Milan was a perfect example. Como had more of the ball and had more shots, but Inter made use of their chances better, taking advantage of an out-of-shape side to bang in four goals.
Yes, Como might only have conceded 11 goals this season, but four coming in one game against Inter shows they could struggle to match the big boys.
In an already struggling side at Liverpool, who have been defensively inept all season and don’t know how to sit back, Fabregas’ set-up would see them remain sitting ducks.
If they want to move away from Slot, there’s no sense in appointing Slot 2.0.
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