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The joke Bill Shankly once made to dismiss questions about Liverpool’s form today rings true: Here they are struggling at the top of the league.
Three mediocre exhibits and two points out of nine have given Jurgen Klopp a lot to consider in the first week of the new year. Liverpool are suddenly vulnerable and the gloomy mood among the players on the return flight from Southampton reflected the recognition that standards have been lowered.
A great fight awaits last season’s champions and if they want to retain their title, Klopp needs to find solutions. Sportsmail looks at the key issues that need to be addressed for Liverpool to regain its momentum.
BALANCE
When Manchester City used Fernandinho as a replacement for Aymeric Laporte on defense last season, the team’s performance fell. The same is happening to Liverpool now.
Fabinho, the prominent midfielder, has acted bravely to replace Virgil van Dijk, but Liverpool would be much more effective with the Brazilian protecting two central defenders.
The same thing happened with Jordan Henderson at St Mary’s: taking the Liverpool captain out of the engine room and Liverpool, for some reason, don’t have the same aggression; Henderson also missed the trip to Aston Villa and look what happened.
With Joel Matip frail and young Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips still so tough, Liverpool is crying out for him to buy a central defender, but any potential target would have a huge premium on their fee.
Loan agreements will not be considered. However, finding the right permanent target will be a challenge for Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s sporting director, and his scouts.
HANGOVER
To speak of defense, it is impossible to leave out Van Dijk and Joe Gomez. The abnormal nature in which both players suffered the season-ruining knee injuries has cast a shadow over the team.
Both players are on their rehab programs, but any lingering frustration the team feels must be put to rest, as mileage cannot be gained from the past.
IMMERSION LEVELS
Much was made of the fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold gave the ball 38 times against Southampton. It’s a striking statistic, but the most troubling aspect of the right-back’s performance was his role in Danny Ings’s goal.
He should have cleared James Ward-Prowse’s cut free throw and currently has questions to answer about his defensive capabilities. Alexander-Arnold has enjoyed a steady upward curve for the past four years, but this is his first crash.
It would be unfair to say that the England right-back, substituted in two of his last six appearances, is the only unwell player. Take Roberto Firmino: when he plays well, the team plays well but he has also struggled for consistency.
These numbers show how their influence has waned. Between them last season, they created 27 goals. Alexander-Arnold (15 assists) created a goal every 266 minutes, Firmino (12) did it every 326 minutes. Now they are 392 minutes and 548 minutes respectively and they have only assisted seven goals.
WHERE IS MO’S MOJO?
Since he gave an unexpected interview to the Spanish publication AS, Mohamed Salah’s performances have been, at best, enigmatic. Those who work with him say that he has not changed his attitude and that he has not caused any kind of problem in training.
However, there is no hiding the fact that he looked irritable against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton and has wasted the opportunities he often seizes. Whatever Salah’s reason for speaking to AS, he has simply ensured that there is now an additional level of scrutiny on his form.
ATTITUDE
It takes something out of the ordinary for Klopp to suggest in public that he is unhappy with his team. He protects his players, takes offense with negative questions and criticism is applied behind closed doors. His words at St Mary, then, were of great importance.
“I know they are great boys, super boys, fantastic soccer players, but (here) they weren’t good,” Klopp said. ‘If I think they should have done better, then I get angry, not for long, but I get angry. They know.
“Just because they’ve won something in the past doesn’t mean you’re always like that (thumbs up). We don’t have to make it bigger than it is, but we didn’t win the last three games. That’s all our fault, mostly my fault, but the boys also participated. We have to change ‘.
Liverpool’s players were free on Tuesday, but there won’t be a warm welcome when they return to training on Wednesday. The running, pressing and fighting that has become his team’s trademark has been absent from current games. Klopp won’t tolerate it anymore.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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