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Jamie Carragher has explained the small “difference” in how Liverpool defend without Virgil van Dijk.
The Reds have been without Van Dijk since the central midfielder suffered a knee injury that will likely rule him out for the season against Everton in October.
But Liverpool have conceded just three goals in the seven games the Dutchman has missed, keeping an awesome clean sheet against Leicester last weekend.
READ MORE: Liverpool and Klopp ‘have no intention’ of signing the central defender
Fabinho returned to central defense and teamed up with Joel Matip to keep Jamie Vardy calm at Anfield, and Carragher identified a subtle shift in his approach to “body position.”
“It’s an exceptional job from the players that have really come in,” Carragher said. Sky sports.
“When Liverpool came out [against Leicester], people said they would change completely. That they would go down 10 or 15 yards. I watch a lot of Liverpool games and I didn’t quite watch it.
“I have analyzed how they played against Vardy and nobody can tell me that Liverpool lost 10 or 15 yards without Van Dijk. They were still playing on a high line, but the difference is the body position that people like Fabinho adopted.
“Yes, we can talk about him being a midfielder there, but he has been outstanding. What he did was play a high line but be ready to run back when the ball went over his head. He ran back and took care of it.
“When we talk about Van Dijk, let’s not forget that he has been part of the four defenders over the last few years who have had the best defensive record in the league, and I’m sure that would have been the case this season with him.
“But there was no doubt that Liverpool had big problems at the beginning of the season. They conceded three at home against Leeds and then obviously there was the match against Aston Villa.
“We have talked a lot on Monday Night Football about the Liverpool line and sometimes it is difficult to criticize a team that has a great defensive record and has been so successful.
“There were times when I would look at the line and think ‘run back.’ Certainly in the Aston Villa game, where obviously Liverpool made a huge mistake.
“Sometimes it wasn’t so much about how high the line was, it was just the fact that I always felt like Liverpool defenders needed to be in position to run backwards. Just run back and match the race. We’re on a decent line, it’s okay, they’ve beaten the press and they have time with the ball, let’s give us two or three yards. ‘ That’s all it was. “
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