The Reds and England midfielder will be a key man for Klopp over Christmas
All the pundits believed it was a given that Liverpool would travel up to Newcastle and come away with the three points.
In all honesty, I thought so too, and probably most Liverpool fans did as well.
Nevertheless, in this consistently unpredictable Premier League season, Newcastle decided to defy the form book, although they always tend to against the Reds at St James Park. Steve McClaren’s side deserved their 2-0 win, but Liverpool were awful, as if their true selves still remained on the south coast after the wonderful 6-1 hammering of Southampton in the League Cup.
Combined with the fantastic wins over Chelsea and Manchester City, hysteria over Jurgen Klopp threatened to boil over, and the result against Newcastle was a harsh reality check.
Given the weaknesses of the teams above, Liverpool could indeed still challenge for the title, but it is unlikely as the Reds suffer from weaknesses themselves – namely a lack of consistency against lesser sides, usually at home.
Further, the performance on Sunday will tell Klopp more about his players than many of the wins. He will need time to assess and decide who he can rely on for his style of play and who needs to be moved on in the upcoming transfer windows.
However, with Chelsea’s spectacular collapse thus far, competing for the top four is a reasonable target for Klopp’s men this season, particularly if he can bring in a couple of players in Janaury.
Regarding the first weakness of Liverpool, now is the time for the Reds to set the record straight. Having seen off the tough stretch of away fixtures (which should include Newcastle given Liverpool’s poor record there in recent seasons), the rest of December seems as kind as it could be on paper, given the competitive strength of the Premier League.
Home games against West Brom and Leicester City (tough match given Leicester’s form but Liverpool should still fancy themselves) and travelling to Watford and Sunderland presents Liverpool with an opportunity to end 2015 on a high, in a good run of form and potentially even level on points with the top four.
The 27 year old must adds assists and goals on a regular basis
However, once again Liverpool fans have that familiar sinking feeling, which is just far too regular nowadays.
Daniel Sturridge is injured, again.
After suffering a tear in his hamstring, the England forward could be out for weeks and potentially miss the entire Christmas period.
Precious else could have been as big a blow to Klopp, given Sturridge’s quality, which he still evidently possesses in his brief appearances this season. Sturridge scored twice in the 3-2 success against Aston Villa and netted the opening two in the 6-1 win over Southampton, helping the Reds take control and eventually secure victory in both matches.
With Danny Ings also injured and Divock Origi talented, but inexperienced, Klopp now has no one who can lead the line with burning pace, as even when Roberto Firmino has played up front it’s the Brazilian’s movement that has made him effective, linking up with Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho. Yet he will not stretch teams with direct runs behind the defence, preferring to weave about and drag defenders with him.
As against Chelsea and Manchester City, this can be effective, but the pace and, crucially, ruthless finishing of Sturridge will be bitterly missed.
Jordon Ibe has electric pace, but is not yet equipped to play as a striker, and, like most young players, regularly lacks an end product.
Christian Benteke will likely lead the line for the next few weeks, but he will have to improve his work-rate and movement if he wants to secure a long-term future under Klopp at Anfield. He may not be James Milner or Dirk Kuyt, but he can certainly offer more than he showed on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Firmino simply needs to show that tenacity accustomed with South Americans, with the likes of Luis Suarez and Alexis Sanchez role models, while even Philippe Coutinho is not afraid of getting stuck in.
The midfielder has shown he has the talent to work well in tandem with our two Brazilians
Finally, Coutinho has been Liverpool’s best attacker under Klopp, and hopefully the 23 year old can continue his brilliant recent form prior to the hamstring problem against Manchester City. Yet it may take him a while to get back up to speed, and so should not be totally relied upon.
Therefore, that leaves Adam Lallana.
Whilst the England international also needs to contribute more in goals and assists, he as much as anyone has typified how the squad have embraced the methods of Klopp. Pictures of Lallana falling into Klopp in the German’s opener against Tottenham have become renowned and point to the unprecedented work-rate the 27 year old now offers.
He may go unnoticed compared to his compatriots, such as when Coutinho and Firmino ran the show in Manchester, but without him the team loses its fluency and rhythm, as shown on Sunday.
Lallana will be a key figure over the Christmas period for Liverpool, where, without Sturridge, Firmino will probably feature alongside Coutinho and Lallana away from home, before Benteke takes Firmino’s place at Anfield, with Ibe and Origi offering impact substitutions.
Liverpool once again have been robbed of their best player, but they need to capitalise on the next few games ahead of the new year. The likes of Lallana will be vital for this, and they need to maintain and even improve their form in order to unlock tight defences and bring the Reds closer to their desired top four target.
