Liverpool’s abysmal defending cost them three points in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium last week and this is proving a real problem area for the Reds.
They improved against Chelsea on Sunday, but failure to keep a clean sheet once again cost them dearly as Willian levelled in the 86th minute. Liverpool have now shipped 18 goals in 13 league games this season and the big question is: how many points will it cost them between now and the end of the season?
The club’s hierarchy and Jurgen Klopp could try to address the problem in January by breaking the bank to bring in a couple of centre-backs that do not fall apart like houses of cards under the slightest modicum of pressure. But January is a difficult time to make signings as clubs are reluctant to part with their prize assets mid-campaign and you might get another over-priced dud to go with the collection of over-priced duds currently vying to line up at centre-back for Liverpool. Virgil Van Dijk might be available, but if he is Southampton will engineer a bidding war and he might go to The Etihad instead, or another club whose owners have deeper pockets than Liverpool’s.
The Reds failed in their pursuit of Van Dijk in the summer, but rather than going for Plan B and signing the next best player available, they stuck with what they had. They had already admitted a weakness in the team and the need to bring in a better quality player, but failed to address it. Instead of pursuing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, they should have set about bolstering a defence that let them down time and time again last season. But what is done is done and Liverpool can only move forwards and try to minimise the damage.
In mitigation, Liverpool have kept clean sheets against Man Utd, Arsenal, Southampton, Huddersfield and Crystal Palace this season, so they can sometimes get it right. But in those games the defence was indebted to the attack putting the opposition on the back foot for large periods of the game. The teams above Liverpool in the table have all conceded fewer than 10 goals and the Reds are already on 18. Even Swansea, second bottom of the league, have conceded fewer, as have Newcastle, Bournemouth and Brighton – teams not exactly renowned for mean defences. It is clear there is an issue and it is beyond frustrating to have such an outrageously exciting attack and such a dismally disappointing defence. Check reviews of sportsbetting.ag and browse the latest odds and you will see that Liverpool have drifted out to 66/1 to win the title and they are now outsiders to finish in the top four, and that is all down to the defence.
Set pieces are clearly an issue. That could be improved on the training pitch, drilling the players over and over again to help them cut out the errors. You could also argue that they are not being screened well enough. Jordan Henderson sets the tone with metronomic passing, but he is no Javier Mascherano. He is not protecting the defence like his life depends on it, breaking up play, winning the ball and protecting his centre-backs constantly. Gini Wijnaldum and Philippe Coutinho are attack minded players and Klopp places a premium on attacking, so they enjoy plenty of time in the final third, which means they need to sit alongside a really disciplined central midfielder. Emre Can brings more balance to the team and tracks back more than Wijnaldum, but he has struggled with injury, as has James Milner.
That brings us to another issue: a lack of depth. Joel Matip has established himself as Liverpool’s best centre-back and alarm bells were ringing when it was announced he would not be travelling to Spain due to injury. Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren do not inspire much confidence and it will have surprised few fans to witness the nature of their capitulation. Meanwhile, the less said about Alberto Moreno’s performance the better. Matip might have helped, but he is not a leader and will not rally the troops Jamie Carragher-style. Nor is Simon Mignolet the commanding presence that inspires confidence in his defenders and organises the backline. These problems can only be solved in the transfer market, and we can only hope that the club addresses them soon.
