OPINION
Liverpool picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Sunday but their performance wasn’t exactly inspiring.
The Reds achieved another victory in the Premier League but Jurgen Klopp would have been far from happy with some aspect of his team’s latest performance.
While there were some highlights for the German manager to focus on, the majority of the things he would have learnt about his team would have been on the negative side of life.
Live 4 Liverpool have rounded up three things learned about the Reds’ during their 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Lovren should be axed
Dejan Lovren wasn’t awful against the Terriers by any stretch of the imagination but his past performances and mistakes for the club make it hard to trust him. At times the 29-year-old, who earns an £90,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), looked on the brink of making an error as he was out of position and seemed ready to hit the panic button when he didn’t need to. While these moments were rare and fleeting, Klopp must axe him as soon as possible, as he has a better option to play alongside Virgil van Dijk. Joe Gomez proved that he was the ideal defensive partner for the Dutch international in the first few games of the campaign and it seems that partnership should be restored to put everyone’s minds at ease. Lovren is fantastic cover to have in case Gomez or Van Dijk gets injured, but that’s all he should be seen as at this stage of the season.
Patience need with Lallana
Adam Lallana kicked a ball while wearing a Reds shirt in a competitive game and it was a long overdue sight. The midfielder has been riddled with injuries problems in recent times and he has barely featured. However Lallana returned to action against Huddersfield Town, after his latest injury woe, on Saturday and showed signs he could be a useful player for Klopp this season. The 30-year-old played 69 minutes of his side’s narrow win and understandably looked shattered by the time he got hauled off the pitch. Lallana also showed signs that he had suffered cramp before going off and that’s no surprise. If the midfielder is able to stay fit and keep getting minutes under his belt, then perhaps he’ll start to look like the player who could do some damage to his opponents on behalf of the Reds. However the fact remains that fans need to remain patience with him during this time.
Gomez shines again
Gomez is fantastic come rain or shine. While several of his teammates were not their usual excellent selves against the Terriers, the same couldn’t be said for the 21-year-old defender. In fact Gomez shone bright during Saturday’s game and was one of the reasons why Klopp’s side still got the victory despite the team submitting a lacklustre display. The defender proved he is just as good at right-back as he is in the heart of the Reds’ defence and it’s clear he has a bright future at Anfield and he will no doubt play an important role for the club this season as they look to end their trophy drought. The only problem regarding the 21-year-old is choosing where best to play him as Klopp can deploy him at right-back or centre-back and knows he doesn’t have to worry about him not delivering the goods.
