Missing Midfield
The midfield three of Gini Wijnaldum, Emre Can and Jordan Henderson may become more common than it should, sadly. With the Coutinho saga still weeks from complete resolution and Adam Lallana injured for the first few months, Liverpool entered this season already looking light. This trio did nothing to dispel that notion.
Incapable of providing proper support or creativity in attack nor enough cover and composure in defence, the midfield may actually be the bigger problem in the Reds ruptured defence. At no point could they assert any sustained control over the match. The only performer of the three was Can.
On the face of it, Wijnaldum simply had a poor game. His difficulties can be summed in the final minutes. Unable to finish a late, gilt-edged chance from the edge of the box that would have definitively ended the affair with a win, he failed to deal with the corner that resulted in a draw.
Still more concerning is Jordan Henderson. The captain has yet to look anything remotely close to the player that he was prior to injury. He was completely invisible and ineffective in the first half and continued to move as though in mud the whole match. It may be early but Hendo may need to be the first Klopp must forgo to bolster a decidedly dodgy defensive setup.
Firing Front
All three Liverpool forwards tallied on a day that required it. Sadio Mane rescued the Reds from a comical corner that saw them concede early and levelled the score. In an exceptional sequence of precise one-touch passing, Mane finished off the kind of play that Liverpool will need to perfect to pick apart packed defenses.
Roberto Firmino found his way into the match after a frustrating first half for all concerned. Despite scoring from the spot, the Brazilian provided proper influence after the break. With the midfield struggling to provide much support for the front three, Firmino dropped deeper and distributed with greater decisiveness, even getting an assist.
For Mo Salah, it looked like it might be a long day initially. Spurning a number of strong chances in the first half, his pace proved most pivotal for the Reds. He raced to reach a ball and earn a penalty early in the second half to level things once again. Later, his burst to be first to finish off a Firmino chip found him on the scoresheet, as well.
Diabolical Defending
In a series of moments that looked sickeningly familiar, supporters saw Liverpool’s defence commit catastrophic errors all over their own end, Not limited to the back four, the whole approach is suspect. From personnel to performance everything should court question.
Given recent history, conceding two corners on match day one can only be considered cosmic comedy. Yet, there is something deeply malignant in Liverpool’s ability to deal with set-pieces. It begins but does not end with Dejan Lovren’s disastrous decision-making. At this point, nothing will correct the Croatian centre back’s confusion about how to properly play defence.
Without a reliable shield deep in midfield, providing both control and cover, as a pivot, the centre of the Red’s defence will face unrelenting pressure, exposing their every weakness eventually. Emre Can has shown that he can potentially provide that answer but, again, it only solves one of many problems.
While Alexander Trent-Arnold and Alberto Moreno grew into the match, Liverpool begins another new campaign with an iffy fullback situation. It is not the root of the problem but symptomatic of a greater disease. Considering the other defensive problems is hard to imagine how any combination of the current crop of fullbacks will be good enough over the course of this campaign.
Is it any wonder why there are only two player’s on Jurgen Klopp’s wishlist. An imposing, ball-playing centre-half in Virgil van Dijk and Navy Keita, a midfielder whose equally strong at suffocating or striking in equal measure, may not be the complete remedy but would fill a number of gaping holes.
Dubious Development
Were matchday one used as a blind assessment, Jurgen Klopp’s project would seem to be suffering from a host of maladies. There can be no question that the club has improved, last year’s top four place and a looming Champions League challenge on the horizon supply sufficient evidence for that. Yet, mistakes made against Watford undermine all those positive developments.
After 100 matches in charge, approximately a third of the goals conceded have come from set plays. It is a problem the manager has yet to sufficiently fix. For all the free-flowing football that has progressed to an even higher pitch under his guidance, Liverpool still lacks the grit and guile to kill off stubborn sides that refuse to be overpowered by counter-attacks or silky skill. The side’s frailties have long been found out and answers are still seemingly absent.
For all the frustrations, there is perhaps no better manager on the planet for Liverpool Football Club than Jurgen Klopp. His desire and ability to develop players in this charge is unmatched. His ability to identify and convince talent to play for him exceptional. Transfer failings are not under his control. Plus, it’s a long season and a lot can change, especially in a league that looks more in flux than it has in years. However, this season very well may supply considerable shine or shade on his reputation’s lustre.
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