Reds running on empty as it’s bye to Blues ... and what about Sakho?
LONDON: It’s a question very much on the lips of the Kop faithful: What’s happened to Liverpool? It’s the mystery at Anfield that has yet to be resolved.
It stems as far back as the 2-2 away draw with Sunderland on January 2. Since then, the Reds have won just once in their last nine games – an FA Cup replay away to League 2 Plymouth.
But it is not only their form that presents a problem to Jurgen Klopp; it’s the way they’ve lost. This is not the side we saw play with intensity, flair and vigour at the start of the season, the team we all thought was here to stay under Klopp.
Things have only got worse for the German.
The 1-1 home draw with Chelsea last Tuesday offered Klopp little joy, though it did spare his side equalling their worst home run since 1923. A draw with the best team in the league should have been their watershed moment. It wasn’t. Their drastic change of fortune threatens to spoil a season that began so well. A month back, Liverpool looked Chelsea’s only realistic challengers to the Premier League title, but they’ve slipped to fifth and missing out on a top-four spot is becoming a reality.
Their sudden fall from grace is for no one reason, but for a number. They lost Sadio Mane to the Africa Cup of Nations at the beginning of January, and Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi failed to make an impact in his absence. Though his role has been instrumental, it hasn’t been spectacular – certainly not enough to be the solitary explanation. He played against Hull and the outcome was the same. His absence in January was just one of the many missing pieces to the jigsaw.
Perhaps Klopp missed a piece by failing to recruit in January. The best solution isn’t always to spend money and sign players; nevertheless, the Liverpool crisis was welltimed, coinciding with the January transfer window, yet no players were bough.
Klopp hasn’t exactly got the pick of the bunch with his fairly thin squad – though he is well known for his frugality and shrewdness in the transfer market, no investments were made, despite a hectic schedule that has since got less hectic after being knocked out of the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
But the damage is done. Though this could be manipulated to be seen as a positive thing, their schedule has taken its toll on the players.
The verve from their front trio of Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho is missing. The only possible reason for this is to assume the players are tired.
If Liverpool are to get themselves out of their funk, these three are vital to it. Tiredness is at the heart of the problem; it leads to poor performances which lead to players being bereft of confidence. A torrid run is only making it worse.
Teams have also begun to work them out, presenting them with a problem England struggled with at Euro 2016 in breaking teams down.
Liverpool are scoring less and it’s because their creative players aren’t performing, and unfortunately for Klopp, no one else is stepping up.
But the problems don’t end there; it’s Liverpool’s defence, too. They have only two clean sheets in their last 10 games, both against Plymouth. It has led to Liverpool fans calling for Klopp to change his mind on Mamadou Sakho, who he exiled after breaking club rules on their pre-season tour of America. The Frenchman was an integral part of Liverpool’s defence last season. Alas, he’s on loan to Crystal Palace.
He could have offered Klopp a different option to the three centre-backs he rotates between Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan.
Sakho, at 26, still has plenty to offer.
When you’re losing games, failing to score and struggling to keep cleans sheets, ideally the fixture list won’t do you an injustice. In Klopp’s case it has.
Liverpool face Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City in their next five games and Klopp does boast an impressive record against England’s top six, having taken 13 points against them this season.
But Liverpool simply came out of the starting gate too quickly and it’s catching up with them. – The Independent