Jamie Carragher thinks that Jurgen Klopp is left with no other option but to sign a raft of new players at the end of of a season that could potentially see his side miss out on European football altogether.
The Reds stopped the rot on Tuesday night as they salvaged a point against Chelsea with a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge. But they were lucky to not walk away with a fourth defeat on the run in all competitions.
When the two teams met in the reverse fixture at Anfield in January, they both seemed out of sorts, with the game finishing 0-0, and given their respective current form, a repeat of that wasn't too much of a surprise.
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But Chelsea would have been kicking themselves given the amount of opportunities they created, which was emphasised by their expected goals, which was more than two by the end of the contest.
So on another day Liverpool could have been suffering a defeat to the only other side from the traditional 'big six' who are having a worse season than them. And Carragher, who won the Champions League with the Reds in 2005, believes he knows the reason why.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, the former England international said: “The thing watching Liverpool is they still play the same way; the same idea is there but they can't do it.
“When you look at the Man City game they played it like the Liverpool from three or four years ago - man to man all over the pitch, be brave and play high, but they are just not that Liverpool.
“As a manager do you stick to your ideas and principles or do you adapt them with how your players are?”
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has rarely moved away from the 4-3-3 system he has used since the start of the 2016/17 season. Instead, he has developed it, with a focus on the full-backs creating and the wingers being the main goalscorers. However, it seems that right now his team aren't capable of operating in the way they have done to huge success in the past.
And Carragher explained what he thinks needs to happen for Liverpool to get back to their free-flowing best. He said: “Klopp is a great manager, of course, but even tonight they still play like Liverpool from three years ago.. They got a 0-0 out of it but you are scratching your head thinking how. The big thing is how easy other teams get chances.
“Klopp tried to do different things at times this season but he is not going to change completely, he does what he does and if they keep doing it, they will keep leaving themselves open, basically playing man for man all over the pitch.
“Chelsea tonight and throughout the season Liverpool are still trying to play the same way with the players who can't do it right now.
“Whether it is the same players who have been doing it for four or five years and need new players... I don't think there is anything more to look at it other than they need to attack the transfer market and get back to having that energy in the team to implement Klopp's idea.”
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