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Liverpool Echo

Sport

Andrew Beasley

Jurgen Klopp must urgently solve Liverpool problem but 73 minutes prove that he can

Liverpool Jurgen Klopp Boulaye Dia Darwin Nunez Crystal Palace Fulham Southampton Villarreal

Jurgen Klopp’s biggest concern at present is likely to be the burgeoning injury crisis which is threatening to engulf his team and derail their 2022/23 campaign before it even gets going. The disciplinary madness of his big money summer signing is also unlikely to have improved the Liverpool manager’s mood.

Klopp won't enjoy being asked about the Reds’ transfer plans in his next few press conferences either, though that at least won’t be an immediate issue beyond September 1. There is another burning problem which will need addressing: why do Liverpool keep going behind in matches.

If we disregard the Community Shield as a 'friendly' to emphasize the point, then the Reds have conceded the opening goal in eight of their last nine matches. Only in the FA Cup final did they keep a clean sheet in this run, and across their finals last season they were criticised for failing to score. When a team’s standards are sky high, it can be hard to please everybody.

Klopp and his coaching staff will be looking to identify the issues as quickly as they can, as they need to end this run. But is there any consistent problems for them to pinpoint? After all, Liverpool started poorly at Fulham, well against Crystal Palace, and went behind in both matches all the same.

The eight recent instances of the Reds going 1-0 down break down broadly into three categories. Let’s take a closer look at the details of this wretched run.

The slow starts

As we shall see, there have been several timing coincidences with regards to the goals Liverpool have conceded. They took this to extreme lengths among the closing matches of 2021/22, going behind in the third minute to Villarreal, Aston Villa and Wolves.

The 2-1 win at Southampton belongs in this category too, as although it was the 13 ^th minute when Nathan Redmond scored, it was with the Saints' first shot of the match. With these four goals all occurring so early, it’s hard to offer much analysis beyond saying the Reds started poorly.

Defensive errors and disorganisation were paramount though, as you would expect. Villarreal had two bites of the cherry, with Boulaye Dia steering in Etienne Capoue’s wayward shot, while Villa had three shots in the move which led to their goal.

Southampton only needed two passes and a dribble to get from their defensive third to scoring, and Wolves did similarly (being aided by Ibrahima Konate misjudging a long ball forward). All goals stem from a defensive mistake somewhere, but the Reds were agents of their own downfall in these instances.

The second half sickeners

Against both Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, the matches were scoreless until at least 55 minutes had passed. Though the latter had seen a goal disallowed in the first half, at the point they launched the attack which resulted in their eventual winner, the shot count was 14 to one in Liverpool’s favour.

The balance was not so extreme against Spurs, but the Reds still lead by 13 to five in terms of attempts. As such it’s hard to be too critical of them here, except to say that the opposition goals in both matches were ‘can’t miss’ moments. When it finally did go wrong for Liverpool, it did so in spectacular fashion, and with chances better than anything they had crafted at the other end.

The 2022/23 collection

Our final coincidence relates to the recent matches against Fulham and Crystal Palace, as the Reds went behind in the 32 ^nd minute of both despite starting in contrasting fashion.

The game against the Eagles was particularly irritating. Liverpool had already squandered a pair of clear-cut chances and should really have been ahead when they conceded. It also feels like they have been punished for almost all of their mistakes in the last few months,

Across a period of approximately 73 minutes between the 58 ^th minute at Craven Cottage and the 37 ^th on Monday evening, the Reds allowed just two shots. On that basis, it’s hard to say their defensive process was not working. Yet both efforts were scored and arguably cost four points.

While Aleksandar Mitrovic’s goal on the opening weekend did not come from a particularly high-quality opportunity, Wilfried Zaha’s certainly did. Those scored by Dia, Son Heung-min, Douglas Luiz, Pedro Neto and Vinicius Junior did likewise, revealing the overriding theme. The average xG value of the eight goals conceded is a whopping 0.46, over the 0.39 average for an Opta-defined clear-cut chance.

Liverpool’s style of play leaves them open to occasionally allowing high value shots, which they accept as Alisson Becker can bail them out (even if the Brazilian is not infallible). Klopp won’t be changing his team’s high defensive line as it enables them to compress space in the opposition half. The Reds urgently need to find a way to prevent big chances though, as somewhat random as the pattern of them has been. Better attacking could be the key to their current defensive problem.

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