Thierry Henry has cited the loss of former forward Sadio Mane as the reason behind Liverpool's early-season defensive problems, insisting the Senegal international's pressure off-the-ball has not been replicated since his departure.
Mane ended his six-year stay at Anfield earlier this summer as he joined Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in a deal worth £35m, while the Reds reshaped their own front line with the addition of Darwin Nunez from Benfica for a potential £85m fee.
After the 30-year-old Senegal international enjoyed a late resurrection of his Liverpool career from January onwards, the signing of Nunez has represented a massive shift in tactics for Jurgen Klopp's side as they look to orchestrate their attacks around a more conventional number nine.
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But after the Uruguayan was sent off on his first Anfield start, against Crystal Palace in August, the Reds have struggled to develop a natural cohesion between Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.
Additionally, with both of Liverpool's full-backs, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the two creative cores of the Liverpool side, Klopp has often implemented a high defensive line during his time at Anfield to allow the stars to get into advanced positions. But in recent weeks, the pair - Alexander-Arnold especially - have found themselves exploited down their respective flanks.
And in the absence of Mane, Liverpool have been forced to uptake deeper defensive positions due to an absence of pressure on the ball from those in attacking position. This, according to Henry, is part of the reason they have shipped nine goals in seven Premier League this term.
“I think it’s a team issue,” said Henry on CBS. “I remember Carragher previously talking about the midfield and defence. We can talk about the strikers also. That team needs to play higher. He (Klopp) wants them to play higher. I don’t think Liverpool can be defending their box. Whenever they are defending their box, you can see they can’t. They are exposed.
“This is why Klopp doesn’t want to be that low (with his defensive line). I think also the pressure from the strikers isn’t the same. Losing Sadio Mane, people are talking about his goals and what he used to do on the ball, but without the ball, the pressure that he used to put was second-to-none."
During Tuesday's clash with Scottish giants Rangers, the Reds were far more compact between the lines as Klopp switched to a basic 4-4-2 formation. For Nunez, it represented his finest outing in a red shirt so far as, despite being thwarted by Allan McGregor on a number of occasions, he appeared far more comfortable in his off-the-ball movement and showed similar energy to Mane out-of-possession as his side harried the Gers into turnovers all night long.
It is understandable that Liverpool are in a period of transition at the moment as they acclimatise to life without a player who had been an integral part of their trophy-laden set-up, but if Tuesday's performance is anything to gauge off then things should start to click for Klopp in his meticulous system sooner rather than later.
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