What's wrong with Liverpool?

Published on: 18 January 2021

For two seasons, Liverpool have been immune to crisis, but at last, bad luck has caught up with them.

A 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Sunday, combined with Manchester City's thrashing of Crystal Palace, saw the reigning Premier League champions drop to fourth.

"I am long enough in the business to know that there are more difficult periods and this is not the most difficult period I have been through in my life, it's not even close, we have to be patient," Jurgen Klopp said after the two dropped points at Anfield.

Injuries at the back

Liverpool haven't been so far down the table at this point of the season since 2017/18, but much has to do with a defensive injury crisis.

Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez have both been ruled out with long-term knee injuries, while Joel Matip is also struggling for fitness, leaving the Merseyside team with makeshift central defenders Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

Behind them, Alisson Becker is keeping the wall held up, denying Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in his latest outing to protect a 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield in the Premier League.

The second worst run under Klopp

Since beating Crystal Palace 7-0, draws with West Brom (1-1), Newcastle (0-0) and Manchester United (0-0), combined with a 1-0 defeat to Southampton have seen Liverpool drop off the top.

"We haven't been at our best level in the last few weeks, we have to work and improve," captain Henderson said, after four games without a win became Liverpool's worst run since February 2017.

Incomparable to 2019/20

"We're happy, in a way, with our effort, but we have to be much better to be top of the league," Thiago said after the disappointment.

However, Liverpool have already dropped 20 points this season, five more than all of last season and three more than in 2018/19.

What's even more remarkable is that Klopp's side are 18 points worse off than at the same time in 2019/20.

Offensive issues

The team are struggling due to a lack of power in front of goal, with three games without a goal being the first time its happened for the Reds since March 2005.

"There's no simple explanation, chances are wasted, nothing has changed, only the end result," Klopp said.

Top scorer Mohamed Salah has not scored in four games, the same as Roberto Firmino, while Sadio Mane has not scored in three.

Refereeing complaints.

Never one to hide his emotions, Klopp has not held back in his criticism of refereeing performances for the 2019 Champions League winners.

"Manchester United had more penalties in two years than me in five and a half years," he said after defeat to Southampton.

"I'm not [Sir Alex] Ferguson, I don't have that ability for mind games," he said after former referee Mark Clattenburg labelled him a hypocrite.

Beyond the numbers, since Klopp arrived, United have had 67 penalties in the Premier League, compared to 46 for Liverpool.

Whatever the reason may be, Liverpool have been far from their best.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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