People have assessed the seriousness of the problems Liverpool are facing. And unfortunately, so does manager Jurgen Klopp.
Klopp is basically exhausted. Since 2011 under Roy Hodgson, Liverpool have not shown such a weak face, and in the next few months, it will take something extraordinary to bring this club back to its original self. Everyone sees Liverpool’s weakness lies in midfield, but Klopp chooses to renew the attack. The Reds brought in Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, among others, for almost £200m.
Even so, just looking at Liverpool’s last 3 away defeats in the Premier League, 0-3 to Wolves, 0-3 to Brighton and 1-3 to Brentford, fans can see the pressing problems of Liverpool. The Reds are located somewhere other than the front line. During his press conference ahead of the Wolves game, Klopp joked that he wanted to talk about Chelsea’s transfer spending because his lawyer was not present.
At the post-match press conference, Klopp did not answer a question from a senior journalist reporting on Liverpool. The German strategist claims he doesn’t like an article written by this reporter, despite enjoying thousands of positive articles about himself during his more than seven-and-a-half years at Merseyside. Liverpool are in utter chaos, both on and off the pitch.
It is amazing to know that Liverpool have conceded more goals than last season’s 26 (28). At Molineux Stadium, The Reds were messy from the start, and may have had to go into the net to pick up the ball twice before Joel Matip burned the home net, following the threatening efforts of frontman Hwang Hee-chan. Craig Dawson’s double goal saw Liverpool defend even worse. And despite playing better in the second half, The Reds still had to concede their third goal with a classy goal from Ruben Neves.
Liverpool’s next streak is likely to be disastrous. In eight days, they will play the Merseyside derby against Everton – the team is in high spirits after a monumental victory over Arsenal. Next, Liverpool will have to go to Newcastle and then meet Real Madrid in the first leg of the 1/8 Champions League round, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Klopp at least needs all his injured players back, although that may not be enough.
After a long time dedicating all his heart and mind to Liverpool, leading the club to win the Champions League and Premier League, Klopp seems to have run out of cards. Has Liverpool peaked and is on the way down as a natural cycle? The practical question now is whether Klopp can solve Liverpool’s difficulties, rather than when. This will almost certainly be a throwaway season for Liverpool after what they’ve shown. Champions League is the last tournament The Reds hope to win the cup, but how likely are they to beat Real Madrid – the opponent that often sows them in the continental playground?
Liverpool’s disastrous midfield is clearly pulling the team back. Fabinho has long since lost his form and so has Jordan Henderson. Stefan Bajcetic is only 18 years old so it’s hard to expect much, and Harvey Elliott is talented but still far from the perfect version. Meanwhile, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all expire in the summer of 2023, and they have never been the fulcrum of the club. In attack, Jota and Diaz are injured. Darwin Nunez is increasingly disappointing while rookie Gakpo has not left any mark since joining the club.
Liverpool definitely need a personnel revolution in the summer of 2023 if they want to compete for titles. They may even need a change on the bench, where all the quintessence has been shown by Klopp in more than 7 years in charge at Anfield.
