The Liverpool defence has come in for a lot of criticism over the last few weeks. Having conceded nine goals in five Premier League games and five in three Champions League games, the simple numbers make for grim reading. Put simply, they are not acceptable for a team who wants to achieve anything this year other than frustrating its supporters.
What needs to be determined is whether the leakiness at the back is solely due to the poor performance of the centre-backs. If it is, it is something that better recruitment can fix. In reality, a bigger problem lies behind the team’s defensive woes.
Centre-Backs
The centre-backs in the side are prone to individual errors, and the criticism they have received has been mostly justified. Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan would struggle to get game time at any of the other top six sides. In the game against Manchester City, Klavan showed how poorly he picks up and tracks players. Lovren has been equally exposed in the Champions League. Even Joel Matip, lauded for his calm performances last season, has been far from dominant.
What must be remembered is that the job of defending is not the sole domain of centre-backs. Far too often, the players around the defence are leaving the central pairing exposed. Last week, Liverpool drew twice in the space of four days at home. In both games, the defence will bear the brunt of the criticism, but the goals came from the lack of midfield cover.
Sevilla’s vital second goal came from a throw-in where two Liverpool midfielders failed to move across to mark the opposing forward. Luis Muriel was left to receive the ball in space, and ten seconds later they scored. Equally, for against Burnley, nobody from midfield got near to the knock-down which Scott Arfield buried to give his side the lead. The defence could have done a much better job on both counts, but they were not given enough protection by the midfield.
The problem lies with the fact that there is a lack of a defensive-minded midfielder in the side. All of the midfielders are comfortable on the ball, but they all prioritise going forward. Jürgen Klopp needs to find someone who will put protecting the back four as his primary objective. Last season Lucas Leiva was this option, normally from the bench. The ability to bring him on late in games to shore up the midfield is something Liverpool no longer have. In the case of the Sevilla game, a player like Lucas could well have been the difference which would have ensured victory.
Gaps in the side
If you look at the teams battling it out with Liverpool for a top four finish, all but one have a strong defence this year. The odd team out is Arsenal, whose own midfielders are yet to prove on a consistent basis that they can protect the defence. Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham all have a strong defensive midfielder to snuff out the danger, and can often call on two of them in more difficult games. There is little excuse for Liverpool not bringing in a player to fulfil this role.
The mentality of the midfield, constantly pushing up, allows for huge spaces in which opposition attackers can find space. The defence is too often exposed to one-on-one situations, and any Premier League forward will be able to make players look bad one-on-one. Both Lovren and Klaven do not have the required skill-sets to defend in this manner, and are not the type of defenders Liverpool need.
Klopp had the summer window to fix this issue, even if the profile of the defender which was needed was hard to get. Virgil Van Dijk is this sort of defender and it makes sense to partner him with Matip. Should he finally arrive at Anfield in January, Liverpool must find some way to reduce the gap between the centre-backs and midfield before then if they want to improve the performance of their defence.
Instead of fixing the defence and then working forwards, Klopp seems to be working his way backwards. He needs to make sure over the coming windows that he fine-tunes his defence to the same degree as his forwards. Sacrificing some of the team’s attacking play for more defensive stability could make this side challenge for titles rather than just a top four finish. The first cracks are beginning to show in the previously unwavering support for the manager, and he can easily sort this with a few changes.
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