Liverpool drew 3-3 in a Monday night thriller away at Aston Villa. This was Jurgen Klopp’s final away match in charge of the Reds. Here are the five things that we learnt from the game.
Five Things We Learnt From Liverpool Drawing to Aston Villa
1. Liverpool’s Leaky Defence Persists
Klopp’s side have conceded at least two goals in each of their last four matches. It’s just one clean sheet in the last 16 for their defence.
Youri Tielemans was given acres of space on the edge of the box for their first equaliser. Whilst Ollie Watkins’ goal was eventually ruled out, Liverpool’s failed offside trap was millimetres away from being punished.
In the 36th minute, Diego Carlos was inches away from tapping the ball in on the goal-line: the Brazilian had a small touch recorded as a shot of expected goals 0.99.
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Despite Villa scoring two late on, one of which was frankly by luck, Liverpool’s goal was threatened all game. The Villans missed three big chances and ultimately deserved at least a draw.
2. Mohamed Salah Was Isolated
Mohamed Salah has struggled with form recently, with the previous game an anomaly, and last night was no different.
The Egyptian played a very advanced role, almost as a right-centre-forward, with Harvey Elliott as a very wide midfielder.
He had just one shot, after four minutes, blocked with ease. The main passing lane to the right-winger was from deep-lying midfielder Wataru Endo, with Elliott and Trent Alexander-Arnold struggling to find him.
It begs the question, is Salah really in bad form or is he just isolated?
3. More VAR Inconsistencies
Salah did score…but Luis Diaz was flagged offside by the linesman. VAR very quickly supported the onfield decision in the 60th minute.
Chris Kavanagh and his team on VAR didn’t bother to “draw the lines”. Diaz looked clearly offside at first glance, a few feet clear of the centre-backs, but Ezri Konsa at right-back made the decision tighter.
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Whilst the Colombian was likely offside, it says something about the state of officiating in this country that the lines were not drawn. We will welcome semi-automated offsides next season.
4. Jurgen Klopp May Prefer Jarell Quansah
Jarell Quansah has started the last three, all in the league. Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konate hasn’t played a minute. Konate was also subbed off for the Englishman in the Merseyside derby after 63 minutes.
The Frenchman has had a strong third season in England, but has been less impressive in the second-half. Meanwhile, Quansah has impressed in every match he has played at just 21 years old.
Perhaps Klopp is simply giving Quansah minutes for experience, with Liverpool arguably out of the title race since the Everton match.
However, there are questions to be asked about the role of both centre-backs under Arne Slot next season.
5. Liverpool Are the Fifth Best Side on Form
In the last eight matches, Liverpool are the fifth-best side in the Premier League with 15 points. Meanwhile, Chelsea sit on 18, Arsenal on 19, and both Newcastle United and Manchester City on 20.
Critics have suggested that a change in tactics and manager may resolve some long-term issues, and Slot will be the perfect man for this. He brings a new dynamism and tactics that are similar enough to allow for easy integration but different enough to offer freshness.
Others have suggested that the Reds need a goalscoring striker to win titles, and that Darwin Nunez is holding them back.
Either way, something needs to change.
