Liverpool concerns: Defensive frailties and lack of transfer signings
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Virgil van Dijk reeled off the concerns one by one: player exits, a dearth of new signings and familiar defensive frailties.
The Liverpool captain considers himself an optimist, spying opportunities where others may see only a potential ordeal, but he is aware of the murmurs of discontent from a portion of a fanbase who have gone from doubters to believers and now flipped back again.
“I can definitely understand it in some ways,” Van Dijk said. “I’m not a very negative person so, obviously, it’s not in my mind to think like that. But when a lot of players are leaving, when your captain is leaving, your vice-captain is leaving and, at the moment, there are only two incomings.
“And the way we have been playing, in possession really good but, defensively, when you concede goals it’s not as good, so I can understand some people having doubts.”
A positive result in the Premier League at Chelsea on Sunday would help restore some perspective, but it spoke volumes that Jürgen Klopp, the manager, was left wrestling more questions than answers as Liverpool ended their pre-season programme with a 3-1 victory over SV Darmstadt 98 on Monday.
The summer signing Alexis Mac Allister was the latest to be road-tested in the No 6 midfield role, which has become a problem position since the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to the Saudi Pro League and Southampton’s stance in rejecting three bids (the highest being £45 million) for the teenage anchorman Romeo Lavia, who would still be a project signing in any case.
Earlier in the friendly schedule Trent Alexander-Arnold filled in and Curtis Jones was also trialled as the pivot, but that the team balance is not right is disconcerting given the underlying issues that led to last season’s dispiriting fifth-place finish.
Liverpool allowed 370 shots at their goal in the league last season according to Opta, 73 more than the previous campaign and the most in a full season since Klopp’s arrival in 2015. They faced 103 big chances, the third-most behind only Leeds United, who were relegated, and Fulham (both 112).
Against Darmstadt a ball over the top allowed the newly promoted Bundesliga side to score, while it was evident in last week’s 4-3 defeat by Bayern Munich in Singapore how opponents target the right side when Liverpool switch to a back three in possession with Alexander-Arnold stepping from full back into midfield.
The fact that Klopp’s side have scored at will in pre-season — 18 goals in five games — underlines their offensive strength, but it is the number conceded — 11 — that is clearly a worry for a team that seems to be heading back to the you-score-we-score approach that characterised the manager’s early tenure.
Van Dijk refused to accept the upheaval in midfield as an excuse for being porous and revealed the coaching staff have already held meetings in an effort to address the matter.
“If you see it as very black and white, then obviously when you concede goals it is the defender’s or the goalkeeper’s fault,” he said. “We defend all together. It is not just the midfield or the strikers or just the defenders. It is about the way we try to put the opponent under pressure. If they are under pressure they cannot play the ball in behind so easily and you are prepared for it.
“It was a good meeting the other day. Very clear and very direct and that is what we need in order to be successful. It was very helpful. The way you are positioning and you have to be ready for the balls in behind. When teams smell the danger is there, they will go for it.”
Klopp has always stressed the importance of pre-season, but his team is not where he would want it to be ahead of a campaign in which, after Stamford Bridge, Liverpool face away trips against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion in the first eight fixtures.
Instead, he recently felt compelled to ask supporters to “trust us” — which should be a given for a manager who, in recent seasons, transformed the club into Premier League and Champions League winners and the only team to seriously challenge Manchester City’s dominance.
Yet the Liverpool of today does not inspire the same confidence as the Liverpool of 2016-2022. Since the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid 15 months ago, the missteps have become more pronounced under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group and winning a little more difficult as a result.
Changes on the pitch have been mirrored by changes behind the scenes, with Jörg Schmadtke a temporary sporting director after Julian Ward resigned within a year of taking over from the redoubtable Michael Edwards.
The decision-making feels more fuzzy. The failure to sign a midfielder last summer exacerbated current problems with Liverpool opting out of the race for Jude Bellingham before he had made a final decision on his future.
The initial £64 million outlay on Darwin Núñez is still waiting to pay off and how Alexander-Arnold is used is set to be just one of many subplots.
Still, there is Mohamed Salah, Mac Allister looks an astute purchase and Van Dijk will seek to assume more responsibility having inherited the armband from Henderson.
“Let’s see if more players are coming in,” Van Dijk said, “and then we have to be ready again for a long season. We have to be confident, we should be confident and we should still be learning each and every day.
“There have been characters leaving, players who have played a big part in the success, but others have to step up. That’s a nice challenge in my opinion. We should be excited. I’m very excited, so let’s give it a go.”
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