The knives are out again dissecting the Liverpool performance in their 2-0 loss against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. Goals from Shinji Okazaki and Islam Slimani undid the good work from the first half where we dominated but could not find the back of the net.
There were numerous chances to take the lead against the Foxes in the first 45 minutes but all those missed opportunities came back to haunt us as we failed to defend well.
Alan McInally was speaking to Sky Sports and stated that inability to kill teams off when being on top of them would be a major problem for Jurgen Klopp.
“Liverpool have a problem putting the ball in the back of the net. Complete and utter dominance they had in the first half but they can’t put teams away. It’s a big problem for him (Klopp).”
The pundit did add that we dominated the first half of the game but as soon as Philippe Coutinho was taken off after the break, it all went downhill for us.
“I said at the time, he must be utterly deflated, Jurgen Klopp. Your team can look so good but go in at half-time 0-0.
“And when he substituted Philippe Coutinho at half-time, Liverpool didn’t look anywhere near as threatening.”
The final nail on the head was when our transfer policy was questioned for the umpteenth time. Even though we signed a number of players, we still don’t look strong when the likes of Coutinho or Mane are missing from the side.
“He had an opportunity with the transfer window to strengthen the football team.”
McInally also spoke about our poor finishing but did have high hopes for Danny Ings as the Englishman got some time on the pitch against the Foxes.
“Danny Ings was on the bench last night and he came on in the second half,” said McInally. “Once Ings gets his fitness, he might make a difference and they are definitely missing (suspended) Sadio Mane – that’s massive.
“And I don’t think they are ruthless enough in the final third. They have to be as ruthless as Man City and Man Utd in scoring goals.
“The amount of chances they had and the possession they had, when they go in at half-time, they probably thought ‘we’ll still win this’.”
Liverpool Should Have A Plan B
Shay Given, the former Newcastle goalkeeper was also present and added that we should have had another option since Van Dijk wasn’t coming to us.
“It was well-documented they wanted to sign Virgil van Dijk in the summer but didn’t. But you would have thought a club the size of Liverpool would have had a plan B.
“There should be another centre-half in Europe, or the world, they could have got because it’s clear from the goals, from last season and this season, they are conceding and even Klopp says he’s sick of the same goals week-in, week-out.”
The former keeper also added that we will have to work hard on the training ground and with Leicester our opponents again on Saturday, we will have our work cut out if we are to return with a point or more.
“But now they’ll have to work on it on the training ground, as there is no magic wand. The window’s closed and there’s no Van Dijk.
“They’ll have to be more dominant (in defence). Someone will have to step up. No one seems to take control of the situation.”
The weekend game against Leicester would be crucial and is a must-win game for sure. Hopefully, we get the better of the Foxes this time and turn the season around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnC8BNhJe_8
