A seven-goal thriller was encountered at the Emirates few days back, as the Merseysiders totally dominated the home side with their sheer performance in almost every aspect of the game. The home side, Arsenal opened the scoring as Theo Walcott netted the goal for the Gunners, but soon after that, it was Liverpool, who were all around the field.
The Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho fired home an equalizer with a wonderful free kick just before halftime and four minutes later, the Englishman Adam Lallana gave his side the lead. Liverpool were dominating the game all over the field and Coutinho gave his side a breather as he netted the third goal of the game.
Seven minutes into the third goal, Liverpool’s new arrival Sadio Mane put the Reds into a commanding 4-1 lead. Arsenal pulled two goals back, but it was too little too late for the Gunners, and the Merseysiders took the delightful three points at the Anfield.
This surely was a great win to talk about, but there still lies some things that Liverpool need to work upon to be a super force in the premier league. Hence, we give you three points Liverpool should improve if they tend to challenge for the title:
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Improve Defence:
The goals were flying at the Emirates and the thanks to the brilliance of the players like Coutinho and Mane, the side were dominating the game throughout the 90 minutes. Both the wingers were able to cope with Klopp’s high pressing game and majorly due to this, they were able to assert their authorities on the pitch.
But the major concern for the reds was their defence. They were causing problems offensively but were having their own troubles defensively. Arsenal were without their star men like Ozil and Giroud, and to be honest, if they were on the field, the story would have been different. Klavan gave an impressive display, but Lovren was not up to the mark. Besides that, the left area is still something that Klopp should work on. Mignolet managed to deny Walcott from the spot, but it was Moreno, who gave away the penalty in the first place. Apart from that, the marking system was an issue in the entire game which allowed Oxlade-Chamberlain to fire a goal back after dribbling past the defenders.
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Consistency:
What Liverpool were criticized most last season was their consistency. The arrival of Jurgen Klopp brought back the optimism, but the side still lacked the consistency in their game. The Anfield outfit gave some great display against the big sides like Manchester United (in Europa League) and Borussia Dortmund but struggled to replicate the same form against the lower sides.
The defeat at hands of Southampton in the 2015-16 season was the perfect example of that. The side is expected to go for the title this time around and the absence of European football will surely help their case, but they really need to work on their consistency before going for anything concrete.
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A striker, maybe?
Maybe what Jamie Carragher said about the squad was right. Daniel Sturridge is always having his affairs with injury and Divock Origi might not be a star in the big games and that leaves the Reds in the middle of nowhere. There is no doubt that Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho are great prospects, but the team needs a striker who can score 20 to 25 goals in a season.
A 4-3-3 formation is what we will be going to see, most probably, but that will leave the players like Sturridge, Origin and even Wijnaldum in a conundrum. Mane and Coutinho can be trusted without any doubt, but those are the players, who prefer a wider position and Firmino is the one who is struggling to play as a lone striker, so, a striker signing before Aug 31 would be a perfect addition for the Anfield side.
