Didi Hamann rules Liverpool out of the title race after gameweek one
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann has made it clear that the Reds won’t be involved in the title race this season after the opening-day draw against Chelsea.
After an encouraging first 30 minutes in which Liverpool took the lead away at Stamford Bridge and were inches away from doubling it, things started to fall off and in the end, were lucky to even come away with a point.
A young Chelsea side walloped through the Reds’ midfield at will to get at the back-line with ease. With no defensive midfielder in the squad, Jurgen Klopp had to play Alexis Mac Allister in that position. While the Argentine played well, he obviously was getting bypassed because of the lack of positional knowledge, especially off the ball.
When the dust settled on the game, here’s what Hamann, who played 191 times for the Reds between 1999 and 2006, said about Liverpool and their chances this season (h/t talksport, via Liverpool Echo):
“I think they are as far away as they were last season, if not further. If they go into the season like this if they don’t sign anymore players, I think top four will be a big success.
“I can’t see them challenging for the title; I watched Newcastle; Arsenal were a bit underwhelming; I think City will be there again; and Chelsea won’t be far away as well.”
As much as the German can be erratic with his views at times, he is spot on here. On the ball, Liverpool looked lively and have the quality of attackers to score the required goals to push them higher in the table.
But, titles are not won by goals. It is an old cliché that ‘attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.’ And without the ball, the Reds are a mediocre football team. There was a reason why they failed to control the game once Chelsea knew how to exploit the spaces between the lines.
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After missing out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to the Blues, Liverpool must get their act together and sign a defensive midfielder and a centre-back before the transfer window deadline. If they fail in doing that, forget the title, even getting into the top four would be tough.
