Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville slated Jurgen Klopp’s alternative options in attack as the Merseysiders’ dry spell on the goalscoring front continued to drag on following Sunday’s encounter at Anfield against Manchester United.
Klopp’s men were involved in a goalless stalemate when playing hosts to the Old Trafford outfit and the weekend result meant that the Premier League holders had failed to secure a win from their league outings for the fourth game in a row.
Much of the blame was laid on the Firmino-Mane-Salah attacking combine fielded by Klopp upfront, with the famed forward trio being unsuccessful in their pursuit for their first goal of the top-flight campaign since the turn of the year.
Neville believes that none of the fringe first-teamers at Anfield in the attacking department, such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, have stepped up in Diogo Jota’s prolonged absence due to injury as alternatives Klopp could turn to in order to provide some much-needed firepower up front for the Anfield giants.
“To me I feel like it’s under control at Liverpool. They’ve played non-stop for three years and the fourth year is always the burn out year,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“For three years they’ve been unbelievable. This year we’ve seen a dip and that’s natural.
“He could potentially give them a rest, but they don’t get a rest.
“The two or three players underneath that front three Shaqiri, Minamino and Origi are not good enough.
“I would say the problems for Liverpool are not the front three, it’s Jota’s injury, the season being 100mph and the three beneath them are not good enough to give them a rest as City have pushed them.”
Jota’s injury in the backend of last year had curtailed the magnificent run form that was being displayed by the new Liverpool FC man since his summer move to Anfield, with the ex-Wolves forward now expected to return to the fold within the upcoming weeks.
