Opening day of a new Premier League season, one which will ascertain Jurgen Klopp’s men defend their title-winning glory of the 2019-20 campaign, saw Liverpool FC edge out a narrow one-goal victory against new-boys in English top-flight football, Leeds United.
A scoreline of 4-3 in favour of the Reds does not give a fair representation at all of a rather average showing by the defending champions at their home turf. Yes, Marco Bielsa’s men were, in fact, a formidable opponent for Liverpool FC, however, the latter did struggle to maintain consistency in their opening salvo against Saturday’s opponents over the course of the 90 minutes.
Let us take a look at three such talking points concerning the Merseyside outfit’s mediocre display against Leeds United over the weekend and how Jurgen Klopp would be hoping to solve such timid issues from developing into much larger ones as the season progresses-
1. Frailties in the Liverpool FC backline
Often commended for possessing one of the most secure defensive cores amongst the playing XI not only domestically, but even across Europe, the Reds’ back four of Van Dijk, Gomez, Arnold, and Robertson, were exposed rather unwittingly by the Leeds attacking line.
Van Dijk, the colossal centre-back who has been a glue sticking the club’s backline ever since his arrival at Anfield two and a half years ago, looked a shadow of his former self when facing Bielsa’s side. The Dutchman was the culprit for Leeds’s second goal of the game, with his weak touch on an aerial ball leading to Patrick Bamford tucking an easy finish past Alisson into the back of the net.
Van Dijk’s centre-back partner Joe Gomez, despite being a steady presence at the heart of the defence, looked uncertain when dealing with the opposition attackers one on one, with the English international having been eased past by Harrison for Leeds’s opening goal.
As for Arnold, the highly-rated full-back of Liverpool FC’s, whose defensive ability has so often come under question, regardless of his attacking potent on the other side of the pitch, did not have the best of games over the weekend against the Whites. The 21-year old was many a time caught off guard by long balls from the back and his shambolic positioning summed up a rather bland defensive showing by last season’s PFA Young Player of the Year.
2. Roberto Firmino’s rustiness in front of goal
Yes, Firmino does not fit the category of an all-out striker in Liverpool FC’s style of play. Instead, the Brazilian functions in a false 9 role, tracking back on numerous occasions to help retrieve the ball from the opposition, as well as operating in a deep position to help facilitate counter-attacks for his side.
However, the forward is frequently on the receiving end of bashing by the Reds’ supporters as well as pundits over the lack of his goalscoring instinct in recent times. Against Leeds United as well, Firmino threw away a couple of brilliant chances falling his way to double the hosts’ advantage heading into half time.
His inability to find the back of the net for Liverpool FC, despite the sheer talent possessed by the 28-year old, time and again raises the question whether Jurgen Klopp should have pushed further for Timo Werner’s signing this summer to give the Anfield giants’ the presence of a star-striker upfront, one who could guarantee 15+ goals in a season.
3. An uninspired Liverpool FC midfield
When the starting lineups for both sides were announced one hour prior to kick-off at Anfield, a majority of the Reds’ fanbase were highly surprised to see the name of Jordan Henderson amongst the XI to face Leeds United. The club’s skipper had been missing from action for the past two months, and his inclusion in the lineup meant Fabinho dropped down to the bench.
Naby Keita was given a rare start in the centre of the park alongside Henderson and Wijnaldum, with the latter’s future at Anfield now seemingly looking certain despite links to FC Barcelona. Keita’s performance on Saturday afternoon was by no means a shabby one. The 25-year old did ignite a bit of a creative spark from the midfield, something that is repeatedly found lacking from the Merseyside club.
But the Henderson-Wijnaldum duo looked rather inefficient in their respective displays, the former being subbed off after 65 minutes for the promising Curtis Jones. Wijnaldum was guilty of blowing away a sizeable chance at putting one past the Leeds goalie, only to be denied by a brilliant block by Robin Koch.
Nevertheless, it is still very early times into a new league campaign for the defending champions, and most importantly on the back of a very short pre-season break and consequent training camp to point fingers at a seemingly run-of-the-mill showing by the midfield trio.
