Six months ago, Liverpool FC were two games away from a record-breaking quadruple season. Currently, they sit tenth in the Premier League, needing a win against a rampant Manchester City team to prevent sitting one point above the relegation zone. So where did it go wrong? Joe Penny takes a closer look.
The answer to the question above isn’t simple. There is no one reason for the capitulation, rather a multitude of factors.
Many people have pointed the finger at the departure of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich. While the Senegalese winger has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure in Bavaria, he wasn’t making the Liverpool team tick on his own.
Despite a very good run of form after a victorious AFCON campaign, Mane wasn’t nearly as instrumental as nostalgia from the end of the 2021/22 season would suggest. Admittedly, 23 goals and five assists in 51 games is impressive, however Mohammed Salah, who is still in the squad, accumulated 31 goals and 16 assists in the same number of games. This gives Salah an average of 0.91 GCx90 (Goal contributions per 90 minutes) while his counterpart Mane contributed 0.54 GCx90.
These stats don’t show the influence Mane had on the way the Reds played. He had an influential role in Klopp’s system, making runs to drag defenders wide, which in turn opened space for the striker to take a shot. However, the departure of Mane was anticipated, as Liverpool brought in Columbian winger Luis Diaz.
While Mane was at AFCON, Diaz more than filled his boots, winning a place in the starting 11, which he still holds. Therefore, there is a bigger factor at play than solely the departure of Mane.
People should be looking at why the squad isn’t playing with the same desire as last season. Is Klopp to blame? The system is looking tired, and it seems many teams have found the key to unlocking Liverpool’s notoriously solid defence.
Klopp traditionally plays a 4-3-3 Gegenpressing system, in which the fullbacks push up overlapping the wingers in the attack, while the midfielders will drop in and cover them. This season, time and time again, Liverpool have been getting exposed on the wings, in particular down the right where Trent Alexander-Arnold plays. He seems to have become a target for opposition teams, who will push down his flank on the turnover.
Though it may seem that Alexander-Arnold is at fault, this is the system he has played for years. He has never been a great defender, but Klopp thinks the reward of his crossing is greater than the risk of his defensive capabilities. In fact, the lack of depth in midfield is more to blame.
Traditionally, Liverpool would play a defensive midfielder, typically Fabinho, then two balanced central midfielders, such as Wijnaldum and Henderson. These box-to-box type players would allow the fullbacks to push up without being worried about being exposed on the counter. The balance hasn’t been there this season.
The go-to midfield for Liverpool this season has been Fabinho, Thiago and Harvey Elliott or Henderson. This has a much more attacking focus, which does work offensively, as seen in the demolition jobs against Rangers and Bournemouth, but defensively they have struggled. Last season Liverpool conceded just 26 goals in the entire campaign. This year, they have already conceded 12, after just eight games.
So why is there a lack of depth in the squad? For years, Liverpool fans have debated the quality of the FSG ownership. The American duo took over in the early 2010’s, saving the club from the brink of administration. However, despite recent success, they have come under fire from fans due to a lack of investment in the squad.
After winning the Champions League, Liverpool only spent £5 million in the transfer market. While the squad was great at the time, fans have pointed towards the business of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola and Manchester United under Alex Ferguson, where the squad was consistently improved. You can’t build greatness in football stood still.
The sense around this squad almost feels like ‘What now’? Considering net spend, the fact that this Liverpool side have competed with Manchester City for so long is astonishing.
Over the last five seasons, Liverpool has a net spend of £107 million, while Manchester City are north of £600 million. Unfortunately for the Reds, you can’t overperform forever. Without a doubt, this will go down as one of the greatest Liverpool sides ever, but they are up against the best Premier League team of all time.
With two more points over four seasons Liverpool would be three-time Premier League champions. While the Champions League final loss in 2018 felt like the start of an era, the loss in 2021 felt like the end, and the hangover from being so close to greatness has leaked into the current season.
Liverpool’s next game is at home against an on-form Manchester City, who have won their last three games. All eyes will be on Klopp’s side to see if they can reignite the spark in the team that got them so far last year.
