In one other world, the turning point in Erik ten Hag’s reign at Manchester United was the defeat against Liverpool. But as a substitute of starting the end for him, Jurgen Klopp’s victory lap was stripped of victories that would have won him a trophy. Perhaps this will probably be some consolation for United in their hard-fought campaign, but in between stumbles, they’ve made Liverpool stumble.
A 4-3 FA Cup result ended their quest to win the trophy 4 times and, as Klopp said, “it was like a disaster because we were so good and we still lost.” A 2-2 result in the Premier League was followed by Liverpool’s double defeats at Anfield on Sunday against Atalanta and Crystal Palace. “I’m not sure how we coped with United’s games, which particularly helped,” Klopp said.
If this implies that his monster mentality has lost its nerve in a vital week, then Liverpool’s failures have proven to be down to fatigue and form, a previously influential team that has proven weak in each areas, a team that, with the players back, is theoretically as strong because it was place for months, but they’ve just achieved their two worst results of the campaign.
Andy Robertson, in a rare exception after his dynamic performance against Sheffield United and clearing the ball off the line that Palace missed, highlighted problems at each ends of the pitch. “Right now we are trying to keep a clean sheet,” he said. They failed to rating a single goal in nine games, three in 19, as Liverpool’s formula of losing but having their opponents rating proved flawed. The problem with scoring 27 points from a losing position is that it initially constitutes failure. Twice in 4 days they were unable to turn defeat into victory.
“The boys in front of goal need to do better,” Robertson added. “But the guys at the back, as a whole defensive unit, we have to do better.” Klopp’s evaluation of the winner scored by the unmarked Eberechi Eze – “it can’t happen” – will be applied to a lot of the goals conceded. Meanwhile, the team that has scored 127 goals in all competitions has had none in their last two games. In the last three they scored two goals from 68 shots: as one in all them was a penalty from Mohamed Salah, in all other phases of the game this number drops to one from 67 shots.
The numbers reflect individuals in alternative ways. Salah has not scored in 4 matches in open play; it never regained its autumn splendor. Darwin Nunez’s playful behavior in front of goal will be endearing when others are scoring, but it surely’s frustrating after they don’t, and Klopp has eliminated him in three games in a row. Diogo Jota’s movement and ending make him the standout in this squad, but it surely is probably going that Liverpool, like Trent Alexander-Arnold, needed two players on full fitness two weeks ago for him to fully contribute now.
Something similar will be said about Curtis Jones, who was in the best shape of his life at the time of his injury, but didn’t return to the same level. “Some kind of rhythm,” Klopp thought, feeling that Dominik Szoboszlai also lacked it on his own return. In every aspect there may be a sense that Liverpool ought to be getting stronger, but in reality they’re weaker than before.
In midfield, injuries meant Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister were overworked. Perhaps everyone seems to be working hard now: the Argentine did brilliantly until the last two, but the Japanese is now starting to seem like a novice who fought in the fall, slightly than a discovery who played in the winter. “Have Wataru and Macca been playing a bit an excessive amount of in the previous couple of weeks? Maybe,” Klopp said. “There were two most used, especially the Macca.”
Without this energy, Palace had so much space in midfield that it felt like they were playing against United from Ten Hag. “Against the ball we were an absolute machine,” Klopp added, emphasizing the past tense. Liverpool may have lost their physical edge, exhausted by half a century of high-energy matches. “There were far too many moments of football at Crystal Palace where we went in the incorrect direction,” Klopp said, summing up Liverpool’s error.
All this exposed the defense. Kostas Tsimikas played a shocking 45 minutes against Atalante. Joe Gomez, once great, has lost his form. Ibrahima Konate was unreliable when Liverpool needed him to be more consistent and solid; even the ever-reliable Virgil van Dijk had a troublesome week.
Go back a bit of further and it seemed that regardless of who was missing, Liverpool could beat anyone anywhere. There was time to admire the successes of fearless understudies. However, prolonged contact with first-team football will be dangerous. Old Trafford was a game too far for Jarell Quansah when he was at fault for Bruno Fernandes’ goal. For Caoimhin Kelleher it was Atalanta, who made an error when scoring two goals. In the case of Conor Bradley, recent performances haven’t been as vigorous and flawless as in January and February.
It comes down to a lineup where suddenly few are playing well; at a time of the season when Klopp’s teams often advance. The last time they quadrupled, in 2022, they peaked in April. Now most – including Klopp, whose line-up against Atalanta now looks much more flawed – have checked out their best in earlier games. Perhaps United have knocked on their heads. But Liverpool, who had suffered three defeats in 36 games at Old Trafford in the FA Cup, have now lost three of six. United could have helped them eliminate the Europa League and the title race.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
