When Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez from Benfica at the start of the summer transfer window, the assumption was they’d be taken to the next level. That was despite the sale of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, which always felt like a big deal, but only if the Reds didn’t replace him properly.
There was very little in the way of reason to doubt Liverpool’s credentials for challenging on all fronts once again this season. After all, just weeks before Nunez’s arrival, they were the only club in Europe hunting the quadruple, and many people backed them to succeed.
Though a draw at Anfield against Antonio Conte’s impressive Tottenham side ultimately proved costly in the Premier League title race with Manchester City, and Real Madrid edged them out in the Champions League final, the general view around the club was that they’d managed to maintain a relentless level when it mattered most, having already won the FA Cup and League Cup. Though there were obvious disappointments, nobody believed anything other than normal service would be resumed in the new campaign.
Jürgen Klopp explained how the Reds are approaching the need to respond to their recent form during his pre-#LIVBOU press conference ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 26, 2022
Only now, with three games gone in the Premier League and no victories, and Nunez serving a three-match ban having already been sent off, concerns are growing. Even the best teams can have poor starts, but with City so strong these days, they can be hard to recover from. Mane’s impressive form in Munich is making things appear worse, too.
Losing to Manchester United on Monday set alarm bells ringing, and James Nalton, a journalist who covers the club, says there are a number of factors behind the difficulties the team are currently facing.
“I think it’s a combination of injuries to key players and a hangover from last season,” Nalton tells Compare.Bet. “They played every game in every competition last season and it can’t be easy to reset their mindset in order to take all that on again, regardless of how good a motivator Jürgen Klopp is.
“This, plus injuries, Nunez’s suspension, and the slightly earlier start to the season due to the World Cup has meant a bit of last season’s fatigue is still present.
“Losing Mane, they’ve the unnoticed things such as his ability to act as a target-man, and at times last season, he looked like Liverpool’s best centre-forward. He is a big miss, and this has just been highlighted further by Nunez’s suspension and Diogo Jota’s injury.”
With just two points from three games, the Reds sit seven adrift of early pacesetters Arsenal and, perhaps more importantly, five off City. While Nalton stops short of saying the title race was already over, he admits it’ll be difficult to catch Pep Guardiola’s side, and giving a team as strong as them such a head start is a dangerous game.
“[The title race] depends on Manchester City. If the competition were normal then you’d say no, but City aren’t a normal team. Previous seasons have shown you have to be almost perfect to beat them to the title, though they have already dropped points themselves so maybe the title race will be more interesting and more than Liverpool and City will be involved. If that’s the case, then Liverpool aren’t out of it yet.”
Nalton does, however, see Nunez coming good, giving Liverpool every chance of a say between now and the end of the season. He also pinpoints some of the teething issues that have caused issues for the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.
Thiago’s injury has brought back former criticisms of the side lacking creativity, and that has also been part of the problem.
“I wasn’t too worried by the pre-season rustiness, and it will take time for Nunez to settle, but there is a big fee on his shoulders, and big responsibility. Hopefully he can handle that and continue to score. He already looks like one of the best strikers in the league in terms of getting himself into positions to score. He just needs the composure and technique to then find the net in important and high-pressure moments.
“Klopp’s setup has moved from a false 9 based system with the wide forwards moving inside, to a focal point in attack with wingers perhaps staying wide. Though the personnel they have suggests they should switch to a more orthodox 4-2-3-1. I think they need to get Salah and Diaz closer to goal than they have been so far.
“When it comes to Thiago, other midfielders are more support for the system and the off-the-ball work, though they haven’t been doing much of that either in recent games which is part of the problem. [Harvey] Elliott and [Fabio] Carvalho look like they can create, but Thiago is a one-off really.
“The main issue will probably be replacing [Naby] Keita, whether he’s out injured or sold, as he was supposed to solve the problem of progressing the ball into attacking areas from midfield and creating in that way.
“They need another midfielder, and the Man United game was clear evidence of this in the way the defence was exposed on the counter.”
Liverpool’s bench at Old Trafford, with very little in the way of experience and firepower, caused a stir and led to more calls for transfer action between now and next week’s deadline. Nalton believes fitness issues, rather than lacking quality, is behind the recent issues with squad depth, while suggesting calls for an overhaul with players beginning to age are premature.
“I think they have reasonable depth everywhere but midfield. I hope they use Calvin Ramsay to rotate with Alexander-Arnold as Tsimikas has rotated with Robertson, but he shouldn’t come into the team while they are in a bad run. “They probably have the best centre-back depth in the league but have just been unlucky that three were already out injured and they had to resort to fifth-choice Nat Phillips against Palace. “The only players over 30 in their best XI are Van Dijk and Thiago. Alisson is approaching 30 but that should be just hitting peak, rather than past-it, for a goalkeeper. But all teams are constantly in transition. I think for Liverpool the main transition is how they go from Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Salah, to a new-look attack.”
Liverpool will now try to sign a new midfielder, Jurgen Klopp announces: “Yes, I am the one who said we don’t need a midfielder – and you were all right and I was wrong. Now we are going for a midfielder”. 🚨🔴 #LFC
“We will do something but it has to be the right one”. pic.twitter.com/dIvMkExdks
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 26, 2022
Parallels between the early signs this term and Klopp’s final season at Dortmund, when he missed out on Champions League football and departed at the end of the season, have only added further to the hysteria at Anfield. Nalton says that season showed why Klopp was Liverpool’s man, and isn’t particularly worried about a repeat.
I suppose that season will always be used as a comparison whenever Klopp is struggling, but that was actually the season that convinced Liverpool to hire him, as the underlying numbers at Dortmund were still great even though the results weren’t. It’s too early to judge what the problems are this season, beyond the issues we have already mentioned, though Klopp has to take some of the responsibility for the poor results so far. “Fans will want the team to recover and mount a title challenge, regardless of the start. Failing that, success in the Champions League and one of the cups would be the tonic to rescue an underwhelming league season, if indeed that turns out to be the case. ”Concerns are natural given how rare a dip in form such as this has been for Liverpool. But to say the issues are permanent or could cause serious damage does seem a little bit of an overreaction at the current time.
