What’s wrong with this team. Liverpool have lost again as they were beaten 1-0 by lowly Nottingham Forest, even though the Reds had nearly 80% possession and 15 shots.
This is not the Liverpool that almost won the quadrupole a few short months ago. Not only does it look like these players have lost any resemblance of form and confidence, but it now also seems like they have forgotten how to grind out games.
Simply put, whenever a team gets their players behind the ball and defends as a unit, the Liverpool attack flounders and flails about with hundreds of passes and 80% possession of the ball but no goals.
Sure, Liverpool can still batter weak, leaderless Premier League teams, like AFC Bournemouth were under Scott Parker, 9-0 or destroy inferior European competition, like Rangers in the last Champion League group stage matchday, 7-1, but who wouldn’t be able to do that? Honestly, you could probably have put Millwall or Huddersfield out against that dreadful Bournemouth team and they would have won.
Yet, like I said, Liverpool have consistently shown that it only takes a little fight, hardwork, and defensive nous to stop the ‘Heavy Metal’ press that Jurgen Klopp has pioneered during his time as manager. Manchester United, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Everton, Brighton, and now Nottingham Forest have proven that.
I would talk about the game, but it was unbelievably boring apart from the goal that Forest scored. Actually, even that goal was kind of boring to watch as well as it was a scrappy, tap-in that Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi was lucky to score. Honestly, he was just standing in the right place at the right time to blast the rebound past Alisson.
As for Liverpool, they must have had 60 chances to score. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but not by much as Virgil Van Dijk, a centerback, had at least 3 ‘A+’ chances to score. In fact, aside from Alisson, the entire Liverpool team that took the field today probably had at least one ‘A+’ chance to score.
But whether it was due to the reasons I listed above, or due to the magical power of Dean Henderson’s cap (I swear, whenever he wears a hat, he turns into prime Gordon Banks), the Reds couldn’t find the net.
Luckily for them, they’re only 5 points outside of the Top-4 and are only 4 points off their archrivals, Manchester United, who sit in 5th place. Though, their title ambitions must have surely been sealed shut as they are now eleven points behind Arsenal, even though they have played a game more than the Gunners.
Well, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be another quadrupole charge in Merseyside this season.
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