Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has managed to bring a fair bit of fire power into his forward line. Liverpool have brought in the likes of Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain while still managing to hold onto Philippe Coutinho despite fierce interest from Barcelona.
So the Reds of Merseyside can finally boast of an attacking third that can send ripples down opposition defences. But it is safe to say that Liverpool’s defensive third might also suffer the same fate through the course of the season.
Jurgen Klopp’s biggest miss of the season will definitely have been Virgil Van Dijk. The Reds tried very hard but were unable to land the Saints defender. And this non-acquisition of a seasoned centre-back has led to a somewhat unbalanced side.
Liverpool will now have to play the rest of the season with a back line of Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomes and Andrew Robertson – with Ragnar Klavan most likely to be the spare defender. Jurgen Klopp will definitely look at this line-up and ask himself, is this enough? And we are sure that he will get a big fat no from deep within his heart.
The German knows very well that his defensive line is nothing to be proud of and the kind of brute force that his oppositions have amassed, they can easily tear Liverpool into pieces.
Klopp tried to solve this problem by bringing in Andrew Robertson from Hull City for £10 million – which might be a wonderful bargain buy but unfortunately it is not top six worthy.
The Reds also have Alberto Moreno who is capable of playing at left-back but he was so poor last season the James Milner – a midfielder, had to play in that position for most of the season.
With a thin line of defensive options, Klopp will also have a problem of squad rotation more so when the Champions League kick off. We guess that Lovern and Matip will be the central defensive partnership of choice for the crunch matches but Klopp will also have to use them tactfully.
When Lovern and Matip will be rested it is Klavan and Gomez who are most likely to be brought in and to be very honest they are just not up to the mark.
So while Liverpool have a superb front line, their final third is that much weak and it will be up to the players to play out of their skin and come up with a fine season.
And by the looks of it, Klopp men will have to play by the ‘one goal more than the opponent’ tactic for most of the season.
