◉ Fulham 2-2 Liverpool
◉ Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace
◉ Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
The worst start to a season Jurgen Klopp has had at Liverpool. Here are some of the reasons why I believe the Reds are off to a disappointing start.
A Drop-Off Season For The Reds
Liverpool's last season's attempt at a quadruple saw them play a total of 63 games
League Cup-6
FA Cup-6
Champions League-13
Premier League-38
Total-63
This endeavor took a colossal physical toll on the players, not to mention the emotional burden. What we might be witnessing is a drop-off season for the Reds. To replicate last season's performance would be near impossible in my opinion.
An ageing squad
In the first game of the season (Vs Fulham), Liverpool had six players aged 30 and over in their starting XI. The last time that happened for Liverpool in a Premier League game was against Southampton in February 1994.
The footballing class of these XI is not in question however, the evolution of the Liverpool first XI has to have begun. We have seen the injection of youth within the team, and the acquisition of Luis Diaz, Fabio Carvalho, and Kostas Tsimikas is a clear indication that a plan is in the works to facilitate a rebuild in the forthcoming years.
Questions have risen over the urgency of this process, pundits suggesting that the immense success of the current Liverpool team might have led to some complacency within the ranks. This in turn has seen a rather sluggish metamorphosis of the first XI.
Mane's Departure
Here are Sadio mane's numbers in a Liverpool shirt.
🔴 269 appearances
⚽️ 120 goals
🎯 38 assists
🏆 Premier League
🏆 Champions League
🏆 Club World Cup
🏆 Super Cup
🏆 Carabao Cup
🏆 FA Cup
Jurgen Klopp on Sadio Mane: "We lost Sadio who was a fixed member of the lineup for 6 years, he told us he wanted a new challenge. He told us early enough and we accepted it. We had time to prepare that and that's what we did.
Sadio was an integral part of the infamous front 3, Consisting of him, Firmino, and Mo. His explosiveness and general athleticism proved problematic to the opposition defenses. His absence can already be felt within the team.
The Injuries
The current injury list for Liverpool consists of;
🚑Thiago
🚑Matip
🚑Konate
🚑Jota
🚑Jones
🚑Oxlade-Chamberlain
🚑Ramsay
🚑Kelleher
The Reds are in danger of an injury crisis, which is similar to the 2020/21 season which saw Liverpool suffer a run of six consecutive defeats at Anfield.
Squad depth
Klopp has appeared to rule out the club dipping into the transfer market for midfield reinforcements.
"If there was the right player and an opportunity, we would have done it, we would do it, but I don't see it because we had a lot of conversations already and it doesn't look like something will happen," he said.
"I'm happy with my squad's strength, size, and quality but we have injuries. There are plenty of solutions for it. One of them is the transfer market, but that only makes sense if you can bring in the right player.
"All the other solutions are inside the squad. We have too many injuries, that's clear. Naby will be back for Monday and Kostas (Tsimikas) will train today for the first time so he might be back as well."
In light of such a long injury list, many will believe that Klopp and Liverpool could use maybe one or two reinforcements before the end of the transfer window.
Is Salah Enough?
Including last season (21/22), Salah has claimed the Golden Boot in 2017-18, when he scored 32 times, and in the 2018-19 season, when he finished with 22 goals.
It's easy to see why there is a huge dependence on Mo, he is consistent. Towards the end of last season, he experienced a goal drought, but his assists saw him top the Premier League charts. It's safe to say the Egyptian King is an ever-evolving player.
Is He enough? He can assist, he can score, and much more. But the team will need a player that opposing Premier League teams are not familiar with. The acquisition of Darwin Nunez is a boost to the front line, opposition teams are not familiar with his style and general game-play.
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