Liverpool were defeated 2-0 by Burnley last weekend.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool were brilliant in their opening day 4-3 win at Arsenal, yet they were brought back down to Earth with a bang at Burnley as the Clarets profited from a wasteful Reds side and claimed a 2-0 victory.
It was a bitter disappointemt for Liverpool and boss Jurgen Klopp, and sine his arrival as manager it is becoming somewhat of a common theme to claim a fabulous win but fail to follow it up.
Against Burnley the away side dominated possession, having more than 80% of the ball yet once again it was their defensive frailties couplued with poor finishing which saw them leave empty-handed.
Liverpool’s Alberto Moreno in action
Burnley top scorer Andre Gray notched again for Sean Dyche’s men, yet it was Sam Volkes’ opener which seemed all-too familiar as yet another poor pass and lapse in defensive concentration resulted in a goal.
As documented by Opta Stats, Liverpool have conceded a whopping nine goals resulting from their own errors since Klopp became manager at Anfield – only Aston Villa and West Ham United have conceded more.
Some have already pointed to left-back Alberto Moreno as one of the biggest culprits for errors, with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville even suggesting Liverpool are giving teams a goal head start by playing him.
But do Liverpool’s problems stem from individual mistakes, or is it a collective effort attributed to the team’s style?
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with substitute Alberto Moreno
Klopp is renowned for his high-pressing style of play, with his team’s often playing at 100mph as they seek to capitalise on quick turnovers in order to exploit the space and hit teams on the counterattack.
But while instructed to act in such a quick fashion, players are then surely prone to act reactively resulting in rash tackles, hurried passes and an abandoning of key positional play.
Klopp will have weighed up the positives against the negatives, and perhaps his reluctance to sign a new left-back or centre-back suggests he feels mistakes are ultimately inevitable regardless of personnel.
General view during the match – Anfield, Liverpool
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