Liverpool look to have three quality defenders fighting for just two positions.
Ever since Jurgen Klopp took charge at Liverpool, questions have been asked of a defence that had struggled long before the German’s arrival.
He looked to have made significant moves to strengthen in that area when he followed up the free transfer of Joel Matip with the surprise signing of Ragnar Klavan, and yet when the new campaign kicked off the old problems remained for the Reds.
The first game of the season saw Liverpool overcome Arsenal away but ship three goals in the process, while they followed that up with a 2-0 loss to Burnley.
Liverpool did not keep a clean sheet in the league until mid-October, while their recent 4-3 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth proved emphatically that the problems remained.
But now, finally, it seems Klopp has the right kind of problem when it comes to his defence, as despite being the club’s most impressive centre-back this season, Matip is no longer guaranteed a starting spot.
That follows the impressive performances of Klavan and Dejan Lovren in the back-to-back victories – and clean sheets – against Middlesbrough and Everton.
The Estonia international appeared to have lost the faith of his manager soon after arriving at Anfield, but his man-of-the-match performance against the Toffees means Liverpool finally seem to have real quality at the back.
Eventually it is expected that Matip and Klavan will form the bedrock of Klopp’s new-look defence, yet the problem will be in overlooking Lovren, who himself has impressed and put previous criticism behind him.
Choosing which players to pick and which to overlook is a much better problem to have than a leaky defence shipping goals left, right and centre.
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