Is Henderson’s lack of cover hindering Liverpool’s leaky defence?

Follow us on Google Discover

Is Liverpool’s midfield more to blame for their defensive woes than is being highlighted?

Jamaal Lascelles of Newcastle United vies with Joel Matip of Liverpool.

Liverpool’s defence has come in for plenty of criticism so far this season and rightly so, with only Crystal Palace and West Ham United the only teams having conceded more than their 12 Premier League goals in seven matches so far.

In other competitions it doesn’t get much better, with defensive errors leading to a 2-2 draw at home to Sevilla in the Champions League, while manager Jurgen Klopp said he felt “really sick” after mistakes saw his team beaten 2-0 by Leicester City in the Carabao Cup.

Dejan Lovren of Liverpool and Harry Maguire of Leicester City in action.

Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan have been directly at fault for goals, while goalkeepers Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius have had negative comments aimed at them for their performances.

Yet defending, especially in a high pressing system under Klopp, starts with the attackers and is the responsibility of the entire team. Perhaps it is a little harsh to leave the blame just at the door of the centre-backs or ‘keepers.

The problem could actually be in midfield. Last year’s champions Chelsea have N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko to screen the back line. Tottenham Hotspur have Eric Dier or Victor Wanyama and Manchester United have Nemanja Matic. Even attack-focused Manchester City have Fernandinho.

Jordan Henderson looks on during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool.

For the Reds that job is left to captain Jordan Henderson, but does the 27-year-old have the required skillset to do that effectively? Alongside him during the most recent outing – a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United – Henderson had Philippe Coutinho and Georginio Wijnaldum, two players who for all their qualities, protecting a defence is not one of them.

Even Emre Can, signed initially as a defensively minded player, perhaps lacks the discipline and roams the pitch too much to take up the role. Arguably the best suited is James Milner, someone who has been sparsely used this campaign after the left-back experiment of 2016/17.

Milner is a midfielder who looks after the ball, an often underappreciated quality, and certainly has discipline in the middle. Maybe the much maligned defence just isn’t getting the support it requires further up the pitch.