Things are not rosy for Liverpool at the moment. 3 games in, two draws and a defeat is not the start Jurgen Klopp would have wanted, let alone expected.
A winless start to the 2022/23 campaign has seen Liverpool already fall five points behind title challengers Manchester City. The Reds were beaten 2-1 by fiercest rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday night, in what was a listless performance from the first blow of the whistle to the last that barely merited anything.
For some strange reasons, they are unrecognisable from the team of last season that gave Man City a serious run for the title, won two domestic cup competitions and reached the Champions League final. With hopes of a title challenge already beginning to falter, Klopp must make a few bold calls to stir a response from his men against Bournemouth on Saturday.
With that said, here are three changes the Liverpool boss must make to kickstart their campaign.
- Start Fabinho against Bournemouth
Fabinho has been a crucial cog in the Liverpool midfield for the last three years now, and the fans would have fully expected him to start against Manchester United. But that wasn’t the case, and unless Fabinho had picked up a knock or tweaked something in training, Jurgen Klopp’s decision to bench him perplexed almost everyone.
A midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Harvey Elliot started against Man United and while they managed to control the ball for large parts, they never helped Liverpool control the game. Their passing was not crisp, while slow switching of play allowed the Man United defence to keep Klopp’s side at bay.
Thus, it’s a no-brainer really to start Fabinho against Bournemouth, with the Brazilian an expert in bossing the midfield with his tackling and passing skills.
- Demand a new midfielder from the board
When it comes to the midfield department, Liverpool are pretty much down to bare bones. The likes of Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all out injured, while Jordan Henderson and James Milner looked out of sorts in the defeat to Man United.
The Reds have made three signings which have failed to address the biggest areas of concern within Klopp’s squad. With injuries piling up in that area of the pitch, the need for a central midfielder is increasing all the time.
As we head into the final week of the transfer window, Klopp, who back in July felt no new addition in the centre of the park was required, now needs to demand the signing of a new midfielder to help ease his team’s woes and make the club’s American owners realise they have a mini-crisis on their hands.
- Start games fast
Anyone religiously following Liverpool over the last three to four years would know the manner in which they start games. But so far this season, the Merseysiders seem to be moving in the reverse gear.
Slow starts have not helped their cause, especially away from home. Against Fulham and Man United, Liverpool failed to find any sort of rhythm and tempo at the start and went onto pay the price dearly in the end.
Whether it is belief, focus, complacency or a collective lack of effort—perhaps a mixture of all those things—it needs addressing soon. If anything, one would have barely imagined Klopp needing to rally cries to his Liverpool team to start games at a faster pace, but here we are.
