The World Cup break has put Liverpool’s season on hold but it gives a chance to look back at the first three months of the 2022/23 season, which has been disappointing.
The Reds have been forced to play catch-up since the early weeks of the season after drawing twice and losing once in their first three games. Inconsistent and decimated by injuries, Jurgen Klopp’s side have not been able to hit their best levels and lie sixth in the table after 14 games, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham.
That being said, here are three things we have learned from Liverpool’s season so far.
#Roberto Firmino back to his best
Roberto Firmino has enjoyed a really good start to the season. Seven goals and three assists in 13 Premier League games in an injury-hit Liverpool side has certainly exceeded expectations.
Firmino, 31, has been one of the Reds’ rare bright spots, stepping up to the floor after Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota suffered injuries. He is Liverpool’s top scorer in the Premier League so far this term, which is a surprise to many fans because the Brazilian has never before in his career been so clinical.
Having endured a massive dip in form over the last two years with injuries also playing a big role, Firmino must now be one of the first names on Jurgen Klopp’s team sheet.
#Jurgen Klopp has shown tactical versatility
Jurgen Klopp has not hesitated to alter formations this season thanks chiefly to injuries and the need to pump fresh life into the team after poor performances.
The Liverpool boss as usual started with a 4-3-3 formation but has altered to 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 (diamond) so far this season. The new systems have helped in certain games but as soon as it stopped working, Klopp reverted to his preferred 4-3-3.
Klopp used 4-3-3 in Liverpool’s game against Southampton at Anfield—the last before the break—and the result was a 3-1 win for the hosts. One can sense that Klopp will largely use 4-3-3 when the league resumes but that the German being prepared to be flexible and use the system best suited to his players available should excite the fans.
#Liverpool face a tough job to finish in the top four
Jurgen Klopp’s side have shown signs to get back to their best on a couple of occasions this season.
Smashing Rangers 7-1 in the Champions League and then beating Man City and West Ham at Anfield in the next eight days suggested that Liverpool had turned a corner. But what followed was shock losses to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, which took away all the momentum Klopp’s side had built on.
The Reds are sixth in the table, seven points outside of the Champions League spots, and while they registered back-to-back wins over Spurs and Southampton before the World Cup break, they face a big task to finish in the top four now with Newcastle United firmly in the mix.