Liverpool were far from their best in 2022-23 and went trophyless, after narrowly missing out on an unprecedented quadruple the season before.
The Reds showed signs of wobble from the start and it went on to be an inconsistent season, peppered with outwardly out-of-the-blues glimpses of their best including a 9-0 mauling of Bournemouth and 7-0 destruction of Manchester United. Only a revival in the last nine league games salvaged what could have been an almost woeful finish in the table, though it was too little, too late to enter into the top four spots.
After a hugely disappointing campaign as per the high standards Liverpool have set in recent years, here are the three areas Jurgen Klopp should improve if his team are to get back to challenging at the top of the Premier League.
- Away day blues
Except for the excellent Manchester City, Liverpool have been a ruthless team in the Premier League in recent years—both home and away. Having only lost twice in the league away over the course of the 2021-22 season, Jurgen Klopp’s side tasted defeat nine times this past campaign. Of those defeats, eight came on their travels, winning just six of their 19 games as a result.
The Reds scored 29 goals and conceded 30 times across 19 away fixtures, thus, ending the season on a negative goal difference on the road. The poor away form is a serious issue that Klopp needs to address next season.
- Jekyll-and-Hide Liverpool
If Liverpool were as efficient at beating the sides from the bottom half of the table as they have been picking up points against the rest of the top six, they would have easily finished in the top four.
Here is the list of the teams from the bottom half they’ve lost to or dropped points in the Premier League during the 2022-23 season: Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Wolves, Chelsea and Southampton. In those losses and draws, they scored 15 goals with nine of those coming in the demolition of Bournemouth at Anfield.
The biggest issue is that while Liverpool can seem unstoppable when teams press high and try attacking them, they can also be maddeningly poor when up against opponents who defend deep and set up to stifle them. So, it is vital for Klopp to find a way of combatting teams who stay in low-block and try to hit on the counter.
- Improving the defence
Liverpool had the worst defensive record in the Premier League’s top six during the 2022/23 season—47 goals conceded—more than Aston Villa and Brentford while the same number as that of 12th-placed Chelsea.
Therefore, it is clear that defence is a major area of improvement. Liverpool have signed just one central defender in the last two years, spending £36m on Ibrahima Konate in 2021. It has not proved enough as Konate’s recurrent injury problems have not allowed him to play consistently at the highest level for the Reds.
That, combined with a dip in the form of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez in the last 12 to 15 months, has seen Liverpool’s backline get exposed multiple times this past campaign. Therefore, the picture couldn’t be clearer for Klopp. In addition to midfield reinforcements, the German tactician needs to prioritise a defensive retool.
