There’s a lot of positivity surrounding Anfield right now and it’s understandable. After a summer where Liverpool signed some exciting players and strengthened a couple of positions, the opening day hammering of West Ham is exactly what the fans craved for.
The game against West Ham was pretty comfortable for Liverpool. Naby Keita and Fabinho were present for the entire pre-season and though the latter didn’t play a part, the former looked like a player who’s going to take the league by storm this season.
The front three were again irresistible, but what the Liverpool fans witnessed was a clean sheet and solid performances from Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Also read: Liverpool players ratings vs West Ham: Naby Keita shows shades of Stevie G
Let’s talk a bit more about the defence, now. Liverpool’s attacking ability is never in question unless the opposition team do a Jose Mourinho and station the entire team at the edge of the box. Defensively, the team looks susceptible when the midfielders lose their concentration during the transitions.
Virgil van Dijk’s addition during January last season helped alleviate the matter as he was much more assertive in everything he did despite not being at his fittest. In fact, Dejan Lovren’s performances improved as well, which just shows how good an impact the Dutchman had.
This season, Klopp has a bit of a problem in the coming weeks as Joel Matip isn’t fit and Dejan Lovren will miss a few weeks if latest reports are to be believed. That leaves Liverpool with Ragnar Klavan and Joe Gomez as the defenders who can partner van Dijk. It’s not the depth Liverpool fans wanted before the season began, but the game against West Ham showed that Gomez could be a long-term solution at the back.
Gomez needs more midfield protection
Still only 21, Gomez has been deployed at centre-back before and he looks more comfortable in that position. Considering Liverpool now have Nathaniel Clyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gomez will have to raise his game when he starts at the heart of the defence.
Against West Ham, there was one moment where Gomez misread a pass from Ogbonna to Arnautovic and the Austrian was through on goal. Luckily, Arnautovic’s finish wasn’t the best and Gomez got back in time to get a nick on the ball at the expense of a corner, but it’s something the young centre-back needs to get out of his game.
Those are the kind of passes that defenders need to deal with directly. That’s where Lovren has received a lot of flak while van Dijk has received the praise. It’s the ability to read the situation and get rid of the danger. Because of how Liverpool play, there will be instances where the defenders will have to deal with situations all by themselves.
Unlike a side like Manchester United or even Arsenal now where the managers employ a rather pragmatic approach, if the pressing fails, the defenders will have to deal with the attackers head on. That is one area of concern at the moment.
Fabinho was signed for the specific reason of shielding the back four and he did that well in pre-season. With Gomez still adjusting to his new role, the more the protection he gets, the better. There have been times when Gomez has looked uncertain of what he has to do. There were a few games last season, like the 3-3 draw against Arsenal, where he didn’t show enough authority while dealing with set-pieces.
While the question of aggression is something he needs to answer himself, exposing him to forwards and wingers is something Liverpool can’t afford. Still only 21, Gomez is very much a confidence player right now, so the system needs someone like Fabinho just sitting in front of the defence, something we could very well see in the coming weeks.
